IDC Predicts 300,000 iPhone Apps, Apple Tablet for 2010

IDC predicts two themes will dominate events in the IT and Telecommunications markets in 2010: recovery and transformation.

Relating to Apple, IDC expects a tripling of available iPhone applications and a surge in Internet connected mobile devices, thanks in part to the arrival of the 'iPad tablet'.

Mobile devices will also exert a powerful transformational force on the industry as they increasingly compete with PCs as the primary client platform for developers and users alike. By year end, IDC expects more than 1 billion mobile devices will be accessing the Internet, boosted by the growing popularity of smartphones and the arrival of Apple's iPad tablet computer. And the growth in mobile devices will ignite an explosion in mobile applications, with the number of iPhone apps tripling to 300,000 and Android apps surging by a factor of five or more. This same phenomenon will also play out in the netbook market, where new software ecosystems will emerge to optimize the performance and usability of these popular devices.


This explosion of mobile devices, applications, and data demand is predicted to put a strain on public networks in 2010.