One day you are down, the next you are up. After a controversial Baby Shaker game slipped through Apple’s App Store review process, angering groups that fight child abuse, the iPhone maker is celebrating the one billionth download.
The one billionth app downloaded from the store was called Bump. Created by Bump Technologies, the application aims to make swapping contact information as simple as bumping two phones together. Many users may want to “bump” with the Connecticut teenager, Connor Mulcahey, who won Apple’s grand prize for downloading the app. He will receive a $10,000 iTunes gift card, an iPod touch, a Time Capsule, and a MacBook Pro.
Preparing for the Next Billion
“The revolutionary App Store has been a phenomenal hit with iPhone and iPod touch users around the world, and we’d like to thank our customers and developers for helping us achieve the astonishing milestone of one billion apps downloaded,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing. “In nine months, the App Store has completely revolutionized the mobile industry, and this is only the beginning.”
As of Friday, the App Store has more than 35,000 applications available to consumers in 77 countries. The store lets developers reach tens of millions of iPhone and iPod touch users around the world.
This summer the iPhone OS 3.0 update will provide developers with more than 1,000 new APIs enabling in-app purchases, peer-to-peer connections, app control of accessories, and push notifications. The iPhone OS 3.0 will also add more than 100 customer features, including cut, copy and paste; Spotlight search; a landscape keyboard and a view for all key iPhone apps; and expanded parental controls for apps, TV shows, and movies.
The Evergreen iPhone Experience
What does the one billion app download really mean? Avi Greengart, a wireless analyst at Current Analysis, isn’t sure. He…