Apple's App Store crosses the 1.5 billion download mark
By Laura June 
posted July 14th 2009 9:54AM
posted July 14th 2009 9:54AM
posted July 14th 2009 9:54AM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
@ borland:
One nit to pick... Saying that Apple didn't adopt hardware standards and citing USB as an example is silly. The first iMac helped bring USB into the mainstream before many PC manufacturers were adopting it.
I can see why you'd have reservations about Apple's vertical hardware/software model, as I felt the same way before getting my first Mac. Now, however, I think the vertical model is better because I've had a better experience in the last 5 years on Macs than I did in the prior 15 years on PCs (from DOS through Windows XP). I believe my experience has been better because Apple controls the hardware as well. Do they get a little overzealous in protecting their platforms? Sure, sometimes they do, particularly with the iPhone. But for the time being, the good outweighs the bad.
The difference between Apple and Microsoft is their motivation as a company. I believe Apple is motivated by creating a better user experience while Microsoft is motivated by control. Microsoft locks users into proprietary platforms while giving off the illusion that they're open by licensing Windows to any Tom, Dick, or Harry who wants to build a computer. They're anything BUT open; they reject standards in hopes that they can force their own "standard" down everyone's throat. I could spend all day citing examples of this, but I don't think I really need to.
Your reservations about Apple are understandable, but they're not Microsoft. And I hope they never will be.
I find it horribly amusing that all I have to do to find a comment thread full of people bashing every inane, uneducated rant you have is click the comments link on any article remotely regarding any kind of apple product.
Do you really feel the need to post on every apple article and then proceed to attemt to bash on all your so-called "apple-haters"
I don't think the world will ever understand...
Dear Paul,
Even though I personally am not a fan of apple products, I respect that you are a seemingly very devoted fan. But I feel obliged to give you some tips that hopefully you will follow in regards to commenting on this site. First of all, when you are commenting, make sure to read your comments over and make sure they can not be seen as rude, aggressive, or standoffish. For example, let's take the comment that started this thread;
"Congratulations, Apple. Despite all the complaining about banned apps, snide remarks from Apple Haters about fart apps and how they "would never buy a phone with SUCH restrictions (Yeah, right, like they would buy anything made by Apple)," the App Store just officially passed the 62,000 app mark also. Bravo.
(exact count is 62,336)"
Now, this comment seems ok at first, but as it goes on, it becomes a little more accusatory than congratulatory. To demonstrate what a comment that would have said the same basic message without the aggressiveness, below I will write an edited version of your comment.
"Congratulations, Apple. Despite all your tough competition, your App Store just officially passed the 62,000 app mark also. Bravo."
The example above shows how your point can be written in a much less aggressive tone. Also, it demonstrates how sometimes saying less can mean a lot more. This brings me to my next point.
IF YOU SAY LESS, YOU WILL BE HEARD MORE.
I'd like to first make a note that the caps lock used above was not, in fact, meant to be perceived as a raised voice or argumentative tone, but instead to make the statement stick out from the rest of this comment. That statement is very important. Right now, you comment on almost every apple or microsoft related article. Because you do this, many of the people who read engadget automatically filter your comments out the second they see your name. But if you decided to comment and write less, your words would hold more weight, and inspire truly constructive debate, instead of simply hateful comments. For example, because the comment I just wrote is so long, most people probably won't read it, except for you and possibly other readers named Paul, because I included "Dear Paul" at the top. Anyway, I'm just just rambling now, but hopefully I got my point across. I hope you have a wonderful day, Paul Chapel and any other Pauls reading this, and thank you for reading.
I'm not sure why I'm even responding to this.
Yes, I own a MacPro. You know, it is the most beautiful piece of computer HARDWARE I have ever owned. The operating system that comes with it, OSX, sucks beyond belief. That is exactly what I stated and all fact. But you know what else, Apple doesn't really make the hardware, they just put it in a big shiny aluminum box and call it theirs.
Yes, that comment was made on a post about tablets. But what you left out was all the convo that went out before I posted it and how the comments on that thread all got twisted to talking about operating systems. Therefore my comment fit perfectly in place where it was. Nice try on making me sound like I make random posts.
