Mobile apps to top 98bn by 2015

Mobile Computing News reports. The firm says this mean that, come 2015, over 98 billion apps will have been downloaded.

Berg Insight did have a qualifier to its report, saying the nature of the downloads would shift from paid mobile apps, to predominantly free ones with some sort of 'freemium' or in-app purchase model developed.

More specifically, the company reported the revenues resulting from individuals paying for these tools, alongside in-app purchases and related subscriptions, hit EUR1.6 billion in 2010, Warc says.

It predicted the amount delivered by these combined activities should stand at EUR8.8 billion in 2015, equivalent to a compound annual growth rate of 40.7%.

The market for in-app advertising took off during 2010 as a means to capitalise on free apps. In-app advertising generated EUR300 million, representing 16% of the total app revenues during the year, Music Industry News Network writes.

The in-app advertising revenues will increase throughout the forecast period, and in 2015, in-app advertising is forecasted to generate EUR3.5 billion, corresponding to 29% of the total app revenues.

In-app advertising is more of a volume game, and Android will surpass iOS in 2012 as the platform that generates most in-app ad revenues. Berg Insight predicts Android to generate over EUR1.2 billion in in-app ad revenues in 2015, up from EUR39 million in 2010. The iOS platform generated EUR230 million in 2010, and is forecast to reach almost EUR1.0 billion in 2015.