The annual number of consumer-oriented handset downloads is expected to rise from less than 2.6 billion in 2009 to more than 25 billion in 2015, according to Juniper Research report.
According to the report, players across the mobile value chain are seeking to compete Apple’s success with the App Store by launching own-brand storefronts, such as ‘Mobile Market’ from China Unicom, ‘Airtel App Central’ from Bharti and the ‘Apps & Games Shop’ on Vodafone 360.
The report reveals that GetJar has passed 1 billion consumer-oriented handset downloads earlier this month.
Dr Windsor Holden, author of the report, said: "Apple has been able to achieve several billion downloads from a comparatively small handset base because customers are buying the iPhone for the apps.
"That’s not been the case with other handsets. So even if you have a subscriber base of tens of millions, your addressable market is a fraction of that — and spread across a variety of operating systems and handsets."
The report also reveals that freemium was becoming the prevalent business model, with publishers increasingly offering applications free at point of sale and subsequently monetising them via in-app billing of subscription-based services, upgrades to premium content or micropayments for virtual items.
