Not much info on download 2 billion
Image from Flikr.
About five months ago, when the 1 billionth iPhone app was downloaded, Apple made a big deal out of it. The company publicized the identity of the person who made the 1 billionth download and gave the Connecticut teenager a bunch of Apple hardware and software.
However, upon download of the 2 billionth iPhone app, the company simply released a brief statement to the press on Monday. There’s no information about who downloaded it or what it was. Needless to say, whoever did download the 2 billionth iPhone app, he or she didn’t win anything.
Was Apple caught off guard?
The 1 billionth Apple iPhone app was downloaded nine months after the Apple App Store opened. It only took five months to reach 2 billion, so it’s possible Apple execs simply hadn’t gotten around to planning a 2 billion apps party.
Currently there are 85,000 available iPhone apps. This brand new market has never suffered for lack of product as programmers jumped on the opportunity to make extra cash by creating iPhone apps. Wired Magazine says:
The iPhone has been a boon to third-party developer/entrepreneurs, introducing opportunities to design a type of software that didn’t exist even two years ago to a covetous customer base of more than 50 million and counting.
A lucrative opportunity
In fact, Wired reports, some third-part Apple iPhone App developers made multiple millions in a just a year. Independent developer Steve Demeter created the popular iPhone game Trism and made $250,000 in two months. The game costs $5 to download. Then there was Ethan Nicholas, another independent developer, whose game iShoot earned him $600,000 in one month.
Of course, not just any developer can strike it rich with an iPhone app. The company has rejected many apps for reasons that are “not entirely clear,” says Wired. For example, Apple rejected an app called “Me So Holy” that would have allowed users to create mugshots of themselves or friends that resembled Jesus. Apple said the app contained offensive content.
What’s next for Apple apps?
Wired estimates that if the number of apps available continues to grow at the same rate and the rate of download continues as is, the 3 billionth download might be complete in just two or three months. In February, there were about 20,000 apps available at the App Store, compared to this month’s 85,000.
Apple iPhone apps are such a boon for independent developers because there has never before been a way for individual programmers to make money independently like this. This is mostly because the software market is dominated by a few large companies. But now independent developers have the opportunity to capitalize on one of those large companies.
An apple a day
In other quirky Apple related news, The European Commission today passed a rule that in Europe, the volume on mp3 players such as Apple iPod will be set at a new, lower level.
The European Commission says this rule was passed with the intention of limiting hearing loss. AppleInsider reports:
A recent study that listening to music on players at high volume over a sustained period can lead to permanent hearing damage, and that 5 percent to 10 percent of listeners, or 10 million people, are at risk.
