More than half of app developers identify either Apple’s iPhone or iPad as their most favoured apps platform, according to a new survey by Millennial Media – but this looks set to change over the coming year. In a survey of publishers and developers conducted in the third quarter, 30 percent of respondents picked the iPhone as their platform of choice, while 21 percent plumped for the iPad. Google’s Android was the most favoured platform after the Apple platforms on 23 percent (see Chart 1).

Chart 1: (“Mobile app platforms for which publishers are developing in 2010”)

 

However, the survey suggested a more vibrant apps platform environment than a year ago when it was last conducted. The popularity of the iPhone among developers actually declined year-on-year, as interest in the Android, iPad, Windows Mobile and Symbian platforms grew. RIM also saw a year-on-year proportional decline.

This trend looks to set to continue next year. Some 29 percent of respondents said they planned to start supporting the Android platform in 2011 (presumably excluding those that don’t already), while 20 percent said they would adopt Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7. A further 20 percent said they hoped to start developing for the iPad. Such is the ubiquity of the iPhone, only 8 percent of developers said they would start working on the iPhone platform for the first time in 2011, suggesting that most already do.

Chart 2: (“New app platforms publishers plan to support in 2011”)

 

 

Whatever the choice of platform, developers appeared bullish about the prospects for increasing apps revenue over the next year. When asked to estimate their earnings over the coming year, 31 percent of developers said they expect their apps revenue to increase by 100 percent or more in 2011, with another 17 percent expecting an increase of 50 percent or more. Only 10 percent of respondents expected revenues to remain flat.

Chart 3: (“Publishers expected increase in apps revenue from 2010 to 2011”)

 

Millennial Media’s ‘State of the Apps Industry’ study sampled 600 digital and mobile industry professionals in two surveys taken in November 2009 (Q4 2009) and August 2010 (Q3 2010). In 2010, 41 percent of survey respondents classified themselves as Agency/Advertiser/Marketer, 30 percent as Application Developer, and 29 percent as Publisher. The survey was conducted in conjunction with DIGIDAY, a digital media conference company, and Stifel Nicolaus, a financial services firm.