A recent report from mobile analytics firm Flurry indicates that before 2011 ends, over 25 billion iOS and Android apps will be downloaded.  And app downloads will double by 2012.

Until this year, the US generated the bulk of app downloads on handset.  But now, other countries are bulking up on their apps.  China, with their 1.3 billion population, has the biggest number of cellphone users at 950 million.  With that, China is seen as having a very promising consumer economy, moving to the number two spot in app consumption next to the US.

Android is an open platform and with the increase in demand for Android devices there is also an increase in production for Android devices from different manufacturers.  This is good for Google as this cements it as the leading OS used in devices, and demand for Android apps grows in tandem.  The downside is, Google is still missing out on potential revenue in emerging markets like China where they’re lacking an official Android Market.

Currently, there are more or less 70 Android app stores in China which are either run by operators, handset makers and pre-installed web portals.  It’s the rise of indie app stores, but Google has indicated its plans to launch an official Android Market in China soon.

Yahoo! Japan‘s already got the jump on an Android app store in China, having just launched the Yahoo! Market.  It provides reviews, ratings and download links for Android apps.  Right now it isn’t selling apps directly, sending you to a Market link, but by next year the Yahoo! Market will be selling Android apps as well.

Amazon’s making some updates to its App Store ahead of the Kindle Fire launch.  For some, it’s the preferred app store to find Android apps.  People love the fact that Amazon’s App Store is easy to navigate compared to the Android Market, which is quite confusing and very frustrating at times.

On the enterprise side, SAP is also building a mobile apps store which will cater to all operating systems so it will be an app store for all.  SAP’s mobile app store is currently available for iOS but they’re looking into launching for Android devices by 2012.  And the app store for other OS’s will follow soon after the Android launch.

This adds to Google’s dilemma.  While its revenue comes primarily through search and associated advertising, Google still needs to maintain its Android ecosystem to keep it an attractive alternative to iOS.

Others still are building search tools around the Android Market, building further on this third party ecosystem.  Lustancia announced the launch of AppRank, an Android application that will help users find the best, new or hottest apps in the Android Market.  You can download AppRank here.

“If you are an Android Application developer in the United States and you want to know how your application is performing in the global markets like China, South Korea, Japan, UK, you need either a sim card from each country or an IP converter. This is a big hassle and the connection speed is always very slow. AppRank takes care of this problem,” quotes Joony Koo, VP of marketing for Lustancia.