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More than 20,000 Apple iPad applications are in the process of being created, according to data released April 1 from application research firm Flurry.
Flurry, which monitors new project starts by developers within its system, said it calculated a significant spike in developer support for the iPad since it was introduced in January. That bodes well for the ecosystem of the much-hyped tablet computer, which is scheduled to be available to customers from Apple stores and Best Buy April 3.
Apple, which added a toggle switch to its online iTunes store that allows consumers to view and download apps developed for the iPad, currently lists over 2,000 iPad-specific apps.
In these pie charts, Flurry notes that iPad made up 22 percent of new projects starts within Flurry over the last two months. Interestingly, the charts show that Google Android’s share of new project starts decreased from 18 percent in 2009 to 10 percent over the last 60 days.
While it would tempting to conclude that Android developers are fleeing Google’s platform, iPhone development also declined a touch, from 78 percent to 67 percent over the same period. Indeed, Flurry said it counts nearly 300 new Android projects in March, which is a 50 percent increase over February.
“Android’s percent has declined because iPhone and iPad growth is increasing at a rate faster than that of Android,” Flurry’s Peter Farago noted. Appcelerator has its own estimates on platform development, which readers can see here.
Still, it’s possible the iPad is attracting developers from both Android and iPhone platforms. What can consumers get to run on the iPad? Gizmodo has a list here. ReadWriteWeb has its own list.
Wolfram Alpha: The computational search engine has tailored a computational app for the iPad. Enter queries in the middle and see results render below the search bar.
Box.net: The cloud content management provider also has an iPad app to let users access and share content with friends and colleagues. It’s not polished yet, but it’s getting there.
Cisco: Cisco WebEx Meeting Center for the iPad lets users Yahoo Entertainment App for iPad: Brought to you by the Web company that refuses to die, this app lets users access entertainment content, television listings, videos, news and more.
Disney: Disney Publishing Worldwide has built two “Toy Story” apps for the iPad. These include video from the films, karaoke, voice record features and a feature that lets kids finger-paint on the iPad.
Netflix: ‘Nuff said. Everyone believes this will be a killer app, letting couch potatoes stream content to a mini TV in their laps.
Meanwhile, Amazon told the Wall Street Journal (paywall warning) it will produce an iPad app that will let users read their Kindle ebook purchases on the device, but it’s not clear when the Kindle iPad app will be available.
Companies that aren’t building apps for the iPad are saying so. Microsoft told BusinessWeek it won’t make Office for the tablet.
At least, not right away. We expect that to change if the tablet and platform become a smash hit, as many expect.