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Mobile app downloads to reach 44B by 2016: ABI Research

A new study from ABI Research reveals that the worldwide mobile application industry will reach 44 billion downloads by 2016, driven by consumers? insatiable appetite for mobile media.

Android and Windows Phone 7 adoption is picking up as their mobile OS installed bases continue to grow. The mobile app environment and market model is also expected to evolve with the increasing number of smartphone and tablet users.

?In the past few quarters, we have observed tremendous growth in the mobile apps market,? said Fei Feng Seet, Singapore-based analyst at ABI Research. ?From the inception of app stores in late 2008, the performance of various players have grabbed the attention of the industry, it is a potentially huge industry with more room to grow.

?With more entrants into the market, competition is expected to tense up on which mobile OS have the most activated devices, or the most app downloads,? she said. ?The ecosystem and pricing model also plays a key part, where we can see Apple has the power to control the market in their favour due to their strong dominance.

?With smartphone adoption increasing and other OSs like Android gaining more market share, we can expect to see more development in coming years.?

ABI Research provides analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies.

Constant updates is key to staying in the game
With more people relying on mobile devices to stay connected in every aspect of their lives, app developers must constantly innovate to stay relevant in this continuously growing market.

App developers have adopted several strategies to keep pace with competition.

The OfferedApp, for example, includes the offer of a paid app each day in exchange for completing a survey or signing up for an offer with advertisers.

Other apps award virtual currency or other premiums to consumers who download a featured app from the developer.

More location-based apps have also entered the market because users want to know what is happening around them, including the nearest businesses with sales, specific dining options and entertainment venues.

The onset of mobile apps has opened up the market to both app developers and game developers.

?Mobile app is somewhat different from a PC software or game downloaded, in the sense where a mobile app developer can fix issues or upgrade their app continuously and new information can be loaded into the user?s phone as long as they downloaded the upgrade,? Ms. Seet said. ?This amount of flexibility helps to give developers more room for innovation.

?Smartphone users love to receive a free app download and wouldn?t mind a couple of advertisements that come with it,? she said. ?They also love the convenience of having all information on the go. For game developers, they are simply taking what was available before on computers and changing the format into a handset and it opens a whole new revenue stream for them.

"A mobile app allows for innovation in any aspect, big retailers like Mango and Zara have created an app that users can view their latest collection anytime, basically its low-cost advertising. It?s the easiest way to reach out to consumers via their personal phone, which is attached to them 24/7.?

Final Take