Smart Phones – The Industry Pulse >> July2009

The data in this report is computed from a sample size of over 1,600 liveapplications and 60 million consumers across four platforms: Apple (iPhoneand iPod Touch), Google Android, Blackberry, JavaME.

No End in Sight for New iPhone Apps

Just as “New Housing Starts” is an important indicator in the US economy,we believe “New Project Starts” among developers using Flurry Analyticsprovides a reliable supply-side indicator for the App Store economy. SinceFlurry Analytics often is integrated early in an application’s developmentcycle, as early as six months before a new application ships, measuring thisstatistic tracks the strength of the application pipeline heading to market.Specifically, it measures 3

party developer support for the App Store, a keyto Apple’s iPhone strategy, and support which has been increasingly soughtafter by companies like Google, RIM and Palm.Over the last six months, the number of available applications in the AppStore has more than doubled, from 25,000 applications in January to over65,000 in July, which equates to 14% month-over-month growth. Flurry’smonth-over-month rate for New Project Starts has been holding steady at30% for the last several months. Assuming that roughly half of those newproject starts are for new applications, the pipeline to the App Store showsno signs of slowing. At this rate, by the end of 2009, the App Store will easilysurpass 100,000 apps. To put this in context, the App Store soon will carrymore items than the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, which merchandisesabout 100,000 items per store.

Flurry Smartphone Industry Pulse, July 2009, Page 1© Flurry, Inc.

Google Android: We Have Lift Off

iPhone growth has been nothing short of spectacular, propelling Apple to an earlyand seemingly insurmountable lead over all other smart phone rivals. Lookingacross the competitive field, Android, with its touted open platform, appears to havethe best chance of mounting a comeback against Apple’s infamously closedplatform. In no uncertain terms, many are comparing the Google vs. Appleshowdown to the PC vs. Mac wars of the 80s. With a wave of 18 more Androidhandsets shipping in 2009, the chase pack is growing and looking for signs of fatigue from the leader.

As it does for iPhone, Flurry tracks developer interest in Android by monitoring “NewProject Starts” in its analytics system. While iPhone new projects have steadilyincreased by 30% month over month, Android’s growth rate is accelerating,increasing by over 50% from June to July alone. Though iPhone still commands themajority of developer interest, Android is beginning to close the gap in anundeniable way. The chart below compares iPhone vs. Android share of newapplication starts in the Flurry system, showing distinct, early signs of convergence.In total, the percent of new Android applications integrated, relative to iPhone, hasmore than doubled over the past six months.

You Trying to Swindle my Kindle?

The iPhone and iPod Touch have become impressive portable media centers.Extending on the functionality of Apple’s first media business, iTunes, theiPhone acts as a fully functional iPod, playing music as well as showingmovies. Somewhat unexpectedly, the iPhone and the iPod Touch have beenheralded as killer gaming devices, suddenly creating formidable competitionfor both the Sony PSP and Nintendo DSi. However, most surprisingly, wehave observed that just behind the largest category, games, eBooks hasemerged as a strong second.