Apple CEO Steve Jobs, just back from a medical leave of absence, wasted no time trumpeting the success of the App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch. The store has had 1.5 billion downloads since its launch a year ago.
Jobs’ announcement may be an attempt by Apple to put a lid on recent questions about the App Store’s success and revenue. Apple hasn’t revealed if it is making huge profits on the store or if the money spent to maintain the venture is more than the revenue from purchased apps.
News of the 1.5 billion downloads also comes after several competitors have launched models similar to Apple’s store.
Quality an Issue
Jobs said the App Store is “like nothing the industry has ever seen before in both scale and quality.” The scale of Apple’s store hasn’t been questioned because of its 65,000-plus apps and more than 100,000 developers in the iPhone program.
The quality of the applications accepted by Apple, however, has been criticized. Developers and observers have complained about some applications that have made it through the approval process.
Applications such as I am Rich and iFart Mobile have been drawn questions about their purpose. Other applications have been questioned about function, including an application that allows the user to shake the iPhone to make a baby stop crying.
After Apple’s App Store was launched in July 2008, it didn’t take long for others to notice the number of consumers and developers it attracted. Since then, companies such as Palm, Microsoft and Google have launched their own application stores.
Finnish phone maker Nokia launched its Ovi Store in May. Ovi’s model is similar to Apple’s and gives developers 70 percent of the revenue from applications sold.
Others, including Research In Motion and LG Electronics, have launched stores. RIM launched…