According to research company Gartner, more people will buy smartphones by 2012 than PCs (via Reuters).  With that growth in smartphone purchases will come an even bigger growth in the development of mobile apps for those smartphones.  In 18-months, smartphone owners downloaded over 3 billion apps from Apple’s App Store.  Considering that sales of iPhones are expected to grow by 50% this year while sales of PCs are only expected to grow by 20%, Gartner’s predictions don’t seem too far off base.

The vast majority of mobile apps are offered for free or for less than $1.  By offering mobile apps for low costs, developers and companies expect to earn a comfortable return based on a higher quantity of downloads than a higher price would deliver.  However, precedent has been set for offering valuable content for a higher price tag (read “Even Expensive iPhone Apps Sell“).

Clearly, the mobile app market is growing fast, and given the shift in buying behavior to smartphones from PCs in the immediate future, creating an app strategy should be on the strategic planning radar of every company.  Mobile apps aren’t limited to iPhones anymore.  BlackBerry, Google, and Palm are growing in terms of mobile app availability, too.  Consumers are driving a shift to mobility that will only continue to grow.

Now, if only my current mobile phone contract would expire so I can get a new smartphone and some cool apps!

Image: Flickr

It seems like everyone is creating an iPhone app lately, and let’s face it, there’s a reason why.  Mobile devices are here to stay, and consumers’ demands from those devices are going to keep growing.  Just as everyone needs to have a website these days, we’re not far from the day when everyone needs to have a mobile app.  Even Newstex is offering mobile apps!

The question that many app providers and developers are trying to answer relates to the money (doesn’t it always come down to money?).  The reason is simple.  Someone has to create, update, and maintain apps, and all that work isn’t cheap.  While most mobile apps are still free, there are more and more apps popping up each day with a price tag.  The current trend is to price apps low in order to sell a greater quantity.  However, a higher priced app can be successful.  That’s exactly what the Major League Baseball At Bat 2010 iPhone app has shown the world.

The At Bat 2010 iPhone app costs $15, but despite the high price tag, the app is ranked as the second best-selling app from the iPhone App Store.  According to Business Insider, who estimates the app is selling at 10,000-25,000 copies per day, the At Bat 2010 iPhone app is also the top grossing app in the App store (although that’s not surprising given its price tag and popularity).

So what makes people willing to pay for the At Bat 2010 iPhone app?  Features, exclusive content (including live games), a built in audience, and great technology create the perception that $15 is a reasonable price to have access to content from the sport customers already love.

The bottom-line is this: the price of a mobile app has to match the perceived value that app brings to consumers.  If a developer can strike that balance, then they’ll be on the road to success.

Just last week I published a post about Ken Doctor’s new book, Newsonomics: Twelve New Trends that will Shape the News You Get, and now, I’m able to report that the Newstex and Newsonomics mobile app has officially launched making all of the authoritative content from the Newsonomics blog and Web site available whenever and wherever you want it!

The Newsonomics mobile app delivers full-text content about the emerging business of digital news and how it shapes what we read and know directly to your iPhone or iPod touch device from Ken Doctor’s Newsonomics Web site and blog.

You can check out the Newsonomics app on iTunes.

See the Newsonomics app in action below:

Today, the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) announced the launch of its first mobile application for accessing social media content from SIIA and Authoritative Content from Newstex.

The application is available through the Apple iTunes Store for both iPhones and iPod touches (search for siia or newstex), and it will be available for Google Android-enabled phones in the future.

A free trial version is available, and SIIA Content Division members can request complimentary access to a limited number of licenses for premium content.

The new SIIA and Newstex iPhone app is an easy to use mobile resource that helps users access authoritative news and social media content, including blogs, Twitter and video content, at anytime.

In a press release from the SIIA, Newstex President Larry Schwartz said, “More and more people are tapping social media through applications that provide content from a handful of sources.  We believe this application creates significant marketing and revenue opportunities for publishers and aggregators, as well as associations of all types.”

You can read the complete SIIA press release here.