iTunes App Store passes 1 billion downloads, but how will other app stores fare?
Apple’s iTunes App Store passed 1 billion downloads last night, but come other stores hope to even come close to that success?
After only nine months in operation, the iTunes App Store sent out its one billionth app last night. According to Apple, the lucky person was Connor Mulcahey, age 13, of Weston, CT. His download of Bump (iTunes link) from Bump Technologies, an app that allows you to “bump” two iPhones or iPod Touches to each other to transfer contact information. This download won Mr. Mulcahey a $10,000 iTunes gift card, an iPod Touch, a Time Capsule and a MacBook Pro.
While this is a fantastic milestone for Apple, it makes you wonder how the other applications stores that are popping up will fare. The installed user base for iPhones and the iPod Touch continues to grow, with another 7 million units being added just this past quarter. With these numbers, and the ease of use as you can add applications anytime, anywhere, it’s going to be a long road ahead for the likes of the BlackBerry app store to get anywhere near that number of 1 billion.
As a BlackBerry owner, I am thrilled with how they have finally come out with one place to get apps, but I’m not thrilled that I am locked into doing it via a computer. With my iPod Touch I can add apps whenever I feel like it, sitting anywhere I have a Wi-Fi connection. While the BlackBerry store, to be honest, I haven’t even visited yet because it is a hassle to download it and requires you to use Internet Explorer, something I despise. While iTunes is involved in the mix with the iPhone and iPod Touch, it is not 100% required to get new applications.
If people such as myself aren’t going to the BlackBerry store, where is the motivation for developers to work on those “must have” apps that will make people want to go through all of the hassles? It is a catch-22 situation for everyone involved, I’m afraid. While Apple is sure to continue to add to their already impressive numbers, it is highly doubtful that other application stores are going to have even a fraction of that success.
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