Mobile Apps are set to become even bigger business in 2010. With Apple already generating a reported $200m in app revenue (that’s only 30% of the pie) Google’s Market and Nokia’s Ovi Store have both opened this year to tap into this booming market. Whilst some way behind in scale, I believe these app stores represent a signifcant shift in mobile consumption and in turn the actual business model for mobile companies. No longer will mobile ‘phone promotions be purely about what the ‘phone can do but what you can do ‘on the ‘phone.’

The latest promotions from Apple and from Nokia both concentrate on the apps, rather than the handsets.

Joining the bandwagon today is Samsung, which will open an App Store for independent apps next year. To quote the FT,

Samsung’s first smartphones using its bada platform will be released in the first half of next year, together with an “app store” that is meant to include at least 1,000 applications.

The latest research from emarketer also points to next year and beyond as ‘big’ for app revenue. I quote,

Mobile applications are a major channel for content delivery to mobile devices. In September 2009, the Yankee Group estimated that US paid smartphone application revenues would reach $4.2 billion in 2013—an order of magnitude above the 2009 estimate of $343 million.

In time it will be the mobile ‘phone companies without mobile app capability [and associated stores] that will be the laggards.