App appeal expanding beyond the smartphone

The App Store crossed the 3 billion download [1] threshold [1] this week, and the big news is how relatively little news the milestone made. Granted, Apple itself trumped the announcement with its acquisition [2] of mobile advertising network Quattro Wireless, and Google made even more noise with the introduction of its Nexus One smartphone [3]. Still, coming less than four months after the App Store surpassed the 2 billion download benchmark [4]--a moment that arrived roughly five months after consumers downloaded the first billion [5] iPhone and iPod applications--it was somewhat surprising that so little fanfare greeted Apple's official statement. 

Of course, 3 billion App Store downloads was an inevitability--there was never any question of if it would happen, or really even when, given how quickly the consumer appetite for mobile software continues to grow. App Store downloads increased by 51 percent in December 2009 compared to November totals, according to data [6] issued by mobile application analytics provider Flurry. What is a bit shocking is that application downloads via iPod touch devices eclipsed iPhone downloads by a whopping 172 percent on Christmas Day 2009, with total iPod touch download volumes growing by nearly 1,000 percent on Dec. 25 compared to the average of all previous Fridays during the month. Flurry speculates that in addition to new iPod touch 3G models received as presents, iTunes gift cards also drove downloads across earlier generation iPod touch devices. 

The surge in iPod touch downloads is a pointed reminder that app users are not necessarily synonymous with smartphone owners. So it makes sense that AT&T is now actively targeting feature phone subscribers by incorporating Qualcomm's BREW MP [7] operating system into all of its mid-level messaging devices. Speaking this week at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, AT&T Mobility president and CEO Ralph de la Vega said that only about 35 percent of the operator's postpaid customers have upgraded to smartphones: "We want to make apps available to a bigger segment of the market," de la Vega said, so instead of waiting for the other 65 percent of its 81.6 million subscribers to make the leap to next-generation handsets, AT&T will meet them halfway. De la Vega added that by 2011, about 90 percent of new AT&T messaging devices will include the BREW MP platform--there's no telling what percentage of AT&T subscribers will remain feature phone adherents 12 months out, but now, there are apps for them. -Jason [8]

P.S. Starting with your next FierceMobileContent issue, you will be receiving our email newsletters from a different IP address -- 208.95.132.73. To ensure your service is uninterrupted, add editors@fiercemobilecontent.com [9] to your safe senders list and/or white list the domain website. For detailed instructions on how to do either option, click here [10].

If for some reason you stop receiving our newsletters, please contact your IT administrator or contact us at info@fiercemarkets.com [11].