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Apr. 25, 2009

Apple said yesterday that over one billion iPhone apps were downloaded on its Apps Store in the last nine months and that 35,000 iPhone apps are available for immediate download on its online store.

The App Store has been running a ticker on its website tracking the number of downloads right from the beginning.

Just four months ago, Apple announced 500 million downloads and 15,000 available applications.

The 1 billionth download was achieved only hours after Apple announced strong second-quarter earnings. Apple’s Vice President Peter Oppenheimer stressed the uniqueness of the iPhone and iPod touch devices when combined with the App Store.

“We believe the App Store is a key strategic differentiator of the iPhone and iPod touch experience and is more evidence of what we have always said, that software is a key ingredient for a great mobile experience,” he said.

Companies such as Research In Motion, Nokia and Microsoft have all either rolled out or announced intentions to launch mobile application stores. It remains to be seen whether they’ll be able to offer the kind of easily accessible experience that led to the App Store’s first billion downloads.

Last month, Apple showed developers the overall specifications for its upcoming iPhone OS. Analysts believe the new operating system, which will include 1,000 new developer APIs, will lead to more powerful iPhone apps and a renewed explosion of downloads at the App Store.

Almost 3.8 million iPhones were sold worldwide in the last quarter, a 123 percent increase over the 1.7 million handsets sold in the same quarter of last year.

“I think it just unleashes a whole new level of innovation that keeps Apple years ahead of everyone else,” said acting CEO Tim Cook during the earnings call with regards to the recent SDK changes.

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    This article was featured on Business 5.0 and on Tech Blog.

Source: Apple.