iPhone App Store 1 Year Anniversary

One year ago today, Apple introduced the App Store to the world. The App Store started out with 500 applications for people to download. Today, it is now at a staggering 50,000 apps and counting, with over 1,000,000,000 downloads. It’s pretty incredible when you think about it. The scary thing is it doesn’t seem like the App Store momentum is slowing down–it is still growing everyday.

The App Store Has Changed the Way We Use Our Phones Forever

The App Store has changed the way people approach their cellphones. There is an app or game for pretty much anything out there. The App Store is one of the main reasons why the iPhone is the cellphone to beat right now in my opinion. Hot games such as Flight Control or FieldRunners will keep you busy, while apps like Skype and IM+ with Push make you even more addicted to the phone.

To put things into perspective, BlackBerry’s App World has only recently hit 2000 applications and the Android Market with 2300. These other guys have some catch to do. App World can only be installed on internal memory, and the cheapest price for an app is $2.99. You could buy three apps in the App Store for that price!

The only problem with the App Store is keeping track of all the new apps! So many get introduced everyday it’s hard to keep up! I can only imagine how many apps we’ll see in another year. Maybe 100,000+ apps/games and 2,000,000,000 downloads?!

Here’s what Apple has to say about the App Store turning 1:

Light a candle and cue the music. OK, forgive us for sounding like doting parents, but we’re just so proud–having watched the App Store go from promising newcomer to full-fledged revolutionary. To celebrate its first birthday, we’ve gathered some of our favorite games and apps. Part fun. Part function. Entirely amazing.

If you haven’t noticed, within the desktop version of iTunes there are lists of favorite apps and games recommended by Apple. Take a look at pictures below:

My Favorite Apps Right Now–What are yours?

Here are some of my favorite apps that I use pretty much everyday, plus others that I always keep close by:

– Tweetie/TwitterFon/TweetDeck
– IM+ with Push
– 1Password
– Skype (not available in Canada–click here on how to download it!)
– OmniFocus
– AOL Radio (US iTunes)
– Fieldrunners, Flight Control
– Google Mobile App
– ScoreMobile

What are some of your must have apps for the iPhone?

I bet everyone will discover some hidden gems here so list away! Happy birthday App Store!

Winners of IM+ with Push

Here are the extra two lucky winners of our extended IM+ with Push Contest:

Edsel Yu Chua
Tim

Congrats to the both of you! Check your emails for the promo codes, enjoy! 🙂