iTunes App store's biggest competitor will be WinMo Marketplace

Even though Apple used the graph shown above at WWDC this week to illustrate the iTunes App Store's dominance in the mobile applications space, it was missing a big contender that could make its presence much less commanding.

During the Digital Downtown Mobile Apps Shootout today, Vice President of Strategy and Analysis at Interpret LLC Michael Gartenberg reminded the audience that more than 25,000 applications have been developed for the Windows Mobile platform, a number slightly greater than Microsoft's estimate late last March. This figure stresses the impact Microsoft's mobile app store could have.

Though the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5 is being looked upon unfavorably by analysts, it still could usher in a jam-packed Windows Mobile Marketplace that will sow the seeds for Windows Mobile 7 growth. For that to happen, of course, it just has to get off the ground first.