Outfit7's Talking Friends series is out downloading Angry Birds

As we look back at mobile entertainment over the past 12 months, it's perhaps too easy to see it just as the effortless rise of Rovio's Angry Birds.

From the millions sold on iOS, to its transition to Android and Ovi, the release of the seasonal standalone, all the updates, and then the t-shirts and plush toys, the franchise ends the year with more than 50 million downloads.

But despite the elegance and presentation of that particular game, the wider picture is the opportunity provided by the smartphone ecosystem for developers to tap into with new ideas and experiences.

And there are plenty of other companies already doing so.

One such is Slovenian/US developer Outfit7.

Its Talking Friends series of entertainment apps (eight released to date) has been downloaded 41 million times in around six months. That's faster than Angry Birds.

Of these, its best performing title is Talking Tom Cat, which has done 19 million downloads on iOS and 8 million on Android.

It's a free, ad-supported app with in-app purchases. More generally, Outfit7 says of the 41 million downloads it's sold 6 million units, with prices ranging from 99c to $2.99.

What's particularly good news for the company is that the rate of downloads across the range is increasingly. It did 7 million in November, with over 10 million predicted for December, aided by the release of Talking Santa, the #1 paid app in 35 countries.

At this rate, it reckons the series will have been downloaded 100 million times by the end of Q2 2011.

"It's a bit overwhelming to think about how many devices we've touched in the short time we've been around," says Andrej Nabergoj, Outfit7's CEO.

"With that said, we're still fully committed to pushing the envelope and continuing to give users an experience they are happy to share with others."