[Window of Opportunity] World of Apps

With the massive rise in the mobile phone penetration in India, new avenues of revenue which did not exist before a decade have opened up. Thanks to low-cost phones with open source OS and numerous useful apps, a key driver in the exponential sales of mobile handsets in India is the world of apps.

What happened over a decade?

Two things - first, entry of Indian companies in low-cost mobile handset space, and second, Android.

Lots of Indian players like Micromax, Karbonn, Celkon, Lemon and many more have changed the market scenario by offering mobile phones with good features at very low cost, compared to other international manufacturers.

Phenomenal growth of open source has led android to bag the top place with more than 900 million devices using their OS, with Google Play crossing 48 billion app installations.

What about the future with Apps?

With a sharp growth rate of sales at 167% in smart phone segment alone, the mobile app space in Indian market segment looks promising. India is now the third largest Internet user after China and the US, with average age of consumers below 35, younger when compared to other countries.

What's in it for students?

Even though app downloads in India contribute to only 5% of total downloads globally, the sharp rise in smart phone sales in India will fuel the growth of app downloads exponentially.

App downloads in India might witness a growth rate of 75-80% by 2015.

Interestingly, India is now the third largest country by the number of app downloads also, so its not too far that a country with massive downloads contributes to revenues from mobile apps.

For students who're new to app development, there are numerous free online tutorials and materials to get started. You could also take a look at some interesting contests like this to get started quickly.

If you are an app developer, we would love to hear more about your innovative apps. Do share it with us.