While news and entertainment apps continue to dominate market share in download volume, don’t be fooled by the real money makers in mobile. As it turns out, productivity applications for smartphones are the real and consistent goldmines.
According to recent research by In-Stat, productivity apps – like mapping, business and enterprise applications and other smartphone tools & resources – are responsible for generating nearly 60% of all smartphone app revenue.
While games and other time-passing apps remain enormously successful and profitable, productivity is the new buzzword in lucrative mobile app development.
Frank Dickson, an analyst with In-Stat, says that 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.” As a result, the app stores of the digital world could see an unprecedented infusion of newer and more sophisticated apps, the bulk of which could be productivity-related.
“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,” adds Dickson.
According to In-Stat, the number of Android apps downloaded is growing at the fastest rate, but Apple apps “still dominate both free and paid downloads.”