Juniper Research has a new report on mobile augmented reality apps and services. According to the research company, this market is expected to reach $732 million by 2014 from paid-for app downloads, subscription-based services and advertising.
The “Mobile Augmented Reality” report found that annual revenues from AR are unlikely to exceed even $2 million during 2010, due to simple fact that only a small minority of smartphones will be AR-enabled. But, as more phones ship with all the needed components for AR to work (compass, accelerometer and GPS), this proportion will rise dramatically in the medium term.
Juniper goes on suggesting that while initial adoption will be driven by AR location-based search, the first substantial revenues will be derived from AR-enabled games and eventually mobile enterprise solutions from 2012-3 onwards. Meanwhile, AR advertising is expected to be increasingly attractive as the potential user base increases, with AR ad networks able to charge higher CPC and CPM rates because of location relevance.
However, the report warns about legal implications, which could produce some problems along the way. Author Dr Windsor Holden gives an example: “Can a house-owner legitimately demand that a geotag of his or her property be removed? Would that third-party require prior permission before creating a tag?”
Finally, Juniper believes that by 2014, 350 million AR-enabled handsets will be shipped around the world… More information is available from their website.