The reason people bash you and not others is that other people make one comment, yes you can tell which camp they sit in, but they make one and only one comment. Their comments also don't contain made up numbers, like you again stating thousands of viruses. If Windows machines got infected with thousands of viruses, not even Bill Gates himself would use Windows. Yet here we are years later after Windows was first released, and how's their market share looking? Point being: Windows machines do NOT get infected with thousands of viruses. There may be a vast library of viruses, but how many of them are still around infecting?
A person making a comment about the app store having mostly fart apps is not an Apple hater. Again, I like my iPhone - it's not perfect. There are many things that need to be improved. There are some good apps, like everyone agrees on, but most of them really do suck. People don't see the need for apple to constantly being releasing numbers and downloads. It actually makes them care less. A person making a negative comment on this does not make them an AppleHater. This is one thing you do not understand.
So you think the taskbar is too small? How big do you have your dock set to then? Is it taking up your entire screen? Damn old man, get some glasses. It's your right to think they're too small, but wow.
I'm not bashing you because of your very first post to this topic. That was a well typed, well worded post. But then you go on to bash others and start spewing crap again, this is what everybody on here has a problem with. You are one of those people who thinks they need to have the last word, so you change the subject and don't respond to arguments just to try and win. Point being - you brought in an old comment from yesterday about gaming on the tablet and me owning a macpro to this argument...why?
I will not respond to any more of your illogical comments. I have better things to do.
Nice job running interference Paul, looks like any negative comments are buried in your argument. Bravo!
Wow Paul way to reply to the merits of my comment... rather, as you typically do, you miss the point completely (my point is the shear volume of your commenting screams "look at me... pay attention to me!" which is what makes you a trolltacular troll), take your argument to its absurd limits ("I mean, someone screaming 'FIRST' in an article is not going to come back and say 'SECOND!'" (by the way, the person posting "FIRST" is not a troll, they are just an idiot. You are both) and ask a rhetorical question. ("I don't have the right to respond to it or defend myself?" Not when there is nothing to defend... "And wouldn't a troll just make a comment and run away?" This is what you do when someone makes a valid counterargument, or you use the equally trollish move of making an unrelated counterargument or misrepresenting the counterargument).
Responding to trollish comments with your own trollish counter-comments is not "defending yourself" it is just being a bigger troll then you were before.
For the LAST time Paul:
"Windows machines do NOT get infected with thousands of viruses. There may be a vast library of viruses, but how many of them are still around infecting?"
Read the whole comment. And zero for OSX? We all know that's wrong, even you.
Would somebody else please respond to Paul and tell him how much of a moron he is for me so that I don't have to? Thanks.
Would somebody else please respond to Paul and tell him how much of a moron he is for me so that I don't have to? Thanks.
Okay sure.
Paul, you are not a moron, however there is an App for that.
The Moron Test is awesome... just needs to have the original games included. I liked the first version the best.
@Paul: "The difference between Apple and Microsoft is their motivation as a company"
Fair points, but I guess my return nit with the above statement is they are both motivated by money. Yet Apple, to their credit, realized that making the OS sexy rather than utilitarian makes money. I will say that there is a difference in corporate culture which favors usability at the expense of openness. Combined with skill, that fosters an ecosystem which is not only bound together but functions well for the most part. Many, such as Sony, have failed to be both proprietary and good.
There are very good reasons to keep the platform vertical, I realize that. But no matter how good the company, I cannot support a monopoly. For if Apple keeps rising in power, that's what it will be. To me, Microsoft was almost a better devil because they never made clamping down on openness an alluring proposition.
Still, no one is perfect and Apple's preference for vertical control will limit overall adoption. And I wasn't aware they preferred usb early on; I thought they rode the firewire bandwagon until forced to adopt.
Oops, meant to reply to @Jeff. I suppose another thing I should add is that I never meant to imply that Microsoft was open by their own choice. However, the fact that they only controlled the OS made them more subject to being open. Certainly while I have a preference for Windows OS, I will not defend Microsoft as ethical stewards of software.
@Josh
" For example, because the comment I just wrote is so long, most people probably won't read it, except for you and possibly other readers named Paul, because I included "Dear Paul" at the top..... I hope you have a wonderful day, Paul Chapel and any other Pauls reading this, and thank you for reading. "
I just read the whole post from josh. And my name is not paul :( :(
BTW josh is pretty much right here. No point replying 10`s of times stating the same thing over n over again. You are making a fool of yourself along with the ones who are arguing with you(Sorry all of you. Dont flame me). You dont like the comments/posters here then leave it. Just read the Engadget Post and move on.
