Ongoing strong growth will result in mobile applications downloads reaching nearly 48 billion in 2015, according to an In-Stat forecast. Increasing smartphone penetration and growing consumer mobile application libraries are keystones underlying forecast growth, according to an In-Stat press release.
“The prevalence of handset touchscreens is a significant development impacting the mobile applications market,” according to Amy Cravens, In-Stat senior analyst. “The projected rapid penetration of touchscreen-enabled devices will allow more users to easily interact with mobile applications, thereby driving growth. Increased on-board memory capacity will also lead to a better user experience.”
The research report from In-Stat, entitled, “There’s an App for That: Smartphone Application Market Overcrowded but Downloads Continue to Rise,” also forecasts that:
- Touchscreens will make up nearly 90% of smartphone shipped in 2011, increasing to nearly 100% in the next several years;
- 45% of total mobile phones shipped in 2011 will be smartphones as compared to 23% in 2011;
- As of Dec. 2010, Apple’s App Store mobile app library has grown to reach 350,000 titles and Google’s Android Market 80,000;
- Apple and Android smartphone owners are more likely than their Blackberry counterparts to have downloaded mobile apps;
- Nearly half of respondents said they had downloaded apps via their smartphones’ Wi-Fi connection.
