A Shift in the Mobile Application Industry
Mobile Application Developers Predict Changes in Mobile Application Development
As we continue onto 2011, Mobile Application Developers continue to envision a bright future and are very optimistic in the direction that the mobile application industry is heading. Since 2008, the Mobile Application Industry has been steadily growing each year and in 2011, many mobile application developers will continue to see the trend progress. At the same time, mobile application developers are predicting some major changes in mobile application trends which were previously considered very consistent.
A study recently conducted by a mobile service company in Portland, Oregon released its year-end results where they asked 318 Mobile Application Developers about what mobile application projects they are currently working on and also the direction they see the mobile application industry going in. Unlike previous years where Mobile Application Developers responses were fairly consistent with the previous years (I.e.- Mobile Application Development for the iPhone was always considered number one year after year), this year there were some answers which were surprising and revealed some changes in the Mobile Application Industry. These changes in the application industry clearly illustrates that other companies such as Google, Windows, and RIM are picking up steam and dominant companies such as Apple is now facing stiff competition heading into the future.
The results conducted from the survey revealed that Apple and their iPhone is still the most dominant platform device used for mobile applications but companies such as Google and Windows are quickly gaining ground. To further illustrate this point, in 2010 mobile application developers preferred to create applications for the Apple OS (99.5%) and Android OS (42.8%) with Blackberry a distant third (11%). As we move onto the year 2011, a shift is taking place where mobile application developers claim that there preferences for mobile applications development has changed to 90% of their development for the Apple OS while 73.8% would prefer developing mobile applications for the Android. Compared to 2010, Apple Mobile Apps Development preferences have dropped 9.5% while Android Mobile Apps Development has increased 30%. Both Blackberry and Windows Mobile also saw an increase from 11% in 2010 to 22.2% in 2011.
Another noticeable change that mobile application developers predict from 2010 to 2011 is the change in revenue resources. It is claimed that in 2010, a majority of revenue (47%) was generated from downloads of paid mobile applications while the rest of revenue was from advertisements (11%), in-application purchases (8%) and upgrades (.03%). However in 2011, mobile experts predict that the revenue produced from downloads of paid mobile applications will decrease (even though it will still be the largest source at an estimated 38%) while other revenues such as: advertising would increase to 17%, in-app purchases would see an increase to 31% and upgrades would also experience a small increase to 2%.
It is clear to see that while Apple and their iPhone still dominant the mobile application industry, they are going to be facing a very competitive playing field in the up-coming years from its competitors. Mobile Application Developers still see the benefits of developing mobile applications for the iPhone but now they are also starting to realize that other Smartphone devices such as the Android and Windows Mobile 7 also have potential for great success in the mobile application industry.