IDC's "Predictions Team" has published a list of predictions for 2010 that include two Apple specifics, and a mention of the Android platform. In a line item about the ascension of mobile phones as, "strategic platforms for commercial and enterprise developers," the firm said that iPhone apps would triple in 2010, that Android apps would quintuple, and that Apple's much-discussed tablet, or "iPad," would be released.
Apple currently boasts of having more than 100,000 apps on the App Store, making the tripling mark more than 300,000, a staggering number of apps. Taking simplistic calculations of 200,000 apps over 365 days (in reality, the App Store has already surpassed the 100,000 mark with most of December still to go), that would mean that developers complete and Apple approve 547 apps per day.
Should Google's Android mobile phone platform see its app count increase fivefold, it would approach the 100,000 mark that Apple currently enjoys, and likely cement that platform's legitimacy as an application platform.
The rumors and leaks and speculation about Apple's unannounced tablet product have been fast, furious, then faster, and then even more furiouser. Many of those leaks and informed pieces of speculation have pegged 2010 as the release date for this product, making IDC's prediction no to much ground-breaking as a bit of adding fuel to the fire.
Other predictions on the list include Enterprise-related issues, a prediction that cloud computing will ""expand and mature," and a prediction that climate-change initiatives stemming from this month's United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen will be, "a source of renewed opportunity for the IT industry."
The firm also predicts a return to growth for the IT industry of 3.2%.