Navigation Tops Downloadable Mobile Apps

According to the latest Telephia research, location-based services (LBS) such as navigation, represented 51 percent of the $118 million in revenue that downloadable mobile applications (such as LBS, weather applications, chat/community, and personal organization tools) generated during Q2 2007. Many consumers, says the report, may not realize the utility of a navigation application on their mobile phone until they use it.

While location-based services deliver highly personalized offerings such as friend-finding and other location-aware features, navigation represents the lion's share of revenue. The Telephia second quarter report on mobile applications, reported that:

Approximately 13 million mobile consumers downloaded a mobile application on their phone. Of the $118 million in revenue that these downloadable mobile applications generated during Q2 2007, LBS represented 51 percent. >>Full Story

Thoughts// So let's add up those numbers...of the approximately 220+ million cell phone users in the United States (CIA World Factbook 2007) about 7 million of them downloaded a location-based service application to there phone in Q2. That is a good number of people searching for the nearest Starbucks via there Moto Razor.

However, if we take a step back and look at the larger trend of consumers learning that they can receive location based information on a cell phone, we can begin to understand the future impact of these numbers. The general public is becoming accustom to using cell phones to gather information while on the road (read, traveling). Granted, right now the majority of the information requested is simple directions and locations, but how far away is the day when a tourist can download a trail map from the ranger station, check-out from a hotel or perhaps show a boarding pass all with a cell phone?

Not that far away...anymore.