Distimo analysed the performance of Apple’s App Store for iPad in the two years since its launch, stating that “given the anticipated market boom in tablet devices,” it opted to identify best practice for developers.

In the two years since launch, 180,000 applications have been added to the US App Store for iPad, meaning it is growing at a similar pace to the App Store for iPhone and Google Play at the same stage of their lives.

Distimo notes that Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 Marketplace will have a tough time reaching similar levels, having hit 65,000 apps after 18 months in business.

The iPad catalogue received an initial boost from apps which could easily be ported from the iPhone. This relationship means that “both systems are highly interconnected and enforce each other’s growth.”

China tops for free apps, but not paid
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the US is the highest grossing market for iPad apps. Other lucrative markets include Australia, Canada and the UK. However, in terms of free downloads, the US has now been eclipsed by China.

During February 2012, the number of daily downloads of the top 300 most popular free apps in China passed 1.1 million, while the volume of the top 300 in the US was “just below one million.”

Distimo noted that February 2012 download volumes in the US were down, “probably in anticipation of the new iPad,” while month-on-month growth remained steady in China. This means that the US may regain its position in the coming months, but “developers of free applications without a single country strategy should make China part of their strategy.”

When it comes to revenue, China is not even in the top five.

Supply and demand across app categories
As with other app stores, the single biggest app category for the iPad is games.

However, Distimo also notes that for the US market, in terms of downloads of free apps, the other most attractive categories are weather, newsstand and entertainment. This is based on number of downloads divided by the number of available apps, to cross-reference demand with supply

In comparison, categories such as business and medical appear to be seeing less demand compared with apps available – although it was noted that other issues may be in play, such as a lack of popular content or a preference for paid titles.

Productivity and education apps have a higher profile in the App Store for iPad than in other stores.

In-app purchases lead the way
Some 10 percent of all apps in the App Store for iPad already feature in-app purchases, compared to 6 percent in the App Store for iPhone and 2 percent for Google Play. When it comes to the top 200 highest grossing apps, this rises 74 percent for the iPad, 80 percent for the iPhone, and 56 percent for Google Play.

Distimo notes that this means this monetisation model has been adopted by the majority of the most lucrative applications across the stores – and pointing to a disadvantage for developers looking to do business where in-app purchasing is not currently supported (such as WP7 Marketplace).

Nearly 7 percent of revenue is generated by newsstand apps, almost solely driven by in-app purchases, led by titles such as The Daily, NYTimes and the New Yorker Magazine. According to the company, more than US$70,000 is being generated every day by the top 100 grossing newsstand apps in the US.