AS MOBILE subscribers take to smart phone apps in rapidly increasing numbers, Apple’s dominance of application download rates is only half the story, according to market research firm In-Stat.
While Apple users download 2.4 times more applications than the average smart phone user, downloads is not the only success factor for an application.
“Monitoring mobile application success by downloads alone is like driving your car and only using the rear view mirror; it provides only half of the story,” said In-Stat analyst Frank Dickson, in a press release. “Especially for free applications, usage is what determines success. Our research indicates that social networking and phone tools and utilities provide better returns for developers as they have above-average usage and below-average deletion rates.”
In its research report U.S. Smartphone Application Downloads, Usage, and Deletions by Application Type, In-Stat determined:
– Increased competition and aggressive pricing strategies are starting to create significant price pressures in the market. Certain price points are emerging for premium applications, and developers should price their products accordingly;
– Free mapping and directions were the most downloaded apps on most platforms, but just sixth on Apple;
– Only 3% of Palm OS users have downloaded free social networking applications, compared to 31% of total respondents.
