The App Store and Google Play continued to drive mobile app downloads during the first quarter of 2013, while BlackBerry World and the Windows Phone Store remain “distant challengers.”

That’s according to the latest figures from Canalys, which say a whopping 13.4 billion apps were downloaded across these four stores over the last three months, raking in $2.2 billion in app sales, in-app purchases, and subscriptions.

Google’s Android platform has biggest market share, so it’s unsurprising it saw the most app downloads with 6.8 billion (51%). But it was Apple’s iOS platform that saw the most revenue, cashing in $1.6 billion. That’s a whopping 74% of all app revenues.

These figures represent 11% growth in download numbers over Q4 2012, and 9% growth in sales.

The dominance shown by the App Store and Google Play highlights the challenge BlackBerry and Windows Phone face when trying to compete for a share of the smartphone market. Both have shown a massive commitment to getting big-name developers onboard with their platforms — Microsoft has been throwing them cash to port their apps to Windows Phone — but there’s a massive gap there that shows no signs of closing up.

While Android and iOS both boast well over half a million apps each, Windows Phone had 130,000 at the end of February, while BlackBerry has just 100,000. But it’s not just quantity these platforms are lacking — they’re also missing hugely popular apps from the likes of Google, Netflix, Instagram, and others.

But despite this, Canalys says BlackBerry and Windows Phone should not be ignored. It also notes that there are opportunities for both to tackle emerging markets were there is still an opportunity for growth.

“Apple’s App Store and Google Play remain the heavyweights in the app store world,” writes Tim Shepherd, Canalys senior analyst. “In comparison, BlackBerry World and the Windows Phone Store remain distant challengers today, though they still should not be ignored.”

• ViaTechCrunch