Consumers may be considering trading in their old mobile phones and upgrading to a new handset compatible with applications such as the iPhone after Apple announced that over three billion apps have been downloaded by users of both the iPhone and iPod touch globally since its launch.
Commenting on Apple’s success with the App store, Steve Jobs, chief executive officer of Apple, said: "Three billion applications downloaded in less than 18 months - this is like nothing we've ever seen before ".
Nokia has also reported record results for its Ovi store, suggesting that the mobile application download market is expanding.
The increase in popularity of apps has been highlighted by the first annual Must-Have App of the Year Awards in 2009, which covered categories including music, social networking, news, entertainment and games.
Social networking fans may enjoy using Nimbuzz, which allows free calls, free instant messaging and puts friends from a range of social networking sites in one place.
Meanwhile, consumers who enjoy playing games while on-the-go could be interested in the game app of the year - MicroPool S60. The award-winning simulator lets gamers of all abilities play 8-ball, 9-ball, Killer and Speed.
Thousands of apps are available to download to Smartphone users and from March users of the Palm Pre will also have access to an online App catalogue, which will further emphasize the increase in app popularity.
Many mobile phone users will want to take advantage of this growing trend and the option of recycling their old handset to upgrade to a Smartphone looks very attractive.
A report from Gartner predicts that consumers will spend $6.2 (£3.8) billion in mobile application stores and that income from advertising is anticipated to generate $0.6 billion during 2010.
