IDC's crystal ball says Apple tablet, 300,000 App Store apps in 2010

One fun thing about being a tech research firm is that sometimes you can state the obvious and everybody still gets excited. That's what will happen today when technology research company IDC releases their forecast for the next year, and in anticipation of the big news, the New York Times recently had a chat with Frank Gens, IDC's chief analyst.

Among the predictions the company will announce today is the expectation of an Apple-branded touchscreen tablet computer. Wow, we've never heard that before! Gens thinks that it will be a general-purpose device instead of just an ebook reader, and "could deliver a real kick in Kindle's butt."

IDC is also assuming that the recent trend of cranky developers dropping iPhone development won't continue; they're stating that the number of apps in the App Store will climb to 300,000 by the end of 2010 and that the competing Android platform will see up to 75,000 apps by that time.

Gens pointed out that there are about 10,000 apps listed on Microsoft's Windows 7 compatibility site, and notes that "The market follows the applications. That's a message for the software industry, particularly for the PC industry."

I'm interpreting this comment as meaning that the most compelling and innovative software is not being developed for the big operating system on the block -- instead, the mobile space is the recipient of most of the attention right now, and that could end up being a huge factor in the success of an Apple tablet.

[via Mac Rumors]

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Source: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/idc-predicts-an-app…

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One fun thing about being a tech research firm is that sometimes you can state the obvious and everybody still gets excited. That's what...

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Rich R

The graphs at http://appexplorer.com/stats/ suggest 30,000 apps will be hit in early 2011 (click on the Area chart button).

December 04 2009 at 12:05 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Izzy

Media, like Fox? (aka the Fantasy News Network)

December 03 2009 at 4:00 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Dale

Man, is everyone going to have egg on their face when they realise they all made a typo. It's not an iTablet, it's an iTable. Steve Jobs and co. have decided to take on IKEA next.

December 03 2009 at 2:13 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

PSTMD

Right!

- and JFK was assassinated by the CIA by the shooter on the grassy knoll

- and the astronauts never landed on the moon

- and the world will end in 2012!

December 03 2009 at 1:09 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

edward

I think there is something to be said about Apps coming to the upcoming Tablet for both the Apple and Windows side. What's going to be the determining factor? Steven, I think your assumptions are correct. Its going to be the Apps that may sway people either way. The apps would bring the whole individual user experience with the technology - come together. Winner: the consumer. Damn. Exciting.

What does that mean for all of us? More people churning out apps. Which in turn, creates more work. Which is a good thing, I suppose. On the downside, though, we'll probably get more fluff Apps. Just sayin... But what thte consumer gets in the end is a personalized gadget. Hmm. Interesting.

Interesting thoughts, indeed. I think I'm going to write a post about this. Thanks for the insight...

December 03 2009 at 1:01 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

These things may be obvious to people who follow Apple, but to people who don't, having a company like IDC who can pull together rumours and make predictions is useful. If you wanted to invest in iron ore extraction, for example, you'd want an analyst who could tell you some important facts about the industry.

December 03 2009 at 11:21 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply