Apple is the unquestioned king of the App Store. Their 70,000+ applications and (possibly) billions of dollars in annual app-generated revenue are head and shoulders above the competition. That said, Google's Android App Market may be closer behind than anyone would have guessed. Until recently, we've had no way to find out just how many Apps the Android Market supported.

Thanks to TechCrunch and AndroLib, we now know. AndroLib is a website that allows you to browse through the full Android app catalog on your computer. TechCrunch did some poking around and concluded that the Market consists of at least 10,000 apps.

Androlib lists a total of 10,072 apps, 64.2% of which are completely free. That's good news for for Android users, but it's going to heavily limit the profitability of the Android App Market. Then again, Android is a free open-source OS.

TechCrunch notes that the App Market has grown 4.4 times in size over the last four months. That's enormous growth, and if it can be sustained it's only a matter of time before the App Market catches up in size with the App Store. Things are looking good for the little green robot. Android and its market will never be as profitable as the iPhone OS or the App Store but, if these numbers continue, they may one day gain larger reach.