I m a 100% Mac/iPhone fan and really dislike windows. Wont use it until OSX works good enough for me. But still recommending Win 7 to all my friends/family coz I know they wont convert to Mac anytime soon/never (for whatever personal reasons) and I also agree that Win7 is the best OS MS has shipped to date. It`d be stupid of me to ask them to get a Mac just coz I prefer it and not support the highly rated Win 7 just coz its a MS product.
So no need for a black n white world here. People at sites like engadget and giz are way too stupid(sorry again) to waste so much time fighting the same old flame-war again n again. Just use whatever you like. Why care what others have to say as long as it works for u.
NOTE TO SELF- (make sure I never check back this post again. EVER. I know how it starts :o )
Honestly, do people care about this? Most of the apps are shit anyway.
Obviously someone does...how many of the 65,000+ apps have you used?? Do you have an iPhone or just iPhone envy/jealousy?!?
Watch out, those crappy apps will start showing up on blackberries, nokias, palm and winmo devices soon enough now that the concepts have been developed.
@paul who said "There is currently about 140,000 viruses available for Windows. And 0 for OS X. Get the picture?"
you sir, i beleive, are the one missing the picture. Yes thousands of viruses exist for windows, awesome good job for you. However one persons computer will not be infected with said thousands of viruses. It just doesnt work that way, unless you freakin TRY to go find viruses. I personally don't use antivirus on my Windows 7 machines, and since the beta, i have not had a single problem. You have to actively invite viruses in. If you're not a complete idiot on the internet you wont have a problem with viruses.
And in my opinion the superbar in win7 is not an imitation of OS X dock. Also the icons on the win7 task bar are actually pretty large, and it is very clear what programs are open and what are not, unless you need glasses. Either way I think you need a better argument than OS X is better because it is made by Apple. How much experience do you actually have with windows 7. Are you even in a position to compare and contrast the two OSs?
@paul who said "There is currently about 140,000 viruses available for Windows. And 0 for OS X. Get the picture?"
you sir, i beleive, are the one missing the picture. Yes thousands of viruses exist for windows, awesome good job for you. However one persons computer will not be infected with said thousands of viruses. It just doesnt work that way, unless you freakin TRY to go find viruses. I personally don't use antivirus on my Windows 7 machines, and since the beta, i have not had a single problem. You have to actively invite viruses in. If you're not a complete idiot on the internet you wont have a problem with viruses.
And in my opinion the superbar in win7 is not an imitation of OS X dock. Also the icons on the win7 task bar are actually pretty large, and it is very clear what programs are open and what are not, unless you need glasses. Either way I think you need a better argument than OS X is better because it is made by Apple. How much experience do you actually have with windows 7. Are you even in a position to compare and contrast the two OSs?
@paul
I am a mac user. You're making me look bad. SHUT UP.
Im actually using Windows 7 on my Macbook Pro tho lol. Gotta Play that Fallout 3
I wish there was a day when we could have a candid conversation
about the the article instead of random bullshit. Yes most of the apps
in the app store are stupid, even some of the ones that should be useful
are just crappy. But there are also awesome apps. For example, there are a
few apps that let doctors monitor their patients status remotely, and also be able to see
chart information right on their iphone.
To some of those people saying that all iphone users are stupid, most of the doctors
that i know are iphone users. Im pretty sure they are wayyy smarter than a lot of the
people that say that. Ill take a Hopkins Med Graduate over basically any other
undergrad degree holder. thanks.
Lol. Geek Fight!!
I would like to state though, for fairness that there are Virus' for OS X, in proof-of-concept only, and you have to activate them by entering your administrative password.
In Vista and 7 you have to "activate" them by allowing them to run.
So how is OSX any more secure?
I like that 1st app icon:
"The Moron Test" -- I bet if you paid $0.99 for it, you "passed".
@paul who said "Click on my name and check out my website. I have a pic called "Complex versus Simple" and it illustrates how small the taskbar in Windows 7 is compared to the OS X dock. The Mac dock is freaking beautiful."
after looking closely at the picture labeled complex versus simple, the dock icons and the win7 task bar icons are so close in size that you might as well say they are the same exact size. some of the dock icons might be taller. but i mean with a tolerance of about 10-20 pixels I'd say they are the same size...
