据市场调研公司ABI Research最近的报告显示，因为苹果App Store以外的其他应用商店在2010年底的下载量已达19亿次，所以2011年手机应用市场的竞争将更为激烈。

游戏邦获悉，去年所有应用商店的总下载量为79亿次，其中App Store的下载量约56亿次。

mobile-apps

ABI助理研究员Fei Feng Seet认为，“iTunes App Store仅面向iOS用户开放服务，这就为其他非苹果平台的应用商店创造了大量发展空间，Android智能手机的季度出货量已经超过了苹果，尽管这些应用商店还有很长一段路要走，但Android Market和其他第三方平台在2010年末的下载量已经超过了19亿次。Android Market目前在48个国家推荐的应用超过了13万种，数量几乎是iTunes App Store产品的一半。”

该报告还指出，除了Android Market之外，运营商尤其是白标应用商店，以及RIM等平台也取得了不少进步。据游戏邦所知，黑莓App World截止去年12月的下载量已超过10亿次。

RIM正努力扩大黑莓在手机应用市场中的影响力，这可以从它向100多个地区的市场进军，以及在美国和印度尼西亚举办开发者大会等举动中看出这一点。

App downloads hit 7.9 billion in 2010 as competitors play catch up with Apple

You won’t find many mobile projections that suggest the number of app downloads is going to go any direction but up, up, up in the coming years.

Determining which marketplaces they’ll be made on, however, is a more risky science.

For example, ABI Research’s latest report suggests the near monopoly hold that Apple’s App Store currently enjoys is set to be put to the test.

Marketplace momentum

The firm’s belief that the market is likely to become a tighter contest in 2011 is due in large part to the fact that downloads made on marketplaces other than the App Store hit 1.9 billion by the end of 2010.

Throughout the course of last year, 7.9 billion apps were downloaded across all mobile marketplaces, with Apple’s App Store finishing 2010 on a cumulative total of 5.6 billion downloads to date

according to ABI Research’s numbers.

It was the year, however, when the competition collectively got its act together, with research associate Fei Feng Seet suggesting 2011 will be a much closer race.

“The iTunes App Store only targets iOS users; that leaves more room for other platform application stores to step up and focus on ‘non-Apple’ clientèle,” said Seet.

“Android smartphone quarterly shipments now exceed Apple’s. There is still a long way to go, but accumulated downloads from both Android Market and third-party platforms surpassed 1.9 billion by the end of 2010.

“Android Market currently features more than 130,000 apps in 48 countries, nearly half of iTunes App Store’s catalog.”

Closing in on all sides

While Android Market is the closest competitor, ABI Research notes there are also other areas of growth.

Operators, in particular, are beginning to open up attractive alternatives – making use of white label marketplaces – and other players, such as RIM, are beginning to get their act together.

In total, ABI Research estimates downloads on BlackBerry’s App World reached more than 1 billion by December.

“RIM has also been making a conscious effort to increase BlackBerry’s footprint in the mobile apps market, as seen in its recent aggressive expansion to over 100 markets, and developer conferences it has held in United States and Indonesia,” concluded Seet.（source:pocketgamer）