The growing app market on iOS has shot up again, headed by connected devices like the iPad and iPhone.   There is no denying that downloads are unstoppable, as people take on any available app in the market, marking the increase in the number of total downloads this year.  The increase in the past 12 months indicates a larger awakening for the App Store, which had experienced slower download growth rates last year. The recent growth seems to show how the introduction of the iPad and the Verizon iPhone have also helped spur on downloads, and improve average selling prices.

Even with online games, mobile applications are prioritized on their roadmaps.   Zynga Inc, a top social games publisher on Facebook, is buying Toronto-based mobile application developer-Five Mobile in a move that could help it expand further beyond its favorite social network.  On their blog post Zynga mentions its goals around developing mobile applications, as they will reduce its reliance on Facebook and focus on mobile games.  As Zynga extends several of its titles to the Apple App Store and the Android Market, expect the game publisher to come out with more games that users can play on smartphones and tablets, many with cross-platform support.

Carriers are hopeful of the booming app economy, as AT&T launched in-app ads on its mobile local ad network, an extension of the company’s premier YP Local Ad Network.  Ads are served within mobile apps based on a user’s location, giving consumers the chance to learn about and engage with nearby local businesses.

“AT&T Interactive’s mobile local ad network builds on the long-standing success of our YP Local Ad Network in serving local search ads across three screens via online, mobile and IPTV,” said David Krantz, CEO and president at AT&T Interactive. “We’re taking advantage of the power of local advertising and the proliferation of location-aware mobile handsets. With our significant inventory of local ads and early success, we are poised to revolutionize the mobile, in-app advertising market.”

But the industry has a downside, as often happens when brands begin to enter these new markets. A new report from Deloitte has confirmed what many app developers know already: the majority of mobile apps commissioned by brands fail to take smartphones by storm.

Many branded apps have struggled, being overshadowed by apps and games that have seemingly come from nowhere, taking high placement in the market.  The report goes on to say that the majority of these apps are low in quality, and branded apps simply are not being promoted very well.  This is an ongoing matter that involves app store owners, including Apple and Google, which have both made regular changes to their app marketplaces in order to promote certain apps (we won’t even get into poor search capabilities right now).

Several app outlets may prove to be working their way up the ecosystem, but iOS will continue to be competitive, because its ecosystem is strong. This shows the power of building a stable of products that are widely available, something Apple’s learned the hard way. Users are unlikely to jump to another platform when they have so much invested in their iOS apps.