News and entertainment smartphone apps are downloaded the most, but productivity smartphone applications generate the most revenues, reports In-Stat (http://www.in-stat.com). Productivity applications such as mapping, business and enterprise applications and phone tools and utilities generate 59% of all smartphone application revenue, according to the research group.
“The competitiveness of the smartphone app market will intensify over the next few years as developer ecosystems become more competitive with Apple’s app store,” says Frank Dickson, In-Stat analyst. “There are no less than eight notable smartphone OSs, and the number is more likely to grow rather than shrink. Google will exploit its Internet dominance, and Apple will leverage its development community and stable platform. Microsoft is placing its bet on Windows Mobile 7.”
Recent research by In-Stat found the following:
° Games and Music/Radio are the top two news and entertainment smartphone apps downloaded.
° Although Mobile VoIP was the highest 2010 growth segment, social networking, messaging applications, e-mail apps continue to dominate the category in terms of total downloads.
° The number of Android apps downloaded is growing at the fastest rate; however, Apple applications still dominate both free and paid downloads. 2012 witnesses the last of the Palm OS applications downloads.