Apple's iPad to remain the dominant tablet apps platform through 2017, phone apps go to Android

Research firm Strategy Analytics just came out with its newest report on the mobile applications industry, and it expects Apple's iPad franchise to keep the lion's share of app downloads all the way until 2017, representing 56% of all tablet apps then, buoyed by the launch of the affordable iPad mini.

Google's Android, on the other hand, is expected to account for 45% of all app downloads five years from now, but those coming from smartphones. whereas Apple will net 22% at the time.

Overall, Strategy Analytics predicts that a total of 350 billion app downloads will be undertaken in the 2008-2017 period, with $52 billion collected as cash from paid apps. By 2017, however, they expect less than ten percent of all apps to be paid, as their amount has been steadily declining for the sake of freemium applications revenue.