EXCLUSIVE: Google’s Android Market is growing at such a fast rate that app analytics company Distimo claims it could boast as many apps as Apple’s App Store for iPhone by the end of this year. In a blog written exclusively for Mobile Apps Briefing, Distimo’s CEO Vincent Hoogsteder notes: “Based on the content growth rates of both stores, we expect the Android Market to offer a comparable amount of applications as the Apple App Store for iPhone within 2011. The US Android Market has already overtaken the Apple App Store for iPhone in terms of the number of free apps, and if Android keeps attracting developers at this speed, it’s even likely to outgrow the catalogue of Apple.”

This prediction is bold given the current dominance of Apple’s App Store. According to Distimo, Apple’s App Store for iPhone boasts 332,471applications, while Google’s Android Market has 135,829 applications.