Mobile Application Downloads to Reach Five Billion by 2014

New York based research firm ABI Research says that the number of mobile applications downloaded by mobile phone users is expected to reach five billion by 2014. It says that the surge in smart phone sales and the increase in the number of mobile app stores are the reasons why there has been a sharp increase in the number of apps downloaded in the last few years.

The iPhone, according to ABI Research, is still the major player in the mobile app market. However, its market share is expected to reduce considerably over the next few years due to the rise of Google Android. Android currently has an 11% market share. Due to its increasing popularity and Apple’s shrinking market share, Android’s market share is expected to increase from 11% to 23% by 2014.

The reason behind Android’s growth in the mobile application market is not hard to fathom. As of now, 14 phones run the Android OS and the number is expected to increase sharply this year due to the introduction of new Android based phones. Also, the response for free mobile apps from Google, Google Maps being a fine example, has been great so far. Since Google is expected to come up with more such free apps and ad-funded apps, it is safe to assume that the number of mobile apps downloaded by consumers will increase in the coming years.

ABI Research has also made another observation. It says that even though the number of mobile apps downloaded by consumers is expected to rise sharply, it may not reflect positively on the revenue chart. It says that the proliferation of free ad-funded apps might make people reluctant to buy paid mobile apps. It is quite a bold prediction given the fact that the idea of ad-funded apps is still in its nascent stage.

What I believe is that there is enough space for both ad-funded apps and paid apps. While the demand for free ad-funded apps is likely to increase significantly, the demand for paid apps, particularly business centric mobile apps, will not disappear completely, as there are quite a few people who do not like the idea of a mobile app loaded with ads. So, I predict a mobile ecosystem where ad-funded apps and paid apps can coexist without any problems. What do you think? I am interested in hearing different opinions.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

0 comments.

Indian Mobile Advertising Market on a Roll

We have seen a lot of reports about India being a very dominant player in the mobile advertising market, right? Here is one more report to add to that long list. Limbo, a California based mobile social networking company, and GfK Technology, a Germany based market research company, have come up with a joint report which brings up some important points about mobile advertising in India.

The report says that eight in ten mobile phone users in India get ads on their mobile phone which is unprecedented to say the least. The numbers we are talking are huge – there are 300 million mobile users in India now and, on an average, there are 100 million new mobile connections added every year. In this scenario, mobile ads could have a tremendous reach in both urban and rural areas.

The report also says that text messaging or SMS (short messaging service) is the most sought after format of mobile advertising. Around 75% of the ads delivered in India are text based.

Mobile internet or mobile web is not as popular as one would imagine in India as data plans are quite costly. But the report predicts that the rates will come down significantly due to three reasons.

1. A lot of youngsters are interested in mobile web. Considering the fact that more than 500 million people in India are yet to celebrate their 20th birthday, this is a huge market.

2. The quality of mobile web browsing has increased tremendously thanks to high end phones like Apple iPhone. So, the number of people who use the feature will go up steadily.

3. Most importantly, mobile web, as predicted by experts around the world, is the future of mobile advertising. So, mobile advertisers will find a way to reach their target customers through mobile web. What this means to the end user is that he could get a lot of free, ad sponsored multimedia content.

At the end of the day, all this data leaves us with a question – is the future of mobile phone advertising heading east?

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

0 comments.

Mobile web to be worth $16 billion in 2011

Apparently, some people are confused as to why there is so much fuss about mobile web. Well; the short answer is - $16 billion.

1. Analysts say that mobile web will be worth a whopping $16 billion in just three years from now. Now, a $16 billion market is something that is too big for even giants like Google and Yahoo to be taken lightly.

2. Also, the size of the mobile phone market is three times bigger than the size of the web market. In other words, there are three mobile phone users for one PC user. Now, where do you see more opportunities?

3. Apple iPhone, in more ways than one, changed the landscape of the mobile world. Since its arrival, mobile internet usage has increased as most of the iPhone users regularly surf the net from their phone. Add more high-end phones like Nokia N95, Blackberry, and other such smart phones to the equation and you have the perfect recipe for a mobile web revolution.

4. With 3G and 3.5G networks, high speed mobile browsing is very much possible for mobile users. This will significantly increase the number of mobile web users in the future.

Hence, the excitement.

While Google is busy with Android, Yahoo has been silently working its way to the top. Both these companies have kept people guessing what would be their next move in the mobile world for quite some time now. In my opinion, Yahoo has a slight edge over Google as it’s already set its foot firmly in the mobile market. However, if Android could do to Google what the iPhone did for Apple, we’d be looking at a completely different situation. Either way, the competition is going to be interesting to watch.

Categories: Mobile Web.

3 comments.

A look at India – the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world

India has been the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world for quite some time now. There are already 250 million mobile phone users in India and the number gets increased by 6 million every month, thanks to new users. There are a few reasons behind this impressive growth.

1. Indian economy is on a roll and has had an impressive growth over the past few years. This has increased the purchasing power of the people significantly, especially that of the middle class people. As a result, the 30 million middle class people in India are the target customer segment for mobile companies now.

2. The price range of mobile phones is quite big. You can get low-end mobile phones in the $20 - $30 price range and at the same time you can get high-end mobile phones in the $600 - $800 price range. So, whether you belong to the super rich category, middle class, or lower middle class category, you can get a mobile phone which fits into your budget.

3. There are several major mobile operators in India and there is intense competition in the market. Almost all of them have slashed their call charges, text message charges, and offer a lot of value added services. What this means to the user is, not only can he get a handset at an affordable rate, but he can also afford to keep his phone charges within his budget every month. This has led to more and more people buying mobile phones.

Recent reports predict that India will have a whopping 500 million mobile users by 2010. This is the reason why mobile advertising is considered the next big thing in the Indian market.

Though mobile advertising by third party advertisers is yet to become popular, several mobile operators are already doing it successfully. Notable players like Bharti Airtel, BSNL, Tata Indicom, Reliance, and Vodafone regularly send text messages to their users regarding latest offers, new plans, and other issues.

That said, a few big players have already tried their hands on mobile advertising through third party advertisers and have had a good response. Recently, Hindustan Lever and Coca Cola launched mobile advertising campaigns promoting their products and have had good response rate so far. Since Indians are very active in using features like text message, MMS, and mobile internet, mobile advertisers have tons of choices to come up with personalized mobile advertising campaigns.

All in all, India will be a market to watch out for in the next few years as far as mobile advertising is concerned.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

1 comment.

Using QR codes in mobile advertising

We’ve already seen that the usage of QR codes in mobile advertising has been very popular in countries like Japan and Korea. Now, it has transcended yet another boundary and gone to Singapore.

Singapore Press Holdings has introduced this technology called ZapCodes in Singapore. With this, mobile phone users will be able to get more information on a product or service simply by scanning the ZapCode in an advertisement through their mobile phone camera. The ZapCode software, when installed in your mobile phone, will scan the ZapCode, decipher the message, and send more information to you via a WAP site. The WAP site will have more information on the product or service mentioned in the advertisement. The WAP site might have pictures, gift vouchers, discount coupons, or videos.

This technology, as I’ve always said, is way easier than the usual text message stuff that we are used to. Just imagine, which one is easier? Taking a snap of an ad with your mobile camera and getting the info in a jiffy via a WAP site or typing a code and sending it as a text message to a number and waiting for the info to come in another text message?

This technology could be particularly a huge success in the U.S., if implemented properly. According to statistics, more than 60% of mobile phones in the U.S. have in-built cameras and this makes a huge market for QR code based mobile advertising.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

0 comments.