Handango upbeat about smartphone software market

Handango has released the 2007 Second Quarter edition of the Handango Yardstick, a quarterly report on the state of the mobile content industry.

For the second consecutive quarter, the Motorola Q and BlackBerry Pearl ranked first and second, respectively, in terms of the most revenue generated and the most applications sold through Handango storefronts.

Older smartphone models such as the Palm Treo 650 and Cingular 8125 moved lower on the list of top devices adding software to make room for two new devices that appeared for the first time this quarter - the Nokia N95 which was a highly anticipated device at the time of its United States release following strong overseas sales, as well as the BlackBerry 8800, which launched in late February.

The number of new content titles added to the Handango catalog rose 14% from last quarter to 2732. This rise in new content may be due to the number of new devices entering the market which are heavily supported though advertising to the mass consumer.

In terms of top-selling applications, titles from Spb Software House were among the most popular on Handango, with six of the company's products ranking in the best sellers list, including Spb Mobile Shell, Spb Pocket Plus and Spb Phone Suite. In addition, MobiTV retained its spot as the top-selling application for the Windows Mobile Smartphone platform, while competitor HandiTV fell from the second position to number six. Aces Texas Hold'Em continued to be Handango's best-selling game.

Business & Professional remained the top-selling product category in terms of revenue. Sales of entertainment titles rose since last quarter and closely trail business applications with 16 percent of total sales. This quarter also saw "maps" appear as one of Handango's most frequently searched terms, driven by a continued interest in GPS and LBS-related device functionality.