Another thing I noticed is that there is a more generous amount of space between the win7 icons. the OS X dock looks... cluttered to me. I dont know if cluttered is really the word I'm looking for but you see what I mean
paul you are on here everyday.. trying to do what? convince people that Apple is better? its nice to live in a world where people actually try a product before they bash it(just because of the name), but it will never happen. I'm glad you love Apple. I too, love my Apple products, but i don't waste my time on all the "haters" (aka opinionated people, just like you). Its pointless. I agree with you, I've had 3 Windows PC's and they all didn't make me a happy person. That doesn't mean all Windows running PC's are garbage. Just like Apple doesn't make good moves (Apple-TV & MB Air). You all battle each other for what, no one is ever going to change their opinion because someone else told them to... so just give it up(Apple & Windows "trolls" alike). Its sad really.
*
*
This is an Apple post about how they've manage to sell 1.5 billion apps which no one can deny, is a huge fete(dunno if thats how you spell it, so let the grammar police attack me). But get the fuck over yourselves with this Apple is better... no windows is better... no this is better. The c- section is polluted with ignorance of people not understanding what a point of view is.
@ borland:
I'll try not to be insulted that you called me Paul :)
Both companies, like all companies, are absolutely motivated by money. The difference is that Apple tries to make money by creating products people want, while Microsoft tries to make money by locking people in so they have no choice (or perceive they have no choice). I don't mean to discredit those at Microsoft who do care about their products (because I'm sure there are plenty), but it seems that it's not a high priority for those at the top until their back is against the wall.
And to say that OS X makes money for Apple just because it's sexy is dismissive. Yes, it's sexy, but in my experience, it's also more stable, reliable, and secure with less effort than Windows. I would have sold my Mac and gone back to Windows if I didn't think it were better.
Monopolies are only a problem when they're abused, and Microsoft has a very well documented history of abusing its monopoly. Apple has yet to do this, and one might argue that they've actually used their near-monopoly in favor of consumers when Steve Jobs pushed for an end to DRM music in the iTunes Store. Your wariness is understandable, but for me, Apple has earned the right to the benefit of the doubt. If they abuse my trust, they'll lose it.
I do hope they can resolve the issues we're seeing with the App Store. I can see why some might see it as being monopolist, but I hope it's just growing pains because their approach to the market is new.
damn it - this was supposed to be a reply to the thread on the first comment page.
WTF do the OSX and Windows 7 docks have to do with this post? Even in the slightest? How in the world can you claim to NOT be a troll when you link to something that has NOTHING to do with the article.
I can hear your "counterargument" right now. "But other people were talking about the docks... why aren't you calling them trolls." I guess I am calling them trolls (or at least guilty of trollish proclivities)... but you are an equally huge troll for perpetuating a subject that is not germane, in ANY WAY, to the topic of this message board.
Let's keep this going, I wanna see a single post get responded to over 100 times, so that readers must click "Next 50 Comments" twice before seeing the official second post! These are exciting times!
fuck dude...do you ever shuttup
please do a search for me
how many twitter apps?
how many chat apps?
how many fart apps?
how many redundant sports apps?
I count that as 62,336 apps that work (even if most suck). Compared to all the free-ware for windows which might be greater but the actaully number of working copies is most like much smaller... maybe one or two apps actually work on the Windows.
TL; DR.
Wow. This thread is populated by a bunch rude, impolite, nut-cases!
Thanks for the oasis of sanity and decorum, @Paul Chapel. I really mean it. Keep the faith.
Lord, cant believe how long this has gone on for now, seems absolutely crazy.
Okay shows over.
and to prove that PAC knows nothing about windows - hes just mentioned that:
He doesnt know how to change the taskbar size in win 7 (it possible, easy, and i did it on day one)
He doesnt know that Window comes with accessibility tools (yeah - control panel you tool)
And the incompetent fool returns again.... (see below)
Paul, the reason we hate Apple is because it creates people like you.
Congratulations to Apple and the awesome developers out there. The iPhone 3GS and its amazing capabilities will only spur more massive growth for the App Store.
