App Store: 1.5 billion downloads in 1 year

While Apple still has a ways to go to be the dominant cell phone provider in the world, CEO Steve Jobs is comfortable with his lead in selling mobile applications.

Apple announced Tuesday that after a year in existence, its App Store has counted 1.5 billion downloaded applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. In a press release, Jobs said, "The App Store is like nothing the industry has ever seen before in both scale and quality. With 1.5 billion apps downloaded, it is going to be very hard for others to catch up."

(Credit: Apple)

Indeed, the rate at which customers are buying the apps seems to be increasing. In April, Apple announced 1 billion apps had been downloaded from its store, after just 9 months of being open. Just three months later, another 500 million apps have been purchased. Apple says there are 65,000 apps available in the store, and 40 million iPhones and iPod Touch devices sold thus far, with new iPhone 3GS owners likely bumping up those download numbers in the last month.

Apple's success with attracting developers to make all those apps is certainly inspiring imitators. Just Tuesday morning Verizon announced it is looking to develop an application store for its wireless phones. Phone makers Nokia, RIM, and Palm have similar platforms for selling apps for its devices, and there are also repositories for apps that work on the Windows Mobile and Android platforms only.

But the App Store, despite its success, is not without its problems. Many developers still appear flummoxed by the sometimes ambiguous policies for creating applications and the inconsistencies in how they're applied. For example, MLB At Bat, which streams live baseball games, gets the stamp of approval from both Apple and AT&T, the exclusive carrier, but SlingPlayer Mobile from Sling Media, which streams live television, does not.

And application developers report that trying to get answers from Apple on the inconsistencies or clarifications when their apps are denied is frustrating. Even at the recent Worldwide Developers Conference in June, developers sitting on a panel regarding App Store publishing said the company took no Q&A on the process and referred questions back to its Web site.

Still, many of those same confused developers continue to develop for the iPhone and iPod Touch for reasons illustrated by today's news: the App Store is still the most viable way for mobile developers to get their applications in front of customers.

[YankeePoodle]

Till now I have downloaded only free stuff and further more I had to download each free app for about 2-3 times because of the constant updates. That said, as the apps increase how a single company is going to keep track of applications will be interesting.

[Random_Walk]

It isn't rocket-science to count unique downloads of a given app per registered unique user account in iTMS (each user has their own list of apps purchased, and even the free ones will have a dummy purchase of $0.00 counted for an item, at least if iTMS is like any other eCommerce store). I could do it in one query, fer frig sakes.

(hint: there's a reason why you aren't forced to re-buy something when you go to download it (or its updates) a second or subsequent time through the same account, eh?)

[Mr. Dee]

I want an iPhone or iPod Touch. :)

[seven7dust]

wow! thats a first
now if only you were more open minded with macs

[NeverFade]

I just bought my first iPhone the day the 3GS was released. It's absolutely magnificent. And I'm not lying when I say that I am at work right now, typing this, and listening to it right now ( the iPod part of it )

Highly recommended... :)

[BabyBroomer]

"App Store has sold 1.5 billion applications" Has it really SOLD or is this a typo Erica?
Please make sure to fact check and/or copy and paste the Apple announcements properly as your shoddy reporting can miss guide people.

The report directly from Apple's own website only refers to as downloaded, not sold.

[shamanskyh]

There's no need to be so mean. And *your* shoddy spelling can MISGUIDE people as well.

[sciontcya]

BItter - table for one!
Good lord. Can't ANY story not bring out the 9-year olds?

[Random_Walk]

...who is this Ms. Guide? Is she cute?

[jabberwolf]

shamanskyh
No need to be mean true but catching his misspelling doesnt negate the misinformation printed!

So while bravo, you catch a misspelling, the question remains:
Are these downloads or "sold" apps ?

And I share the same frustration as retarded net journalist do not look up their facts but seem to cut and paste propaganda!

[ericaatnews]

Thanks all. I just misspoke. Fixed.

[BabyBroomer]

shoddy |? sh äd?|
adjective ( -dier , -diest )
badly made or done : we're not paying good money for shoddy goods.
? figurative lacking moral principle; sordid : a shoddy misuse of the honor system.
noun
an inferior quality yarn or fabric made from the shredded fiber of waste woolen cloth or clippings.

[sciontcya]

PITA
Pronunciation
IPA: /pi?t?/
[edit]Noun
PITA (plural PITAs)
(acronym) Pain in the ass, pain in the arse.

[shabbir_bharmal]

"miss guide" - misguide

[born_yesterday]

If you analyst the counting method, you will find the update as a download. Don't know about you, I get like 15 update a month with the same app, sometime multiple times a month. Go figure the number.

[windooor7]

Are they counting free stuff and re downloads that are free? Any ways app store is like when you are new on ebay you want to win and buy something to see how it feels. time will come when its only the best app that will sell. and most are junk. but before that time comes. 1.5 bilions download. the reason i used ebay is becasue every member has, or will buy junk. then realise what the f did i just do.

[csoccer1]

an update is not counted as a download. a re-download is not counted as a purchase, which apple is basing the 1.5 billion app headline off of. even if an app is $0, iTunes still reads it as a purchase despite no money being transacted from your iTunes account to Apple. But updates and re-downloads are not charged to your itunes account. So the more accurate headline would be "downloaded", but saying purchase just makes developers happy :)

[clamarai]

@born_yesterday, @YankeePoodle, @BabyBroomer

Hey downloads, updates, or sales.. doesn't matter 1.5 billion instances is Literally mind boggling...

[aazippo2]

Oh wow, I cant help but wonder how many apps have been downloaded through the Cydia app store. (that is the app store for jail broken IPhones)

RT
www.privacy.cz.tc

[whoisthebaldguy]

great products and great apps. but the ads could use a human touch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h1N7IpI6cc&feature=player_profilepage

[jayadevbs]

Is this justice to Slingmedia, as Apple is blocking streaming using 3G network and allwoing same kind of stuff for MLB At Bat ?

[jakeZ2]

While I'm not a huge fan of either Microsoft or Apple a quote from the home page story about Gates -
"In between trying to eradicate polio, tame malaria, and fix the broken U.S. education system, Gates has managed to fulfill a dream of taking some classic physics lectures and making them available free over the Web. " - Not a single comment on this article.
But a story about 1.5 billion downloads from the app store, plenty of traffic. Currently the number one downloaded app - "The Moron Test" - go figure :(

[sabigames]

I'd love for a look at the iPhone from a producer of the app's perspective. What small company making iPhone apps is making a profit and how much (roughly)? This article provides me with the message that Apple is making and will make more money with app store. I am skeptical a small company is making enough to cover operating expenses, marketing, health insurance.

Can we please have an article from this point of view?

[mwstuff]

I just heard on the news the other day that this is where the $$ is in the near future - apple web apps. My brother in law has one that was just accepted by Apple and will be available in the next day or two. It's an app that let's you keep your own stats for all different kinds of sports (football, baseball, MMA, etc...) and you can keep them forever, not just a season. I am unclear if the bulk of the $$ is supposed to be make on the selling of the app download or the ads on the website, but I am looking forward to seeing what happens. He did agree with the article that it was difficult to find information to find out how to go about getting it out there TO apple and get specific questions asked.