• Los Angeles Times, Wednesday, January 26, 2011 12:58 PM

Revenue generated by mobile applications will nearly triple from $5.2 billion last year to $15.1 billion in 2011, according to Gartner. As The Los Angeles Times notes, "That will come from 18 billion downloads of the programs that run on a growing variety of smart phones and tablets from Apple Inc., Android, BlackBerry and others." According to Gartner, about 80% of app downloads are free, but that over the next few years, users will begin paying for more of them as they come to trust the apps and associated payment mechanisms.

"Many are wondering if the app frenzy we have been witnessing is just a fashion, and, like many others, it shall pass. We do not think so," said Stephanie Baghdassarian, a research director at Gartner. Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi estimated that Apple drove 90% of app downloads in 2010. "As Verizon Wireless markets the iPhone next month, Apple's dominance stands to be bolstered even further," The LA Times suggests. Last week, Apple said it had sold 10 billion apps since the store had opened in mid-2008. Apple's App Store now has roughly 350,000 apps available, including 60,000 designed for its iPad tablet computer.

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