Market research firm In-Stat predicts that mobile application downloads will reach nearly 48 billion in 2015 due to on-going growth in touchscreen smartphones. “The projected rapid penetration of touchscreen-enabled devices will allow more users to easily interact with mobile applications, thereby driving growth,” said Senior Analyst Amy Cravens. “Increased on-board memory capacity will also lead to a better user experience.”

According to In-Stat, touchscreens will account for nearly 90 percent of smartphones shipped in 2011, and will increase to nearly 100 percent in the next few years. Smartphones are expected to increase from 23 percent of total phone shipments in 2010 to 45 percent in 2015.