Today the WhitePages will be launching its latest app, Localicious. Considering the rate of apps appearing in the marketplace these days that’s not news.

What is interesting, however, is where the app will appear first. Rather than going the ‘traditional’ route of iPhone then Android, the WhitePages have reversed the order and the reason is pretty simple: it’s easier to plan a launch around Android launches versus trying to manage the Apple app approval process.

All Things Digital reports

Apple’s approval process is just too difficult to time a launch around. As evidence, the Seattle company notes that one of its apps, a reverse phone lookup directory, has been in Apple’s hands for the past two months awaiting approval. So, this time around, the company decided to go Android first.

While everyone is busy talking about the level of penetration that Android devices are making in the smartphone world (not so much in the tablet world, huh?) the 800 lb. gorilla in the room is where Android has fallen way short: the Android Market.

Well, if you are to believe the hype from the Google Mobile blog this will be a welcome change:

The Android Market has been a bit of a joke until now and Android users (like myself) have simply tolerated it. Some (myself included) have turned to the cleaner and supposedly safer Amazon Android AppStore (much to the chagrin of Apple but who cares really).

The blog continues to hype tell us:

With all the hubbub surrounding Google+ and all the other cool kid toys, Google keeps right on announcing cool additions to truly useful tools like Google Maps.

The latest comes from the Maps Labs section for Android users (sorry iPhoners, this one’s not for you just yet). While it seems simple we must remember that some of the best ideas are just that: simple.

What Google allows users to do now is simply download a map area to their device. You see, even the Goog is rendered helpless when you find yourself in a foreign land with no data coverage. So from the “prior planning prevents poor performance department” you can download a map area to your Android device before you take off so you will have the map even if you have outkicked your data coverage.

Apparently girls aren’t the only ones who just want to have fun. According to a new report by Nielsen, games are not only the most popular category of apps, but 93% of downloaders are willing to pay for the privilege.

As you can see, entertainment of all kinds came in on top, with news at the low end of this scale. Still, 76% represents a nice chunk of change so things are looking pretty sweet for paid app owners.

Nielsen also found that iPhone users spent almost double the amount of time playing games as any other smartphone user. A full 14.7 hours a month for iPhone users, while the rest of the pack averages 7.8. Those are hours spent concentrating on a single screen and though people do multitask while playing mobile games, it’s usually only to listen to music or communicate on Facebook.