Apple Reaches 1.5 Billion Downloads with Especially Fast Speed

Apple Reaches 1.5 Billion Downloads with Especially Fast Speed

Photo: Apple Reaches 1.5 Billion Downloads with Especially Fast Speed

Apple Inc.'s App Store has spawned a cottage industry of software developers trying to profit from games and other applications that people can download onto their iPhones.

But with more than 65,000 free and paid applications in the online store, success has hinged on an app's ability to stand out. So developers are increasingly coming up with various strategies to make a splash, employing everything from temporary discounts to guerilla marketing tactics.

PopCap Games Inc., maker of the popular Bejeweled puzzle game, experimented in June by cutting the price on its Peggle game from to 99 cents from $4.99 for four days. Peggle, which had been ranked at around 60 in top paid apps, shot up to second place within 24 hours, Wall Street Journal reports.

Meanwhile, the company said it reached that milestone a mere one year since the App Store was opened. In that time, more than 100,000 developers have built more than 65,000 apps that are available for download into the iPhone and the iTouch. Between the two, Apple has sold more than 40 million of the devices.

The App Store currently serves customers in 77 countries around the world.

The speed at which Apple reached the 1.5 billion milestone is especially fast, considering that it probably doesn't even count the sales of some apps that Apple rejected  .

Often forgotten in App Store's success are some of the rejects. Remember them? Apps like Wrangler, a way to handle Gmail accounts? Netshare, which tethered the iPhone to a PC? Obama Trampoline, which let people bounce the heads of U.S. politicians up and down to pop bubbles? South Park, which was great for offending people? I Am Rich, a quick method for throwing away about $1,000 for absolutely no discernible reason?, -ChannelWeb reports.

Apple is doing just fine during the recession, and its App Store has reached 1.5 billion downloads in one year. The Cuptertino-based company is very happy to have reached this goal, and it’s almost certain that nobody else will ever manage to accomplish something similar. The iPhone was a revolutionary device at the time, not because of its specs, but thanks to its very pleasant presence. The App Store was something new in the cellphone market and it has proven to be very successful and Apple has 1.5 billion downloads to show just that, Soft Sailor reports.