Handango released special 2006 year end editions of the Handango Yardstick, a global report on the state of the smartphone content industry. Consolidating statistics from across the Handango network of storefronts, the Yardstick reports on key smartphone market data that demonstrate the growing demand for mobile content, including average selling price (ASP); the number of new software providers and applications being added to the Handango library; sales by device; sales by content category; top searches; and best selling applications for each of the five major smartphone platforms: BlackBerry, Palm OS, Symbian OS, and Windows Mobile Pocket PC and Smartphone.

Data from the 2006 Handango Yardstick and comparisons to the 2005 report reveal the following statistics and trends.

Smartphone application numbers and content providers continue to grow

More than 11,000 new software titles were added to the Handango catalog in 2006, with 1,231 new mobile content providers joining the Handango Content Partner Program. Although currently one of the smaller catalogs, BlackBerry had the fastest growing content library with an 81% increase over last year in the number of new applications added. The Pocket PC platform saw the highest number of content titles added at 3,627.

Average selling price is increasing

The 2006 Yardstick reported an overall increase in ASP, up from $20.03 in 2005 to $21.16 in 2006. Medical applications netted the highest average selling price at $49.26. Medical professionals are increasingly relying on mobile software to enhance productivity, giving content providers an opportunity to create more robust software in this category. The second highest ASP was seen for Development Tools ($43.62), with Recognition & Languages ($31.23), Translation ($26.91) and Business & Professional ($26.58) rounding out the top five.

Consumers utilize their smartphones for both personal and professional use

The Business & Professional category of software had the highest overall sales, followed by Productivity, Entertainment, Games, Travel, Utilities, Communications and Multimedia. The best selling applications reflect a combination of entertainment, personal productivity and business software, which indicates that consumers are using smartphones for both personal and professional use. Some titles that made the best sellers lists on multiple platforms include travel guide WorldMate, mobile instant messenger IM+ and poker game Aces Texas Hold'em.

Entertainment remains popular and streaming media content is introduced

Building on last year's surge in multimedia content, 2006 saw a rise in demand for streaming media applications, with MobiTV, HandiTV and PocketStreamer Deluxe topping the best selling lists. Entertainment content ranked third in overall sales by category, while search terms "ringtones", "games" and "MP3/music" made the top five in overall searches.

Casual games remain strong in both searches and sales

Games ranked fourth in sales by category and third in searches, further demonstrating that smartphone owners use their devices for entertainment purposes. Solitaire, sudoku, poker and Tetris® were the most commonly downloaded games across all platforms with Palm OS and Pocket PC being the most popular platforms supporting games.

Palm Treo 650 remains top device adding software

The Palm Treo 650 topped the list of devices adding software in both 2005 and 2006. Also seen in the top ten this year were device models across a range of platforms including the Cingular 8125, Motorola Q, BlackBerry 8700c and Palm TX. Not reflected in the platform Yardstick are devices released later in the year that are quickly rising in the amount of downloaded content. These devices include the BlackBerry Pearl, Palm Treo 700p, Samsung BlackJack, T-Mobile Dash and Nokia N73.