In a new forecast*, the independent telecoms analyst finds that 2011 will see some of the strongest growth in mobile phone application downloads, which it predicts will reach 14 billion in 2016 in AP.

Meanwhile, Ovum predicts that AP revenues from paid-for mobile phone apps will hit US$ 871 million in 2011, compared to US$302 million the market achieved in 2010. Ovum finds that the market will go on to achieve revenues of US$2.2 billion in 2016.

Ovum devices analyst Nick Dillon commented: "Consumers' seemingly insatiable demand for mobile applications is set to continue this year, with downloads from app stores increasing around the world".

"The outlook for the longer term is also positive, with consumers set to continue to use apps to add new features to their phones and to access their favorite services on the go."

In addition to the strong growth in downloads and revenues this year, Ovum predicts that Android will upset the apple cart by stealing dominance of total downloads from the iPhone for the first time. Android will take a significant lead in AP, with 1.8 billion downloads compared to Apple's 1.5 billion. Last year the two top players reached downloads of 244 million and 424 million in AP respectively.