Google has published the first details of the application store for its Android mobile operating system. In a post on the official Android developers blog yesterday, Google’s Eric Chu described ‘Android Market’ as a user-driven content distribution system that will help users find, purchase, download and install various types of content onto Android-powered devices. Despite being seen as a competitor to Apple’s ‘App Store,’ Google compared Android Market to YouTube as it will feature a similar feedback and rating system, and allow developers to upload content in a similar manner. In an apparent swipe at Apple, Chu wrote that Google chose the term ‘market’ rather than ‘store’ because “we feel that developers should have an open and unobstructed environment to make their content available.”

Google told its developer community that the first Android handsets would be enabled with a beta version of Android Market that supports free (unpaid) applications, while later versions would support paid content and other features. The first Android-powered phone is predicted to be the HTC Dream, which is reportedly planned for launch by T-Mobile USA before the end of the year. Apple launched its App Store on July 11 this year to coincide with the launch of the 3G version of the iPhone. Apple CEO Steve Jobs claimed earlier this month that iPhone customers had downloaded over 60 million applications from the store in its first 30 days of launch, generating around US$30 million in sales. He added that if sales were to stay at that pace, Apple would make at least US$360 million a year in new revenue from the store.