Top Android BlackBerry and iPhone Apps Very Similar Says Mplayit

Apple's iPhone may more offer apps than even its closest competitor (the iPhone has over 100,000 available, compared to about 20,000 Android apps and around 4,500 on Blackberry App World), but the top apps are very similar in function and name across the platforms.

Mplayit looked at the most popular application categories across platforms and compiled the top apps in each category for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. Their analysis found a great deal of similarity in the most popular apps in the most active categories. They claim is shows that despite the big differences in the number of apps available by device, for the majority of consumers, there is less and less to choose between them.

"'How many apps?' is the wrong question," said Michael Powers, CEO and founder of Mplayit. "People just want to get the job done. It doesn't matter if there are 50 different to-do list apps on iPhone, because Android or BlackBerry just need a couple of good ones to make consumers happy."

Many of mplayit top apps also appear in Wireless and Mobile News' Top Android an' Droid Free and BlackBerry Storm Apps and BlackBerry Tour Apps lists.

Cross-platform apps did particularly well. Evernote registered among the top three of the most popular apps in the Lists and Notes category on iPhone, Android and Blackberry. Similarly, Pandora Radio is among the top three music apps on all three smartphone platforms. The analysis also showed that Barcode readers have recently shot to the top of the most sought after apps on all the three leading smartphone platforms. Currently, all of these platforms offer barcode solutions, though from different vendors.

"If you're switching to a new phone, you don't want to give up functionality," Powers continued. "It's not really necessary to match Apple app-for-app to offer a compelling mobile experience. Android and other platforms only need to offer the best and the brightest, as well as the same utility and features."