Google's app sales to go through 15 billion mark

Google has hit a major milestone in app downloads from its site.

It has sold 15 billion apps from its Google Play Store (formerly Android Market) – hot on the heels of Apple's App Store which reached 25 billion apps in March.

Google's growth is now outpacing Apple. Last month Fiksu, the maker of a mobile marketing platform for apps, revealed downloads from Apple's App Store fell by 30 per cent in March.

Android is the fastest growing mobile platform in the world with more than 300 million devices. App developer Shazam, the music identification service that allows users to identify unknown tune titles from TV commercials and songs, has seen its android apps grow to more than 20 million users. Five million of its android apps are downloaded a week.

Google is working with small app developers, including UK-based AI Factory, which has grown from five apps last year to 11, with 30 million downloads.

Apps are a lucrative business and Apple and Google take up to 30 per cent from every app sold. The big two have left Microsoft lagging with about 70,000 apps compared to Google's 500,000 and Apple's 600,000.