The most interesting (and possibly neglected) piece of information that I've found when analyzing the economics & business of the App Store is just how many apps are a slightly different take on an app that was popular a few years ago.<p>Each month, millions of people are getting an iOS device and opening the App Store for the first time and are unfamiliar with the apps that were popular 6 months ago, let alone 1-2 years ago. Doodle Jump is popular but it's actually extremely similar to Super PapiJump, an iPhone game that was huge a few years ago. Same exact mechanics, slightly different graphics & execution.<p>The mentality that you need an original, unique idea to succeed in the App Store is rubbish. A common algorithm for succeeding in the App Store is take Popular App A from 2009 and re-implement it with new graphics and perhaps an additional gameplay mechanic and release it as Hopeful Popular App B in 2011. Apps that were entertaining and popular (but have fallen off the charts due to lack of updates) were based on game mechanics that are probably still alluring to new audiences in 2011.
I was expecting<p>“iOS users buy more apps and pay more for them <i>than Android users</i>.”<p>but instead this is about<p>“iOS users buy more apps and pay more for them <i>than last year</i>.”
So, some quick math: The average user downloads 83 apps. 15 billion apps have been downloaded. There are a bit over 180 million iOS devices. $2.5 Billion has been paid out to developers; that's about $14 per user. Since the average price of an app is $1.48, the average user buys 9.45 apps.
Don't know if I agree with this conclusion that people will pay more for apps now. What if iPad apps are raising the average? iPhone and iPod touch owners may not have paid a cent more than they did the year before for any given app.