Research from Strategy Analytics shows that the Apple App Store captured a 12% volume share of the mobile applications market in 2008. The finding is part of a report from Strategy Analytics Wireless Media Strategies service: How Apple Changed the Market for Mobile Applications.
However, the analyst says, the App Stores value is significantly lower, due to intense competition between developers, which has pushed down application prices.
The Apple App Stores favourable revenue share for developers has created a tremendous buzz and fostered innovation, says Report Author David MacQueen. This has excited consumers, inspiring an unprecedented volume of downloaded applications. The downside to this popularity is 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.
Strategy Analytics Vice President David Kerr, notes that other handset manufacturers have reacted to Apples success by launching their own stores, but adds that in the past, it has been the carriers which dominated application distribution.
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, says Kerr. Apple has won the initial skirmishes but the war is far from over.