GetJar, the largest independent mobile app store, has just released its forecast for mobile trends in 2011. The app store, which has seen over 1 billion downloads to date, is also seeing more than three million downloads per day (which makes the App Store’s scale second only to Apple’s iTunes).
GetJar projects consolidation amongst app stores, writing that in the next five years, only six major app store players will be around with that number dwindling to two or three in ten years. The startup also predicts that closed app systems (i.e. Apple’s iTunes) will open up or fail as these stores feel pressure from developers and consumers.
In the next five years, the startup says URLs will become obsolete, as consumers access more services via apps than the on the web. GetJar predicts that successful mobile app companies will be raking in $100 million or more in revenue in 2011.
Brands will continue to flick to mobile platforms, developing apps for the iPhone and Android platforms. GetJar says that the brand spend on apps will be roughly equivalent to today’s spend on web presence.
Last but not least, GetJar predicts that tablet devices will explode in popularity, with Android OS tablets in particular benefiting from lower price points, and open platform, and wide spread availability from common retailers.
Some of these predications are necessarily ground breaking (i.e. tablet growth) but it’s definitely interesting to see if popular app stores will in fact consolidate and become more open.