The Android App Factor

Finally, an area often cited as a : apps. Even though Android's App Market now supports , some say it can't compete with Apple's .

Subjective opinions aside, a newly released report predicts the tides in the app domain are about to shift. The analysis, by , suggests the total number of mobile app downloads will more than double its current level by 2014. And while ABI believes the iPhone's App Store will remain the leader in overall downloads, it anticipates that Apple's stronghold will slowly give way to Android's growth.

"The iPhone's share of the app market will contract from its 2010 level during the latter part of the forecast period," Wireless Research Associate Bhavya Khanna tells PC World sister publication . "The big beneficiary will be Android, which will see its market share of total application downloads increase from 11 percent of the market in 2009 to 23 percent in 2014."