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Average iPad app price $4.97 compared to $4.03 for iPhone

5,400 iPad apps released monthly vs 12,000 for iPhone

Average iPad app price $4.97 compared to $4.03 for iPhone
The numbers delivered in the latest Distimo report paint a picture of an App Store acclimatising itself to the differing nature of the two platforms it serves – iPhone and iPad.

It's a change not only reflected in the average prices of apps available for each system, but also in the buying habits of consumers.

Distimo goes as far as to suggest that, as things stand, iPad owners are actually more willing to accommodate the higher priced apps than developers.

Price point

As such, news that the average price of apps on iPad is accelerating quicker than on iPhone is no surprise, with Distimo's numbers – taken between April and October 2010 – suggesting the average price of an iPad app in the US is up 14.5 percent in the last six months to $4.97.

In contrast, iPhone apps have seen their average price change very little, up just 2.3 percent since June to $4.03.

What's more significant however it that the average price of the most successful iPad apps (those in the top 100) is more expensive that the average off all iPad apps.

This is reversed for iPhone. 



"On average, an application in the Apple App Store for iPad is 23 percent more expensive than an application in the Apple App Store for iPhone," Distimo says in its report.

"The average price of the top 100 paid applications in October 2010 was 171 percent higher in the Apple App Store for iPad than in the Apple App Store for iPhone.

"This indicates that consumers are willing to pay much more for an iPad application than for an iPhone application. Developers, however, are not yet pricing their applications accordingly."

Bulging App StoreDistimo's stats also suggest the number of apps heading iPad's way is ramping up, rising from around 5,200 in April to just fewer than 38,000 in October.

As a result, there are 5,452 iPad apps added to its roster on average every month.

That, naturally, doesn't quite compete with the more than 12,200 apps that head iPhone's way, but – in total – the App Store is growing at a average rate of 15,000 new apps every month.



However, it's a past master that is proving to be one of the most popular of both platforms.

Distimo states Angry Birds was the top paid application on iPhone in Septemer, taking the #3 spot on iPad. Rovio's title also topped Palm's App Catalog in the same month.

You can download the report in free from Distimo's website.

With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.