The growing popularity of smartphones and tablets has resulted in a mobile applications market that is just as impressive as these powerful devices themselves. Apps are available for consumers and employees alike, covering all types of needs, whether they are recreational or work-related.
The vast networks of operating systems like Android and iOS have received the lion's share of the attention in terms of mobile application development. Both platforms have taken the smartphone and tablet markets by storm, making it difficult for others to keep pace with their furthering expansion.
A recent ABI Research report said that the global mobile application market will be worth $27 billion in 2013. The firm noted that Windows Phone and BlackBerry are doing their best to establish themselves as the third platform in the burgeoning mobile apps arena.
"IOS continues to lead the way, and the OS is projected to generate over two-thirds of the revenues for smartphone and tablet apps in 2013," said Josh Flood, senior analyst at ABI Research. "Although Google's Android OS recently surpassed Apple in terms of total app numbers, iOS users continue to prove they're more willing to depart with their cash. The revenue gap between the two leading OSes looks unlikely to close over the next 18 months."
ABI Research noted that revenue from smartphone-based applications has "dwarfed" those from tablets. However, tablets have closed this gap recently and will eventually overtake smartphones in this regard by 2017, due in large part to more expensive gaming and reading applications that are better experiences on larger devices.
Designing your own applications has become easier than ever
Those looking for ways to create their own mobile applications native to Android or iOS can do so with easy-to-use solutions like Android controls and iOS controls. These tools do not require users to have extensive knowledge of mobile application development, making it possible to produce highly visual and customizable apps for Android-powered devices, iPhones and iPads.
Such tools are also available for Windows Phone, which is trying to become the third platform in the highly competitive smartphone industry. Windows Phone controls allow users to create data visualizations that support touch gestures and other functionality critical to a business's operations.
As the global smartphone and tablet markets continue to heat up as manufacturers push the limits of these powerful devices, the same will likely follow with mobile applications developed for their supporting platforms.
