Mobile app downloads in Asia-Pacific set to touch 5 bn

Mobile phone application downloads in the Asia-Pacific region are set to touch almost five billion by the end of 2011, a rise of 189 per cent compared with 1.6 billion downloads in 2010, according to analyst firm Ovum.

The firm estimates 2011 would see strong growth in mobile phone application downloads in Asia-Pacific, which, it predicts, would touch 14 billion in 2016. Ovum also predicts revenues from paid-for mobile phone apps in the region would hit $871 million in 2011, compared with $302 million in 2010, and that the market would see revenues of $2.2 billion in 2016.

The firm also says Android would upset the Apple cart for the first time by unsettling the dominance of total downloads from iPhones. Android would take a significant lead in the region, with 1.8 billion downloads compared with Apple’s 1.5 billion. Last year, the two top players accounted for 244 million and 424 million downloads in Asia-Pacific, respectively. Android’s dominance in this area would soar over the next few years and by 2016, there would be almost double the total number of Android phone application downloads compared to iPhones, with 6.07 billion and 3.4 billion, respectively.

Other significant shifts include the rise of the Windows Phone operating system, which is set to overtake BlackBerry for the third slot, both in terms of the total number of downloads and revenues, by 2015. The huge lead in downloads that Android would have over Apple is being driven by Android’s increasing popularity and progress into lower price points.