Apple App Store leads applications market

Computer giant Apple’s App Store has managed to control 12% of the mobile applications market during 2008 but faces a challenge to hold onto its positon, according to Strategy Analytics.

 

The “How Apple Changed the Market for Mobile Applications” report, authored by analyst David MacQueen, says that the App Store’s “favourable revenue share for developers has created a tremendous buzz and fostered innovation”.

It also “has excited consumers, inspiring an unprecedented volume of downloaded applications,” he said.

But MacQueen said that the store’s popularity is so widespread that, “with so many developers rushing on board, competition has become fierce and the majority of applications are downloaded for free, or at a very low cost.”

“Carriers are now changing tactics, hoping to re-attract developers-leading to a rapidly changing environment where each company category has its own strengths and weaknesses,” Strategy Analytics’ vice president David Kerr said.

“Apple’s (stores) has won the initial skirmishes but the war is far from over.”

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