According to a report by Juniper Research, the number of consumer-oriented application downloads from app stores is expected to increase from less than 2.6 billion in 2009 to more than 25 billion in 2015. In addition to operator storefronts, Juniper points to popular stores such as GetJar, which surpassed the 1 billion download mark in July. The forecast also noted that Apple’s success with downloads given the relative small base of iPhones is due to the fact that people buy the iPhones for the apps. Other app stores, however, are targeting subscribers using a wide variety of operating systems and handsets. Juniper also noted the growth of the “freemium” business model, whereby publishers and developers offer apps for free with upgrades to premium content or micropayments for virtual items.
