14 DAY TRIAL // Thanks to yet another emerging market trend credited to the iPhone, marketers and advertisers now have a new way to reach mobile audiences, says In-Stat, which analyzes the Mobile Internet and Digital Entertainment ecosystems.
According to research conducted by the firm whose market intelligence combines technical, market and end-user research and database models, Apple’s debut of the App Store has provided a platform for branded applications. Now, the company believes there will be more than 100 million app store-compatible mobile phones (from multiple manufacturers). These devices will be shipping within five years, according to In-Stat.
“With greater capabilities in both running native applications and viewing ‘real Internet’ websites, smartphones have increased usage and user expectations for mobile content,” says David Chamberlain, In-Stat analyst. “Along with the expanding handset base, users are downloading more applications. Reach for marketing applications is growing rapidly and those applications can provide prolonged engagement with the user and keep the advertiser’s brand in focus.”
So, here's how the research firm got the idea that, five years from now, there will be 100 devices capable of downloading apps from an App Store-like venue, thus opening new opportunities for marketers:
· Smartphones having a strong app store orientation will reach 30% of the global smartphone market by 2013, approaching nearly 100 million units. · Survey respondents show iPhone users are by far the most active app store users, significantly outpacing users of Blackberry, Palm OS or Windows Mobile phones. · Application marketing, like all new advertising media, lacks consistent, accepted analytics many advertisers are accustomed to.
The research covers the worldwide market for smartphones. Titled “The Apps Store is Born: Smartphones Enable New Marketing and Advertising Opportunities Worldwide," the document is available for purchase ($2,495) and is comprised of worldwide forecasts for smartphone unit sales and apps through 2013; global penetration forecasts for app store OS smartphones through 2013; marketing app reach by smartphone OS through 2012; results of a US consumer survey regarding smartphones and applications and profiles of companies offering smartphone apps, including Medialets, Zumobi, Mobile Posse, Transpera, and MobiTV.