As easy as it is to get lost in the numbers firms detail figures in the millions, Distimo claims Samsung's announcement that it's seen downloads of 5 million TV apps to date is nowhere near as impressive as it sounds.

Having rolled out at the end of February 2010, that means apps are currently being downloaded at a rate of just over 330,000 a month.

Mainstream medium?

"It's no surprise that these applications would be at the top of the lists globally and regionally," said Samsung's senior VP of the firm's Media Solution Center, Kang-hyun Kwon, in a press statement.

"The TV is a family-based device and people want to lean back and enjoy their time in front of the TV.

"These apps are the entry point for consumers to discover other experiences on their TV like gaming and social networking as well as the limitless possibilities being created by our third-party developers."



But, despite what's clearly a recent acceleration – Samsung SmartTV having hit 1 million downloads back in December – Distimo believes these numbers are acting as a smokescreen for a medium that's yet to prove a success with the majority of consumers.

Devil in the downloads

"To put this into perspective; Apple sees over 5 million downloads of only games in a selection of seven countries a day, compared to the 120 supported countries for Samsung TV Apps during the timeframe of 15 months," countered Distimo's Vincent Hoogsteder in a post on the firm's bog.

"Downloading apps on a TV is brand new for consumers, and it takes a while for new supported devices to enter consumer’s homes.

"Most people will probably renew their phone more often than their TV, so getting consumer reach with apps enabled TV’s takes more time than for phones and tablets right now."



Hoogsteder also attests that the price of app-supported TVs is simply too high, with the average RRP coming in at $2,000.

Chicken and the egg

The resulting slow start has meant that many of the apps delivered are quick fixes, acting as glorified webpages rather than fully functioning TV apps.

"The Samsung App Store now boasts 550 different apps, which demonstrates that developers are not massively jumping in, considering the same timeframe of 15 months."

Nonetheless, Hoogsteder maintains things will improve, with Distimo's projection suggesting developers will come in droves once app supported TVs reach a critical mass of consumers.

[source: Distimo]