Companies Will be Able to Reach Almost 1 Billion Customers via Smartphone Applications by 2013

BERLIN, Germany, March 5, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --

- Worldwide Smartphone Application Download Market Will Reach US$15.65 Billion by 2013, Representing a Significant Revenue Opportunity for Companies

The worldwide number of consumers using smartphone applications will grow from 102 Million (2009) to 974 Million in 2013, according to research2guidance. The new report focuses on the corporate perspective of app publishing for smartphone devices. Currently, only 10% of Fortune 2000 companies are targeting their customers with a smartphone application.

"Despite the hype around the iPhone and other cutting-edge devices, corporations are only just beginning to realize that smartphone applications offer a direct channel to their customers," explains Ralf-Gordon Jahns, Research Director at research2guidance.

Virtually all of the "first mover" companies selected the Apple App Store as the publishing platform for their first application. In 2010 with the increased number of application stores available, any app publisher will have to carefully select where to promote their applications. "Our App Store Ranking shows that there are other app stores besides the Apple App Store that offer good publishing opportunities in 2010," explained Ralf-Gordon Jahns. "Especially independent stores like Handango or Mobihand scored high in our rankings".

The vast majority of corporate early adopters have published applications to give access to their core products or for promotional purposes (91%). Only a minor share (9%) use applications as a stand-alone product. With the market for app downloads poised to grow from US$1.94 billion in 2009 to US$15.65 billion in 2013, companies will begin to focus more on application business models which offer additional revenue opportunities.

"To succeed in the dynamic app market, corporate publishers must leverage their internal assets to be able to effectively compete against the mass of specialized developers" Jahns concludes. "These include existing marketing channels, service platforms and infrastructure that give them a key advantage over mobile specialists."

Additional information is available in the research2guidance report, "Global Smartphone Application Report 2010." More information is available on the research2guidance website at http://www.research2guidance.com/shop/.

About research2guidance:

research2guidance (http://www.research2guidance.com/) is a Berlin-based research organization specialized on the mobile industry. The company's service offerings include comprehensive market studies, as well as bespoke research and consultancy.

    Contact:
    Robert Kuersten
    research2guidance
    +49-30-609-893-366
    [email protected]

SOURCE research2guidance