The typical U.S. smartphone user consumes about 230 megabytes of data in a month, up about 50 percent over the last six months, says wireless consultant Chetan Sharma.
Also, although it often is said that the U.S. lags some other world markets in terms of adoption of advanced services, this is not true for mobile broadband, where the U.S. market has become the hothouse observers in other markets are tracking, says Sharma.
U.S. consumers will be among the very first to test, in volume, fourth-generation networks and the most-advanced 3G networks as well.
A study conducted by mobile analyst Chetan Sharma and sponsored by GetJar suggests the market for paid mobile apps should grow to $17.5 billion within the next three years, implying a value greater than CD-based apps in 2012, when apps sold on physical media are projected to be $13.8 billion.
App downloads will leap from slightly more than seven billion in 2009 to nearly 50 billion in 2012, representing an annual growth rate of 92 percent, the study also suggests.
According to the study, by 2012, off-deck paid-for apps will be the biggest revenue generator, accounting for almost 50 per cent of all apps revenue.
In 2009, on-deck apps available from mobile operators accounted for over 60 percent of all apps revenue, but this will fall significantly to just under 23 percent by 2012.
The average app selling price for apps in North America was $1.09, significantly higher compared to that in developing markets such as South America ($0.20) and Asia ($0.10).
According to the study, revenue opportunities in Europe are set to grow from $1.5 billion in 2009 to $8.5 billion in 2012, while in North America the figure will rise from around $2.1 billion to around $6.7 billion in 2012.
Currently, apps are most popular in Asia, with the region accounting for 37 percent of global downloads (free and paid) in 2009. North American downloaders spend the most money on apps, accounting for over 50 percent of global app revenue.
Advertising and transactions are a growing portion of the way applications are monetized, though purchase fees will represent most of the revenue for the near term.
