Sunday, January 23, 2011

Apple Celebrates 10 Billion Apps

The ten billionth download from the App Store is now in the history books. The momentous download occurred this morning. It was Paper Glider, grabbed by Gail Davis of Orpington, Kent, UK. Her bounty for being a special person hitting "download" at just the right moment is $10,000 in iTunes credit.

Apple counted down the occasion by posting the top apps in the App Store, both paid and free. The top ten paid downloads were dominated by games, so the fact Davis won her prize by nabbing a game is not surprising. The top games included – wait for it – Angry Birds and Flight Control.

Apple marked the occasion with a little horn-blowing of its own from vice president Philip Schiller. "With more than 10 billion apps downloaded in just two and a half years—a staggering seven billion apps in the last year alone—the App Store has surpassed our wildest dreams. The App Store has revolutionized how software is created, distributed, discovered and sold. While others try to copy the App Store, it continues to offer developers and customers the most innovative experience on the planet."

If you can set aside any Apple Distortion Field or Apple Derangement Syndrome (depending on how you feel about Apple) for a moment, you have to acknowledge the truth to Schiller's statement. The App Store was created from nothing. It was not a modification of an existing store – it was an entirely new ecosystem that turned into a monstrous success by becoming an amazing melting pot of capitalism and creativity.

And with the iPhone soon to arrive on Verizon where it will potentially pull in millions of new users, the future for the App Store only continues to glow brighter.

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