Is Apple blanket-rejecting iOS apps that make use of Dropbox because of an evil plan to push developers toward iCloud? If you asked this question five days ago, the answer from the Internet at large might have been a resounding "yes!" But days later, as is often the case, details have come out that reveal the answer is probably "no."</p><p>

As it turns out, Dropbox inadvertently put other developers using its SDK in violation of one of Apple's app guidelines, resulting in a string of rejections that looked as if apps using Dropbox were being banned. The Web flew into a fury over what is essentially an annoying but long-standing clause in Apple's guidelines. The problem has now been remedied and the fury has died down.

The problem was that Dropbox wasn't letting apps where people could click through to buy Dropbox storage externally the option of buying the same storage inside the app. Guidelines, eh.

"Take a trip over to the iTunes App Store and take a look at the top grossing games. Notice something odd?"

Not immediately until the point is made that they're free to download. So how are they high-grossing? Because of the in-app purchases. So what's the problem? It's that many are aimed at children - who will buy a 99c or a £9.99 or a £99 (really) extra without worrying.

You can disable this in the device settings, but it's one to watch for.

Links to a Google group discussion of Android developers: one who has implemented in-app payment (which Lodsys claims a patent on) says he's been served.

"Apple's App Store is generating billions for developers, while hardly anybody is getting rich in the Android Market.In a new report issued Friday, Distimo looks at why that might be. One obvious factor -- not highlighted in April -- is that there are nearly three times as many paid apps on Apple's App Store (211,369, by Distimo's count) as on Google's (71,801).<br />
"What Distimo discovered this time is that, for a variety of reasons, Android generates far fewer runaway hits. The most successful app in the Android Market, with more than 50 million downloads, is a Google freebie: Google Maps. Nothing else comes close."

"In a recent report, app store analytics company Distimo forecasted that Android would surpass the App Store in size before the end of July 2011.<br />
"Another research firm, Germany-based research2guidance, corroborates Distimo’s findings; the firm forecasts Android to blow past Apple’s App Store by August 2011."

"The major findings are:<br />
" • The Google Android Market eclipsed the Apple App Store for iPhone in terms of free applications and now has 134,342 free applications, while the Apple App Store iPhone has 121,845 free applications.<br />
<br />
"• If all application stores maintain their current growth pace, approximately five months from now Google Android Market will be the largest store in terms of number of applications  followed by the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPad, Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, BlackBerry App World and Nokia Ovi Store. The Windows Phone 7 Marketplace will also be larger than the Nokia Ovi Store and BlackBerry App World prior to the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace being available for even a full year."<br />
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There are other findings too - that many top publishers are already cross-platform. The question is whether the expectation that the future will continue like the past is reasonable.