Disqus
As we have a growing number of app stores, Juniper Research is forecasting that the annual number of consumer-oriented handset downloads will rise from less than 2.6 billion in 2009 to more than 25 billion in 2015.
The research company argues that players across the mobile value chain are seeking to emulate Apple’s AppStore success. Hence we have a rising number of carriers unveiling their solutions – China Unicom has “Mobile Market,” India’s Bharti “Airtel App Central” and Vodafone “Apps & Games Shop.” At the same time there are manufacturer and platform specific storefronts, as well as independents such as GetJar and Handango.
However, Juniper cautions that those looking to launch an app store also need to demonstrate sufficient scale to make developers interested.
The report also talks about the so called “freemium” model which allows publishers to offer applications for free and subsequently monetising them via in-app billing of subscription-based services, upgrades to premium content or micropayments for virtual items.
As usual, you can get more information from Juniper’s website.
About The Author
Dusan Belic
Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.
