App Store analytics firm Distimo has published its analysis of market developments during 2010, noting that while Apple grew the most in terms of number of apps added, the runners-up showed more growth in percentage terms – indicating a growing interest in platforms other than iOS.

The number of apps available for Apple devices doubled during the year, to almost 300,000 applications, while its nearest vendor store rival, Google’s Android Market, reached 130,000, six times the number of apps available one year ago. However, this would also seem to indicate that more iOS titles were added in one year than are available in total for Android Market, indicating that support for the Apple platform is still strong despite the increase in attention for the alternatives.

Among the tier-two stores, BlackBerry App World and Nokia’s Ovi Store both recorded triple-digit growth in the period, to nearly 18,000 and 25,000 applications, respectively. While in most cases, growth in the size of the total store and growth in free titles was relatively constant, for Ovi Store there was a sharp difference: there was a 258 percent increase in apps available in total, but an 899 percent growth in free products. It was suggested that this “may be caused by the unavailability of operator billing for a number of those using Nokia Ovi Store.”

There has also been something of a shift in terms of the types of apps available. Distimo says there appears to be a trend in the App Store for iPhone towards more business-oriented apps, reflecting a view that the iPhone is becoming more of a productivity tool. Considering its roots as a business-focused device, it was also noted that BlackBerry App World is attracting more entertainment-focused apps. Android Market and Ovi Store show “a more balanced category growth,” it was noted.

The main growth categories per store also indicated some interesting results. For example, in BlackBerry App World, 29 percent of the overall growth was created by the “Reference & eBooks” category alone, while “Themes” also performed strongly. In Nokia’s Ovi Store, the top categories (News & Info, Sports, Business, Music, City Guides & Maps) all outperformed the average by some margin, indicating weakness in other, unspecified categories.

Unsurprisingly, interest in Microsoft’s Windows Marketplace for Windows Mobile 6.0 devices has waned, with the most popular free and paid applications of 2010 coming from just eight publishers. The most featured was Microsoft itself, with six of its apps included in the top rankings. All of the most popular paid-for titles for its new Windows Marketplace for Windows Phone 7 were games, with four games also in the top-ten free list – and prices of many popular apps are higher than in rival stores.

Cross-platform, the chart was dominated by some well-known names. Angry Birds topped the games totals, appearing in the top lists of all six stores surveyed, while Facebook was the most popular non-game product.