There are only 43 cross-platform location-based service (LBS) apps among the total of more than 7,000 LBS apps available from the Apple, Android and Blackberry app stores, according to a new report from Skyhook.
There are currently more than 6,000 LBS iPhone apps, 900 for Android and 300 for BlackBerry.
In the free version of its February 2010 Location Aware App Report, Skyhook records that social networking and lifestyle apps make up the majority of these cross-platform LBS apps. By contrast, location-based apps that run on only one platform are dominated by travel apps, followed by social networking services and sports and fitness apps.
The Skyhook report reveals markedly different pricing for versions of the same app in different stores. One example is Wikango, which is free for iPhone users but costs $14.73 for Android and $19.99 for BlackBerry.
The iPhone has a reputation for driving the price of apps down, yet 75% of all LBS apps in the Apple store are paid apps. For BlackBerry, half of the apps are paid apps. Less than 20% of the apps for Android are paid apps.
