Juniper Research predicts the number of app stores from mobile operators will increase, with launches including Apps and Games Shop from Vodafone 360, Airtell App Central from Bharti, and Mobile Market from China Unicom.
The multi-operator app storefront GetJar has benefited from this increase in app demand, passing one billion downloads earlier this month.
Windsor Holden, author of the report, said: "Apple has been able to achieve several billion downloads from a comparatively small handset base, because customers are buying the iPhone for the apps. That's not been the case with other handsets."
The "freemium" business model, which offers basic web services for free at the point of sale and then charges a premium for advanced features via app-based billing, is also becoming more widely used by publishers, according to the research.