Tag: App Store

New data on iTunes: 11 billion downloaded

When Steve Jobs announced 150 million accounts with credit cards on the iTunes Store, iBookstore and App Store, he stated that as far as he knows it has “the most accounts of any store on the web”.

More interesting is the claim that iTunes has enjoyed 16 billion downloads.

Subtracting the 5 billion app downloads, that leads to Music+Video adding up to 11 billion (books at 5 million is still too small to make an impact.)

The last download data on iTunes was in February when Apple reported 10 billion songs downloaded. The new data implies the daily download rate is about 9.3 million per day.  The forecast I had suggested 11.1 billion by June 1 so it’s come in a bit less than expected.

12 billion songs is expected in September.

The graph that follows shows actual and forecast cumulative downloads for the App Store and iTunes store based on months after launch.  As it shows, 5 billion apps took 24 months whereas 5 billion songs took 46 months.

This graph shows the download rates.  The green line (apps) clearly overtakes the slowing blue line (songs/media).

WWDC Context: A quarter million apps approved

Six months ago IDC predicted 300k apps before end of 2010.

Here is a quick mid-year check: As of today there are around 215k available, with 250k likely approved by the end of WWDC.

These are the stats from three app store tracking spiders:

Apple’s WWDC banners proclaim 200k apps which was the last public count stated at the April iPhone OS 4.0 launch event.

Looks like IDC’s forecast will not be a stretch especially as the new iPhone will create a new wave of apps.

Also noteworthy is the nearly 10k iPad apps available in less than 3 months.  The original iPhone reached 10k apps in about six months.

The Walled Garden is only as good as its gardener

I’m assuming we’re supposed to compare this approach to the freer alternatives such as community gardens and city parks. Ignoring for a moment the fact that these gardens are also regulated by serious restrictions on what one can and can’t do, it still puzzles me that the “walled garden” is presented as an obviously undesirable structure.

Aren’t the benefits of a closed, carefully managed garden clearly visible? The experience is controlled, so it tells a story – one which may not emerge from a democratic, anything-goes process or do you think this sort of slow and deliberate story would emerge in a busy American city in the year 2010? Charging for admission means that the place can be maintained, improved, and marketed. There are downsides to this, of course — maybe the management makes boneheaded decisions now and then. Maybe you think that vine maple would look better a little to the left — maybe you’re even right.

via The Walled Garden – Neven Mrgans tumbl.

A walled garden is great as long as the gardener is an enlightened genius.  I can tell you that when operators tried to make walled internets for their handsets, the result was an atrocity.

It’s understandable why people recoil at the thought of a walled garden.  But they shouldn’t.  If it’s no good you can go somewhere else.

The mystery of the Quantum Leap in the App add rate

The app store crossed 200k apps in early may and is on its way to a quarter million apps approved by end of June.

On the way to this total, the rate of addition of apps has been increasing to around 630 apps added every day.  What’s perhaps interesting is that this app add rate has not been increasing in a steady way.

The graph below shows how the add rate has been increasing (sourced from 148apps.biz).  During the first year, the add rate was increasing steadily.  Then it reached a plateau of about ~350 apps/day for six months in the later half of 2009.  Then it jumped dramatically in December to over 800/day and then leveled off to an average of 680/day during the last 6 months.

The pattern could be due to the rate of applications being submitted changing or due to the rate apps are approved. Clearly there is a seasonal explanation for the December jump, but the rate has held pretty steady after that month and has remained far above the rate during the trailing six months.

My guess is that the app approval process and resourcing for the task has been improved during the last six months.  On a monthly basis the new normal seems to be around 20k apps/mo.

200k apps (IV)

The avalanche of media outlets offering their content for Apple’s mobile devices demonstrates that Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content. And the 200,000 apps on Apple’s App Store proves that Flash isn’t necessary for tens of thousands of developers to create graphically rich applications, including games.

via Thoughts on Flash.

How about that! On February 2nd from your correspondent: 200k Apps by May 1.

Including apps that have been removed, the total apps approved is about a quarter million. 200k available apps crossed over on March 23.

iPhone OS download rate 10X Blackberry

Today, Research in Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie said his BlackBerry App World has 20 million registered users and nearly 1 million daily app downloads.

via Apple Doing 10-20X As Many App Downloads A Day As BlackBerry.

As previously stated, The App download rate increased to a record 10,753,000 per day during the last 90 days.  That makes the download rate for the iPhone platform 10x that of the Blackberry Platform.  The iPhone platform is nearing 100 million installed base.  Blackberry is citing 20 million registered users.  I think everyone is pretty clear on where this is going.

Android Market passes 50k apps

Android has already crossed the 50,000 app mark, new stats from AndroLib show. Just a week after Google officially confirmed the 38,000 app mark, a raw estimate now says the mobile app store has added 10,000 more apps within at least a few weeks.

via Android Market passes 50,000 apps | Electronista.

The AppShopper iTunes app store spider shows the following totals today:

  • Total Apps Approved: 222431
  • Total Available Apps: 191465
  • Total Available iPhone Apps: 188005
  • Total Available iPad Apps: 4902