China has an estimated 500,000 to 800,000 mobile application developers
catering to the approximate quarter billion mobile phone users that own
smartphones, reports HQ magazine, a CSOFT International publication.
While most apps are free, Chinese users are willing to pay a premium to
gain access to additional features or competitive advantages.
Shunee Yee, CSOFT International (Photo: Business Wire)
According to HQ, China is now the largest market for smartphones in the
world, surpassing the United States in usage.
The most popular apps are in the social and communication categories,
with QQ and Weixin (also known as WeChat) among the favorites. One
million Weixin accounts have been set up in China since the app launched
in January 2011.
While the most popular and successful apps are free, Chinese users are
willing to pay for upgrades once they've downloaded the basic app and
developed a dependency on its features.
The numbers are staggering: according to independent research firms, 76
percent of the Chinese population (more than one billion people) are
registered mobile phone users. The estimated revenue from Chinese mobile
internet users in 2011: $13.7 billion.
"There is a massive market as yet untapped in China," reports HQ
magazine. "Understanding what Chinese smartphone users desire in their
apps is just the first step to penetrating that market."
A complete electronic version of HQ magazine can be downloaded via
CSOFT's website at www.csoftintl.com.