Paul I went to your profile and I looked at your "complex vs simple" picture. Anybody else in the world could take that same picture and simply rename is "Options vs Lmitations" and it would have the exact opposite meaning. I mean, put the control panel in category view and you will notice how there is even LESS confusion than the one style of view you get with system preferences in osx. At least with Windows you get your choice of how you want your computer to present options to you. Way to pick the view with the most icons and try to twist it around and make an argument out of it. You fail again.
Microsoft will never buy Palm. It would alienate all the mobile device manufacturers who promise to use WinMo. Besides that would be admitting that WebOS is superior to WinMo and Ballmer would never admit to something like that. Microsoft might copy and steal Palm technology, but that's about it. If Palm were to license WebOS it might put WinMo out of business.
How are some of you people judging that most of the apps in the App Store suck? Even if a couple of you downloaded a 1000 apps, it still doesn't account for the other 61,000 or so apps. Plus you're calling 100,000 or so developers poorly skilled which is very unlikely.
Yet you believe the 100 or so developers that might decide to develop for your WinMo, Android, or Symbian platforms are going to be the cream of the crop. Your second string platform is likely to get the dregs of the developers who can't make it on the iPhone platform, so your platform will really be stuck with crappy apps. I have got to see these perfect apps that are coming to Android and WinMo and see how well their corporate app stores do.
In a single year, the App store has probably more apps than all the competing smartphone platforms had for the last ten years and someone has the audacity to say all the iPhone/iPod Touch apps suck. Go back to under that dark rock you crawled from. I'm certain developers are not all that stupid and they're surely not averse to making money wherever it flows freely.
Damn there's a lot of people who visit this site with way too much time on their hands. Honestly, who reads stories about companies they hate and then wastes even more time writing half-wit, demeaning comments as if anyone really cared about their opinion!? I seriously hope these people are aged about 13 years old, they sure as hell are acting like it.
Anyway, the topic at hand... I think I've downloaded a little over 100 different applications from the store, deleted around 30 or so, and currently have almost 40 installed on my iPhone. Of those 40 I use half of them regularly/daily. All the rest of the applications in my iTunes library are pretty much for when I travel or games that I over played.
In its current state the AppStore is becoming a bit of a pain to browse through; there are just way too many applications. The "Utilities" section alone is over 200 pages long! How in the hell are we supposed to look through all of that for stuff!? They really need to break-up the sections into sub-categoris like they do in the games section. It's only going to get worse as more applications are added.
@Kelmon: "application vendors are required to recompile their applications for the new OS version"
That's not exactly true. They don't have to be compiled for iPhone OS 3.0, they just have to be tested to run under it. And I believe Apple is only requiring this from all newly submitted applications.
Unfortunately, I trashed the email from Apple on the subject but I am pretty sure that all applications have to be compiled for iPhone OS 3.0 in order to be sold in the App Store, be they new ones or existing ones. Testing older applications against the current version of the OS is probably harder to do than it is to simply recompile the application against the current SDK.
Jesus Christ people these comments are meant to be about the fact that apple has reached 1.5 bil downloads from the App Store, not about why you hate Apple or people defending Apple. Please stop and comment like mature adults, cause I hate reading these comments now because of stupid idiots making dumb comments.
you guys are thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis close to solving the epic crisis of anonymous posters on the internet being opinionated irrational a-holes. You can do it, keep trying! And if you are unsuccessful, try again tomorrow. You'll get it right someday, and it will have been worth every hard-fought second when everyone has the same glorious, enlightened, rational, factual, viewpoint as you.
ugh.
Note to self: reinstitute policy of not reading comments on the internet. Nothing intelligent ever comes of it, no matter how intelligent the commenters purport themselves to be.
I like Worms.
@ Tony - very weird to see your genuine question in amongst the frenzy of hatred and trolling in this thread!
Anyway, updates are not counted. Sources:
Dan Frommer, writer for Silicon Alley Insider (Apr 23 2009) - "Apple confirms that this does *not* include updates" (his emphasis).
http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-passes-1-billion-iphone-apps-downloaded-2009-4
Eliot Van Buskirk writing for Wired's Epicenter (Apr 24 2009) - "And it’s impressive that iPhone and iPod Touch users have downloaded a billion apps from the store, since (as we confirmed today with Apple) its download tally does not include updates to previously-downloaded apps."
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/04/billionth-iphone-app-downloader-scores-freebies-developer-wins-too/