More than 800 million Android apps will be downloaded this year, according to market researchers.

The total of apps downloaded in 2009 was 2.4 billion, but ABI anticipates that a surge in demand in coming months will send the number of software downloads since the store opened beyond six billion before the end of 2010.

However, despite the growth of the Android Market, Google's software market is not expected to dethrone the iPhone's App Store quite yet, the company forecasts.

Smartphones are becoming increasingly popular among consumers because of the app phenomenon and the company forecasts that Samsung's Bada and Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 Series will help in further boosting the global app market.

The average price of apps is on a downward slope and ABI predicts that revenues from sales will peak in the next two years before falling as competition increases.

"As competition heats up, app makers are both dropping prices and 'going free' to stay on top of the download charts," said ABI's Jake Saunders.

Mr Saunders also expects to see in-app advertising supporting the industry to a greater degree in the coming years.