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Mobile app analytics company Distimo has compiled their findings on the six largest mobile app stores offered by Apple, Palm, Research In Motion, Google, Nokia and Microsoft.

Distimo presented its findings about app store size, growth, average price and free-versus-paid-app ratio at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain last week.

For quantity of apps, the results aren’t surprising: It’s common knowledge that Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android Market are in the lead. More interesting is the lesser-known state of the smaller players. Windows Mobile has 690 apps, Palm has 1,450, Nokia carries 6,120 and BlackBerry serves 4,760. (Figures are all rounded.)

Distimo also analyzed growth rate of the stores. Android is in a distant second with 19,300 apps compared with Apple’s 151,000 apps. However, Android’s growth rate is faster relative to the number of apps housed. Android’s growth is picking up with 3,000 new apps per month (15 percent). Apple is growing with about 14,000 new apps added per month (9 percent).

As for the average cost of apps in each store, RIM’s apps were the priciest at an average of $8.26 for apps, followed closely by Windows Mobile’s, priced at $7 on average. Apps sold by Nokia, Apple, Google and Palm all came out in roughly the same average price range ($2.50 – $3.60).

Other observations? Android has the most free apps, and for the iTunes App Store, games were the most popular category. A full summary and more charts of Distimo’s presentation are available at ReadWriteWeb, which first reported the story.

See Also:

• For the iPhone’s App Store, Quantity Really Does Matter
• Apple’s App Store Hits Six Digits; How Many Apps Do You Need …

This may come as a surprise to you (although probably not, you smart devil), but it turns out that plenty of people are dissatisfied with their current e-reader options — according to a recent study conducted at the University of Georgia. The study was conducted over a six-month period where participants read the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on a Kindle, then provided feedback. The results were, well — not entirely shocking. Younger adults found the Kindle to be lacking because it had no touchscreen or other applications (though to be fair, neither does the print version of the paper), while older adults seemed more satisfied, but also reported missing the crossword puzzles and comics of a real, live newspaper. Pretty much everyone agreed that the screen was nice and comfortable to read on, but almost no one was a fan of the price. All in all, there’s not terribly much here that we think is overly telling — besides (of course) the fact that paper rules.

Study finds people want more from their Kindles, less from their newspapers originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIM being a thriving and profitable company is hardly a new story — as confirmed by third quarter earnings of $628 million off the back of a record-breaking 10 million units sold — but the way it’s making its money seems to be changing. More than 80 percent of new BlackBerry subscribers in the quarter were private customers, marking a distinct shift — maybe not away from the corporate arena, but definitely toward embracing the consumer market. In an effort to further consolidate its global empire, RIM has also announced a partnership with China Telecom to go along with its earlier China Mobile deal. Oh, and there’s the small matter of the 75 millionth BlackBerry being sold, but we’re sure the cool cats up in BB HQ aren’t counting handsets, they’re probably too busy rolling around in piles of money.

BlackBerry shipments break record in Q3, RIM profits jump 59 percent originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple has trained iPhone owners to enjoy paying for digital content more than the general online population, a survey suggests.

Media law firm Olswang on Wednesday published its 2009 Convergence Survey, which analyzed e-shopping trends among iPhone owners and general online consumers. Apple enthusiast blog 9to5Mac summarizes the findings regarding the iPhone demographic:

• 73 percent would pay to access online a film just released in cinemas;
• 67 percent would pay for access to a film that will not be on DVD for at least two months;
• 54 percent would pay to access a film which is already on DVD or pay-TV;
• 41 percent of iPhone users would already be willing to take out subscriptions to access their favorite TV shows;
• 42 percent would pay for an online book.

Those numbers are quite high when stacked against the figures from the general online population surveyed:

• 58 percent of people would pay to access online a film just released in cinemas;
• 52 percent would pay for access to a film that will not be on DVD for at least two months;
• 40 percent would pay to access a film which is already on DVD or pay-TV;
• 30 percent would already be willing to take out subscriptions to access their favorite TV shows;
• 30 percent would pay for an online book.

Olswang found these numbers about the iPhone demographic to be “striking,” but they are what you’d expect. The App Store made purchasing apps incredibly easy, and many of the high quality apps are dirt cheap.

Above all, my view is that the App Store, which serves over 100,000 apps, has conditioned us to demand more and more from a single device. In turn we’re evolving into a demographic that craves more from the digital as opposed to the physical.

These numbers are quite striking indeed. And it suggests the rumored Apple touchscreen tablet, which several independent reports have said will focus on e-reader functionality, does have potential to resuscitate the dying publishing industry — because there would most likely be a large amount of overlap between the iPhone and “iTablet” demographics.

Meanwhile, a recent report from The New York Times cites sources who say a consortium of magazine publishers are jointly planning to build an “online newsstand” — a “new iTunes for magazines.” It would involve publications repurposing their print content into multiple digital formats to be sold through a new company, sources told NY Times. If that’s the case, today’s survey suggests they’ll find a friendlier reception among iPhone users than among the general population.

See Also:

• In-App Sales and iTablet: The Killer Combo to Save Publishing …
• Video Demonstrates Wired’s Concept iTablet App
• Survey: 22 Percent of Teens Want iPhone
• Apple iPhone too Expensive? The Kids Don’t Think So

The NPD has released its US video game industry figures for October, which reveal that total monthly revenue from hardware, software and accessories among all manufacturers fell to $1.07 billion, constituting a 19 percent drop from what the American gamer spent over the same period last year. After being toppled from its chart-leading ways in September by a price cut-boosted PS3, the Wii has regained its sales throne by chopping $50 off its own entry fee, making itself buoyant in the US, if not the world. The PS3’s own sales have suffered a slump after the September euphoria, while the 360 is still wearing the dunce cap in third place. Microsoft’s response has been to keep banging that drum about being the only console to show year-to-date growth, but when you’re selling less than half as many consoles as Nintendo, you have to grasp at whatever straws are nearby. Speaking of Nintendo, its DS sales so far this year have continued at such a rate as to threaten its own 2008 hardware sales record — set by the Wii — with ten million units sold. So there you have it: Sony fails to maintain its September lead, Nintendo keeps churning, and Microsoft keeps hoping for better times ahead. Full list of figures after the break.

Read – Wii regains hardware top spot following US price cut
Read – Xbox 360 leads in year-to-date growth
Read – DS poised to break US hardware records

Continue reading NPD: Wii reclaims lead in US sales, but console gaming market shrinks by a fifth

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

NPD: Wii reclaims lead in US sales, but console gaming market shrinks by a fifth originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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