The iPhone's popularity for mobile marketing is due in large part to the success of Apple's App Store, which has proven that consumers are willing to pay for branded applications. The fervor for mobile apps won't die anytime soon, with the market expected to triple in size this year.
U.S. app revenue will hit $1.6 billion in 2010, according to the latest prediction from research firm Yankee Group. Yankee's latest estimate comes after a swell in paid downloads in early 2010. Paid apps accounted for 18 percent of all downloads in 2009, but account for almost one-third so far this year, MediaPost reports.
The average iPhone user downloads 60 apps a year, and those range in price from free to up to $15 for an app like MLB's At Bat 2010, which offers live baseball scores. Not every paid app is as pricey -- the Hearst publishing company just rolled out 70 niche apps that start at 99 cents.
While the iPhone has laid the groundwork for the age of applications, Yankee Group expects Google's Android platform to drive the market as well. The Android marketplace currently offers 30,000 applications.
