The major difference on the surface is that when looking at both from afar you will see Apple using a closed method of app sharing while Android uses an open method keeping the distribution completely in the hands of the users. In a closed system, Apple takes applications from developers and filters them through the Apple development team before they are released or shared. This is good because it keeps malicious and pointless apps to a minimum. However, they have total control over everything and have the power to dictate premiums and altercations to any app submitted.  On the flipside to this, Android Market is allowing apps to be developed and distributed without the filtering process that takes place in a closed system. Android Market uses a comment and community rating system that allows people to look at the history of a said app and take the appropriate actions based on the experience of others.

Refunds are also another huge factor in the differences between the two gadgets.  Apple will not allow you to refund the download of applications.  Even though the Apple apps are screened and deemed safe, you are still stuck with it no matter what the end result, whether loving it or not having use for it.  Android will allow you to sample the app for 24 hours after purchase and refund you the money if you uninstall it within that time frame.  This is a much better way to go about purchasing apps you are up in the air about.

Still comparing the two stores, we will look at the Developer Initiation Fee and see that Android has the competitive edge on Apple in this department as well. Android does charge you $25 for being a developer, creating apps, and releasing them on the Android Market. The key to this is that your apps are released on the open market to be shared with other Android users. Apple charges $99 and there is no guarantee your app will be published on the AppStore.  The other notable difference is that Apple will keep 30% of your publisher sales should there be a premium and Google uses this 30% to pay out to wireless carriers.  This in turn creates a wonderful working relationship to market, promote, and sell Android phones to consumers.

The driving force in the Android application world is the room for improvement, advancement, and upgrade. Apple does charge more, cost more, and have five times the amount of apps. They have earned there place at the top as the innovative company in the beginning of the 21st century. However, Google is making strides with their involvement in the Android phone because they are now aspiring to be the user friendly, cost effective gadget for the advanced mobile phone user. With there only being an estimated 20,000 apps on the Android Market compared to the 100,000 apps that currently exist in the AppStore there is definite room to make modern day strides at improving the sophisticated mobile phone market.

Pretty much every major mobile phone maker has since 2007 added touch screen handsets to their offerings, but none have been able to match the impact of the iPhone. Now that mobile phones are seen as essentials for pretty much everyone, will smartphones like the iPhone evolve in the same way?

Phone manufacturers tried all kinds of ways to beat the iPhone, such as adding higher resolution cameras, or new user interfaces. But what actually happened was that they fought it out with each other while the iPhone maintained its place at the top of the heap. People began to wonder if there was anything else that could fundamentally change the mobile phone market.

Smartphones have only grown in popularity since the advent of the iPhone. While smartphones used to be viewed as acceptable for “business-oriented” people, they rapidly became must-haves for what seemed like everybody. After all, devices like the Research In Motion (RIM) Blackberry allows people to use email no matter where they are without hidden fees. Then smartphones began adding Facebook applications, playing into the vast popularity of social networking sites.

It didn’t take long for the iPhone to release its own Facebook application. And both RIM and Apple have their own app stores offering a wide selection of applications for many different purposes. Are smart phones the end of the line technologically? Can they be made better?

The Android platform is the latest big thing in the mobile phone universe. It was first used on the Google G1 phone, and is an open source operating system. That means that anyone can write applications for use on Android phones. It offers another option to people who aren’t interested in the iPhone, or who balk at the high price of an iPhone. Android phones will eventually have applications that can’t be had for the iPhone.

While the Android software is currently only available on the G1 handset, other phone manufacturers are developing their own Android handsets. Rumors have it that Motorola, Nokia, and Samsung will launch their own Android phones in 2009. It is also expected that other smartphones will begin to run the Android platform.

Skype, an internet phone service provider, has announced a version of its service for the Google Android mobile operating system. And because Android is open source, code developers can create any program they want based on their own needs and requirements. And they can share them with other Android users.

The Apple iPhone had to do a little fighting to fend off the smartphone invasion, even though it is still at the top of the industry. There are even rumors that Apple will try to integrate the Android platform onto the iPhone. Who knows? Will Android developers for the G1 fight back successfully against Apple? One thing is sure: prediction is most likely futile in a world where technology changes seemingly by the minute.