A recent article, published in Wired Magazine predicts that smartphone applications will soon overtake normal, desktop software applications, leading to a massive change in the way people communicate.

Since Apple opened its App Store in July 2008, sales have grown rapidly, reaching around US$ 200 per month. In order to keep up with the growing demand for applications, Google, BlackBerry, Nokia and Palm have now opened their own app stores in a bid to compete.

According to Ilja Lauras, head of GetJar, there are now four mobile phones for every desktop computer, with a quarter of these phones set to become smartphones within the next 5 years. This means that smartphone applications will soon become a billion-dollar industry.

Some of the most popular applications include social networks, maps, TV, shopping, etc – all from the confort of your own pocket! Even Barcelona football club has its own smartphone ap!

All that’s left is for the social sector to embrace this growing market and find new and innovative ways to use applications for the benefit of our work!