UPDATED 12:07 EDT / FEBRUARY 15 2011

Mobile Game Markets Take a Serious Leap Forward: The Android Symbiosis

GetJar, a leading cross-platform app store which reports 1.5 billion app downloads to date, announced it has raised $25 million in Series C funding. The sum was raised from Tiger Global Management, and existing investor Accel Partners will also participate in the round.  The capital will also be used to further develop the app store and expand sales and marketing.

“As the battle between open versus closed ecosystems continues, GetJar plans to aggressively expand its offering to Android publishers in order to secure its position as the premier “open” Android Market alternative while continuing to support other smartphone platforms such as Blackberry and IOS.”

Tiger Global Management Director Lee Fixel noted that what makes GetJar an adequate investment for his firm is the combination of cross-platform support, and its “unique revenue model”. The mobile app store global market is expected to be worth nearly $60 billion by 2014, and while GetJar’s presence may grow even further, it’s not the only app store establishing its market share in the mobile space. Google recently launched the Android Market Web Store, which enables users to direct apps directly onto their devices and share their favorites on Twitter.

Going to a more specific segment of mobile gaming, Zynga acquired social mobile game developer Area/Code, which comes on the tail of GameStop’s Kongregate Arcade launch. AT&T is also pushing its Android front, and is expected to invest in the OpenFeint game platform.   The mobile gaming market has already seen some ups and downs–a sign that the industry is sieving itself out as a business.

Adknowledge, the creator of the Super Rewards in-app monetization system, also had a major update. The company released an iOS SDK this morning, adding support for the iPhone and iPad. The announcement comes in day 2 of the Mobile World Congress event, which has already seen some big news from the industry, including Motorola‘s heady goals and Apple‘s plans to broaden its market reach.


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