Bots don't exist on Android, but incent PPI does. It doesn't matter about the # of installs he gets because Android takes into account uninstall rates as well as your app ratings.
If he's ranked higher than you, he's most likely hitting the factors better than you.
Why are you sure that bots do not exist on Android? The article did not deny their existence.
As for that "more holistic" approach, Bots don't usually uninstall apps that they've downloaded. They just get re-instantiated (and possibly reused to further help pad results).
Also if PPI was used, a lot of cash was blown to get 10k downloads and 381 Google +1s sandwiched into a manner of hours. That means the developer either has an inside track or lots of cash to blow and no thought to ever seeing a return.
If he's ranked higher than you, he's most likely hitting the factors better than you.