MEF Responds to GetJar Study

Yesterday, a study from GetJar and Chetan Sharma Consulting predicted that mobile apps downloads will increase from more than 7bn downloads in 2009 to 50bn in 2012. It also projected that the global mobile application economy will be worth $17.5bn in 2012, more than CD sales, which it predicts will reach $13.83bn. What’s more, Google announced that the number of mobile apps on Android Marketplace have doubled to 30,000 in the past three months.

Here, Rimma Perelmuter, Executive Director of the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF), the global association of the mobile media industry, comments:

“The accelerating growth of the Android Marketplace and numerous apps stores confirms the rise of applications as a whole new medium for media content which is engaging and entertaining mobile consumers. The recent forecasts on the rise of the apps economy are supported by investment patterns and industry sentiment revealed in MEF’s Annual Business Confidence Index, which found that 21% of mobile entertainment revenues streams are predicted to come from mobile apps in the next quarter.

At the same time, numerous issues must be addressed including sustainable business models, fragmentation and variance amongst handsets and app stores, and transparency around in-app billing. MEF is working with the industry to address these opportunities and challenges in order for the mobile apps economy to fulfill its full potential. ”