As far as milestones go I'm thinking that this is a pretty big one. I've just returned from a trip to the Le Mans 24 hour race to find out that the first Android app that I submitted to the Market has shot through 1m installs. Fingers crossed that this is the one that gets you an E-mail from Mr Rubin ;)
Battery Widget is currently ranked 24th 'top free' application in the Productivity category in the UK and has been in the top 30 for over a year with a top 5 spot for a while. I'm thinking it may be time to revisit the app and sharpen it up for the higher res screens of today's Android devices and allow a few different colour combinations.
Although I'm super happy that Battery Widget is staying up the Android charts it is a double edged sword. As an Android fan-boi super-user fanatic there is definitely still an issue with freshness and churn in the top spots of the Free/Paid Android apps/games in the Market. The Market algorithm that is keeping Battery Widget up near the top for over a year is also making it hard for new apps to break through and for me as a user to find those exciting new applications. I'd 100% definitely sacrifice the popularity of this app for a more harsh ranking of older applications. I wonder what it would take now for a new application to enter the store and knock Battery Widget down a spot or two? It is still getting more new installs a day than all of my other apps combined.
You may say that the Market is favouring new Android users and making it easier for them to setup their devices with top apps, but there should be a better way for long time users of discovering new awesomeness without trawling through hundreds of pages of 'Just In' apps. The awesome apps are out there and I usually find multiple new great apps or games each time I have 15+ minutes to spare to 'trawl'. No doubt Google are fully aware of this and it'll just be a matter of time.
Thanks to all who have downloaded! Here's to the next Million.
