Developers Still Hot for iPad, Branded Apps Go Big In 2010

Developers continue to prepare feverishly for the April 3 launch of the iPad, according to the latest data from mobile analytics firm Flurry. The researcher said the number of new application projects for the iPhone operating system that will also power the iPad were up 185% during the first two months of 2010.

The pattern of increased development activity around the iPad holds roughly steady from last month. The average number of new apps underway in February averaged about 1,500 through February compared to about 500 from August to December 2009.

"We continue to attribute this growth to excitement generated by the impending launch of iPad, now set for April 3 in the U.S. A large proportion of the applications we are seeing are custom versions of existing applications tailored for the iPad," states a new Flurry report. It adds that developers who modify their apps for the iPad early on have the chance to gain an advantage and drive more downloads.

Enthusiasm for the tablet device also appears to be building on the consumer side. Pre-orders for the iPad have topped 150,000 since beginning Friday, according to reports Monday.

In its new study, Flurry also compared the number of Facebook and iPhone apps and how iPhone apps break down by origin. It found that in the first 18 months, 140,000 apps had been created for the App Store versus an estimated 60,000 for Facebook. (In the nearly three years since the Facebook platform was launched, more than 500,000 apps have been launched total.)

"We believe the difference in growth rates can be attributed to the App Store providing better monetization possibilities for application developers than Facebook," stated the report. "Developers, like all rational companies, pursue markets where the path to revenue generation is clear."

To get a better sense of where all the iPhone apps are coming from, Flurry defined six major "heritage" categories based on the top 100 free and paid apps. Web companies announcing companion apps, such as Google, eBay and Facebook, accounted for 22% of iPhone app developers; 20% are companies started to create iPhone apps (Freeverse, PageOnce); 17%, respectively, are retailers/CPG companies and traditional media businesses; and 5% are developers that started on another mobile platform, like BlackBerry or BREW, and switched to the iPhone OS.

The fact that native apps still account for 20% of all titles suggests the barrier to entry is still low enough for startups to jump in and feed continuing innovation, according to Flurry. But it warns those days may be ending as finding new apps becomes more and more difficult, favoring those with sufficient marketing muscle.

"This favors brands and larger companies with resources to spend their way in," the report concluded. "We are seeing signs that big brands are becoming more active, now perceiving that the iPhone has reached critical mass." With 70 million iPhone and iPod devices worldwide, Flurry expects 2010 to be the year of brands entering the iPhone. And the iPad will accelerate that growth, for both traditional media and online brands.

In the news category already, traditional publishers make up nearly two-thirds (63%) of developers, native app developers, 18%, and online companies, 14%. For companies like The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and NPR, the iPhone represents a significant channel to distribute their content at small incremental cost.

As the iPad's larger screen size promises a better fit for reading magazines and newspapers than the iPhone, so Flurry expects a better browsing experience will benefit online-only players in the news category as well.

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