Use of mobile VoIP solutions could soar

By 2012, mobile applications such as mobile VoIP solutions will be generating more income than CDs, GetJar has said.

The mobile apps market, including VoIP provider applications, will be valued at £11.4 billion by 2012, while CD sales will reach £9.04 billion, according to the apps store.

Downloads of mobile applications will rise by 92 per cent a year up to 2012, research conducted for GetJar by independent consulting firm Chetan Sharma Consulting found.

The popularity of apps that emulate VoIP phones could increase as application downloads across all handsets are predicted to hit 50 billion in 2012, up from seven billion last year.

Demand for cheaper yet increasingly advanced handsets means that the range of devices that can use applications is expanding as the distinction between smartphones and other phones begins to fade.

The research from GetJar also found that third-party apps from the likes of the VoIP carrier community will make up nearly 50 per cent of mobile application income by 2012.

Mobile VoIP solutions will be used by 288 million people by the end of 2013, market research firm In-Stat estimated recently.