Between 2010 and 2011, the global installed base of app consumers increased by 104 per cent, according to a report from research2guidance. That included 274m new smartphones users, but the fastest growing segment was on Tablets, increasing by 58m, to constitute 8.6 per cent of the total installed app consumer base.

And app providers have been more than happy to oblige the surge of users – the number of apps in Apples App Store for iPad grew 180 per cent, to more than 140,000 apps by the end of Q4, 2011.

“Based on projections for tablet shipments in Q2, 2012, the installed base of tablet users is set to increase more than 150 per cent by 2013,” said research2guidance research director Grace Gair in a blog post. “As Tablet users become a larger and larger app downloading segment, their app behavior and preferences will have an increasing influence on the app market – illustrated already in the growth in the number of apps and stores devoted to them.”

The full Smartphone App Market Monitor report can be downloaded here.