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Apple App Store apps top 2 billion; that's 6.6 million downloads per day

By | September 28, 2009, 7:21am PDT

Summary: Apple on Monday announced that more than two billion apps have been downloaded from its App Store, far and away the largest applications store in the world. That’s about 6.6 million app downloads per day. There are now more than 85,000 apps available to the more than 50 million iPhone and iPod touch users in 77 countries [...]

Apple on Monday announced that more than two billion apps have been downloaded from its App Store, far and away the largest applications store in the world.

That’s about 6.6 million app downloads per day.

There are now more than 85,000 apps available to the more than 50 million iPhone and iPod touch users in 77 countries worldwide.

There are more than 125,000 developers in Apple’s iPhone Developer Program.

The milestone reinforces the powerful business model Apple has created in which it sells hardware that survives and thrives from an endless stream of downloadable content, paid and free.

It also shows just how far behind Google’s Android, Palm, RIM and Windows Mobile are in securing this content (and profit) pipeline.

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Topics

Apple Inc., App, Smart Phones, Mobile Operating Systems, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Andrew Nusca

Andrew J. Nusca is editor of ZDNet and SmartPlanet.

Disclosure

Andrew Nusca

Andrew J. Nusca does not hold any investments in the technology companies he covers.

Biography

Andrew Nusca

Editor

Andrew J. Nusca is an editor for ZDNet and SmartPlanet. As a journalist based in New York City, he has written for Popular Mechanics and Men's Vogue and his byline has appeared in New York magazine, The Huffington Post, New York Daily News, Editor & Publisher, New York Press and many others. He also writes The Editorialiste, a media criticism blog.

He is a New York University graduate and former news editor and columnist of the Washington Square News. He is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He has been named "Howard Kurtz, Jr." by film critic John Lichman despite having no relation to him. He lives in his native Philadelphia with his wife, cat and Boston Terrier.

Follow him on Twitter.

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Some guestimates...
Bruizer 28th Sep 2009
After all, that is all you are posting.

1) Of those 50 million devices how many are currently in use?
Remember we're talking about 3 generations of iPhones and iPod
Touches.

Most to many of them. My old iPod Touch first gen has found a very
happy new home and is still being used by a nephew. WM phones are
very disposable since few would want them. iPod Touchs and iPhones
are easy to find a second home for.

3) If this is the case then does the spike in August represent people
who bought the latest iPod Touch and transferred apps they already
owned over?

Or was there a spike in July/August time frame of new iPhone users?

In other words: how much of this is churn?

Probably, not nearly as much as you hope.
View in thread
0 Votes
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amazed with so much crap out there
Maarek 28th Sep 2009
this is not just for the iPhone, but the iTouch also for those kids who can afford any game, but not a monthly cellphone bill.
0 Votes
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It's been like that forever.
Zoraster 28th Sep 2009
But in the isles of computer stores. Amazing how when the shoe is on
the other foot it feels a bit different.
0 Votes
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When will ZDNet jump on the wagon?
mlindl Updated - 28th Sep 2009
Where are you guys? Why no ZDNet app? You guys are
supposed to be the technology folks right? And you don't
have an iPhone app?

Hey, I know, why don't you write an App that automatically
sends all your infomercial stuff on Windows 7 and all your
"Apple's not crap yet, is it?" stuff to iPhone automatically?

Just a thought!

Oh wait, ZDNet France and ZDNet South Korea are there. Leave it to
the "No Can Do" yanks and brits to be lagging behind!

C'mon, MacDailyNews has an app, why not ZDNet USA?
0 Votes
+ -
No Apple bandwagon for ZDNet
keel Updated - 28th Sep 2009
It's pretty obvious that ZDNet is often subtly, and sometimes not so
subtly, anti-Apple in its headlines, FUD and pro MS babble.
You don't have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows...
Praise like this is the exception rather than the norm.
0 Votes
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RE: Apple App Store apps top 2 billion; that's 6.6 million downloads per day
shellcodes_coder 28th Sep 2009
Well Apple are good at bluffing so I wouldn't believe them. Zune HD is way better than iPot, now just waiting for more apps and games
0 Votes
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Uhm....
Stuka Updated - 28th Sep 2009
You realize that if they lied about that number, that they would be breaking the law, and promptly have SEC breathing down their neck?
0 Votes
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Great argument...
UsernameRequired 28th Sep 2009
I especially like the "iPot" line. Comedy genius.
Tool.
0 Votes
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RE: Apple App Store apps top 2 billion; that's 6.6 million downloads per day
Loverock Davidson 28th Sep 2009
And 1.5 billion of those apps are flashlight or tip calculator apps.
0 Votes
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Oh go spew fud somewhere else.
Snooki_smoosh_smoosh 28th Sep 2009
.nt.
0 Votes
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Jealous? [nt]
olePigeon 28th Sep 2009
[nt]
0 Votes
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The other 0.5 billion were
T1Oracle Updated - 28th Sep 2009
...games where you poke your finger at a little screen like an fool while AT&T steals $70-$150 out of your wallet every month.

:P
0 Votes
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Good numbers but...
Sleeper Service 28th Sep 2009
1) Of those 50 million devices how many are currently in use? Remember we're talking about 3 generations of iPhones and iPod Touches.
2) Of those downloads how many are transfers to new devices - that is, if the vast majority are free, are they just downloaded again rather than reinstalled or do they carry over to the new iPhone/iPod Touch?
3) If this is the case then does the spike in August represent people who bought the latest iPod Touch and transferred apps they already owned over?

In other words: how much of this is churn?
0 Votes
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Addressing point 2 & 3
Snooki_smoosh_smoosh 28th Sep 2009
I don't believe that going from one ipod to another counts, as all the apps are saved to the local computer to which you sync, so in theory a should be able to take them off one iPod or iPhone and move them over.

and Point 3 not much to compel someone to migrate to 3rd gen ipod touch unless they want or require a larger storage area 64GB, or that minor uptick in speed. I have a 32 GB 2nd Gen and still have 19GB available most of the time, unless I throw an occasional video on there. And I feel that at the moment there is no compelling reason to upgrade. I will probably wait and see what next year brings...
0 Votes
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Assume 90% churn and free apps
frgough 28th Sep 2009
That's still $660,000 a day, of which $530,000 a day goes to developers.
So give it a rest already with your attempts to paint a phenomenal
success as overblown.
0 Votes
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Well put!
UsernameRequired 28th Sep 2009
Sleeper Service likes to think that he's some kind
of economic and marketing genius. Honestly, it's
rather sad...
0 Votes
+ -
Some guestimates...
Bruizer 28th Sep 2009
After all, that is all you are posting.

1) Of those 50 million devices how many are currently in use?
Remember we're talking about 3 generations of iPhones and iPod
Touches.

Most to many of them. My old iPod Touch first gen has found a very
happy new home and is still being used by a nephew. WM phones are
very disposable since few would want them. iPod Touchs and iPhones
are easy to find a second home for.

3) If this is the case then does the spike in August represent people
who bought the latest iPod Touch and transferred apps they already
owned over?

Or was there a spike in July/August time frame of new iPhone users?

In other words: how much of this is churn?

Probably, not nearly as much as you hope.
0 Votes
+ -
more than 10 million per day
bannedfromzdnetagain 28th Sep 2009
at the moment people download more than 10 million apps
per day (upgrades are not counted). apple reported 1.8bn
downloads 19 days ago at sep 9th. and the pace is still
accelerating. unbelievable.
0 Votes
+ -
So how come when I click
Erroneous 28th Sep 2009
for the MSSE article it brings me to the Apple fan page?

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