It’s surely no coincidence that on the same day Google launched its much-anticipated Android-powered Nexus One phone, Apple had its own announcement: iPhone and iPod users have downloaded three billion applications from its App Store in 18 months. About half those downloads occurred in the last six months, since Apple reported 1.5 billion downloads in July.
“This is like nothing we’ve ever seen before,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs. “The revolutionary App Store offers iPhone and iPod touch users an experience unlike anything else available on other mobile devices, and we see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon.”
The App Store was launched in July 2008 with about 500 apps. Apple now says customers in 77 countries are downloading some 20 categories of apps, from business to sports, news, health, reference and travel. By incorporating it with its successful iTunes, Apple has offered a one-stop shopping experience for both fun and practical, convenience-oriented downloads.
Hanging up a McDonald’s-style “three billion-served” sign reinforces the idea that Apple’s commitment to user experience will make it difficult for iPhone users to switch to a newcomer.
“Apps are a leading indicator of what the future will bring, and Apple certainly has a head start,” said Kirk Parsons, senior telecommunications analyst at J.D. Power and Associates. “The real value currently to customers is the experience of the handset and how that works with the service carrier.”
Parsons noted that even with connection problems with AT&T as the exclusive iPhone carrier in the U.S., and the resulting bad publicity, the smartphone is still widely popular.
“I doubt the Nexus model is any real differentiator versus what the [Android-powered] Droid already brings; Some nice features, but it may not equal the user experience of the iPhone just yet,” he said.
Yet despite a large and growing inventory of…