The Android Market Is Getting Ready to Explode [Data]

With total apps surpassing 20,000 this month, the gap in size—and consequently, quality—between the Android Market and the iPhone App Store is finally starting to close.
AndroLib's been tracking new submissions stats since the Market opened—stats which don't just show us when Android apps pass arbitrary milestones, but how quickly it's happening. And to answer the implied question: very quickly.

There were more that twice as many new apps approved in the month of November than in July, and the rate of increase is only getting higher. Of course, raw app numbers don't guarantee that there will be anything worth downloading, but they do help. Even if just one in every 100 apps it worth downloading, the good stuff starts to add up pretty quickly. It's a sad formula! But it works out.
[Gizmodo via AndroidLib via MobileCrunch]

Disney announces new DVD Killer technology

I love companies like Disney. They seem to think that just because they want something some way, it’ll happen. Take for instance their latest scheme. Instead of allowing you to “buy” their movies on DVD, Blu-ray, or even VHS, they are going to allow you to buy access to their content.

Disney doesn’t want you to pass your treasured copies of their movies on to your children, or sell them at garage sales. Oh no… they own that property, and expect to be paid for it without it being loaned, traded, or sold on the secondary market.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Disney’s new technology is called Keychest, and is expected to be rolled out next month. They’ve quietly been talking to electronics manufacturers about including the ability to access the content into their systems, however no information has been revealed about who exactly has bought into Disney’s new plan. The Keychest technology allows an end user to purchase a lifetime license to view a movie across multiple platforms. The movies wouldn’t be something that you can download, instead you would be able to stream the films to your devices over the internet or cable television system. Seems like an attempt to recover from the recent collapse of DVD sales, which has resulted in some companies reporting losses for the first time since 2005.
[CrunchGear]

First Screenshots of Google's Music Service [Rumor]

Maybe called 'One Box,' or maybe not, Google's new music service is basically a set of music search tools. And even if it's not an iTunes killer or a stateside Spotify, it still matters.
Techcrunch has a few shots of the service, which give a pretty good idea of how it'll work: You, Anonymous Google User, will search for music. Google will return a special search page template with artist info, album listings and cover art—this is something they've been doing for a while now. The crucial difference is, you'll be able to listen to songs, either as samples or in full, by way of a iLike and LaLa player widgets, directly from the results. (It could be more—Kafka says Imeem's joining in as well)

iLike is a music discovery service-cum-music store, which streams samples for free, and sells tracks for $.89 to $1.29, not unlike iTunes. LaLa has a much webbier model, in which users can listen to any song once, after which they can either a) purchase online, browser-based listening privileges for $.10, or download the track in full for $79. They're two minor players (though iLike got snatched up by MySpace a while back) that just got one of the biggest endorsements imaginable: Prime placement on Google's search pages.

I don't really see where a desktop client or even a Google-branded storefront fits into this picture, but it's early, and these are just leaks—and besides, as interesting as this is, it doesn't feel quite complete. Maybe new pricing from iLike or LaLa? Subscriptions? Whatever it is, a formal announcement is expected on October 28th.
[Gizmodo via TechCrunch]

8.1-inch iRex e-book reader will be sold at Best Buy, use Verizon network

Our own Nicholas Deleon is on his way to the official announcement this morning but here’s the latest on the iRex e-book reader that’s set to be launched in partnership with Barnes & Noble.

• The screen: 8.1-inch touchscreen
• Wireless downloads? Yes, via Verizon
• Where can you buy it? Best Buy, starting next month sometime
• How much? $399
• Other features: content from Barnes & Noble digital catalog, over 1,100 periodicals served up by NewspaperDirect, compatibility with the ePub format

[CrunchGear via New York Times]

Opera 10 Final Available for Download [Downloads]

Windows/Mac/Linux: Opera 10, which we've had in beta and release candidate forms already, officially hit the net today, bringing its Turbo compression, new interface, and visual tab bar to the browser feature battle.
There's also a host of bug fixes and minor menu tweaks, of course, along with changes to Speed Dial, the much-acclaimed Mail client, and your freedom to place the new resizable tab bar with thumbnail previews anywhere you want on the screen—top, bottom, left or right.
Opera 10 is a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems only. Tell us how you think Opera 10 stacks up against the competition in the comments.

Opera 10