App Store vs. Android on Steroids

It's official. The iPhone is God's greatest gift to humanity, and the greatest thing about the iPhone is the App Store. If any of you have seen what HTC has done with Google's Android platform, you've seen how close HTC is to matching the touted iPhone interface. I have only seen HTC's very intriguing demo, but it's even possible that their Sense interface and their core applications (I love the Footprints app) are better. They may even have better hardware.


HTC Hero with the new Sense interface (pic from HTC)

What HTC or Android does not have right now is the App Store. Their version, called "Android Market", appears to have only a few hundred apps (not verified). I honestly can't tell how amazing these apps are. On the other hand, the Apple App Store has tens of thousands of apps, and I love a bunch of them. Also, with iPhones becoming so ubiquitous and with all the developer support Apple is getting, it does not look like the App Store will run out of great apps soon.