Buying mobile software on the go is a booming business. According to a recent survey, more and more people are buying applications for their smartphones – and developers have been quick to respond.
"We are excited to see the way mobile software delivered over-the-air has taken hold worldwide," said Laura Rippy, chief executive officer of Handango, the leading platform and publisher for mobile software. "As this quarter's report indicates, the case for software developers is really compelling. We're seeing tremendous user interest as well as a developer base that is responding to that interest by producing a record number of new applications in the first quarter."
Smartphone users, with data-centric devices such as the Sony Ericsson P800, Orange SPV, Handspring Treo or T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition, on average purchase 291% more software and digital media per purchase (in USD) than data-capable phone users and 5.39% more than PDA users.
Web browsers and e-mail applications are the most popular types of software purchased over the air. The average selling price of mobile applications continued to fall to $16.25, down $1.40 from last quarter, due largely to the lower price points of phone applications. However, compensating for this fall, the average number of applications purchased each time increased by 0.04 to 2.14.
