Mobile application market has seen tremendous growth in
less than half a decade's time. There are more than six billion phone
subscribers in the world, which indicates that around 80 percent of the world
now owns a mobile phone. There's a huge demand of smartphones in market because
of the multiple features they come with. And this growing demand is increasing
the share of mobile apps market.
According to a study
by mobile application store GetJar, the mobile apps market is expected to reach
$17.5 million by 2012. More than 7 billion application downloads were performed
in 2009, which is expected to cross 50 billion in 2012.
Gartner in the latest research has identified mobile application trends
that will be a hit in 2012. So, here are the top 5 consumer mobile applications
to watch-out for in 2012:
Location
Based Services
Gartner expects that 1.4 billion people will be using
location-based services by 2014. Location based services takes user's location,
preference, gender, age, and many more things into account to deliver the
content. Location based mobile applications prove time saving while searching
for locations, navigating from one place to another, or even in storing route
maps for next visit. Users can guide fellow travelers about shortest route,
most time saving way of reaching out to a location, and best restaurants,
coffee shops, hospitals & other places to visit in that area.
Social
Networking
Social networking is booming and mobile applications have
made it easier for people to stay connected. As per Gartner, it is the fastest
growing consumer mobile application category. Social networking sites are
transforming into portals, cloud storage, and transit hubs because of the
increasing functionalities they are providing in terms of email, videos, games,
e-commerce, and more.
M-commerce
Though mobile commerce is an extension of e-commerce but
it has made a separate market for itself. M-commerce applications have just
entered the market and users are currently not being offered too much
functionality. Gartner expects that very soon retailers will shift their focus
from e-commerce to providing more feature enabled mobile commerce applications.
Users will get the ability to check into the store, add an item to shopping
cart through bar code or picture they have clicked in the physical store. All
these features are surely going to make shopping easier & more interesting
through a mobile device.
Mobile
Payment
Mobile phones with NFC payment feature have already
entered the market and consumers are slowly getting adapted to the technology.
Mobile payment applications have created a buzz in market. These apps make
money transaction easier for buyers as they are relieved from the worries of
carrying credit/debit cards wherever they go. But, payment solution providers
have to create more awareness about the benefits of these applications in the
consumer sector.
Instant
Messaging
Mobile instant messaging applications are a hit amongst
users of all age groups. Apps like Skype, Whatsapp, Nimbuzz make it easier and
more pocket friendly for users to stay connected. BlackBerry, Apple, and
Samsung already have IM apps for their device users & other manufacturers
are also expected to come up with competitive applications very soon.
Other than these mobile
application categories mobile email, mobile videos, gaming apps are also
expected to become user favorite in 2012. These applications are not only
expected to generate revenue of $15.9 billion this year, but will also give a
push to hardware sales, advertising revenue, and technology innovation.
Dennis Cagan, Chairman of the Board, Copper Mobile Enterprise Solutions has been honored for his directorship achievements.