Taking into account all sources, income from mobile applications will double this year and top $30 billion globally, according to ABI Research. "Consumers' high interest in apps has for a long time been obvious from download volumes, but it's 2012 that will go down in history as the year when the economic side of the business finally took off. We're no longer talking only about a short-term gold rush; apps have become a major digital industry," said senior ABI analyst Aapo Markkanen.