iPad hits 50,000 apps in eight months

MacStories points out that according to the listings in the iTunes App Store, the iPad has reached an unofficial total of 50,000 apps in just the eight months since software started selling for the device. For comparison's sake, the iPhone (which basically means the App Store in general, since that was the first device that could run Apple's apps) hit that total right around the year mark, between July 2008 and 2009. iPad apps first went live in the App Store back in April of this year, and at the time, I noted that it was the best selection of original software for a hardware launch that I'd ever seen on any device -- console manufacturers would love to have had the support that the iPad did when it launched. And that developer interest has continued -- while I think we have seen the price drops that a lot of developers expected (though probably slower than was predicted), developers are still extremely interested in developing for the iPad itself, even inside of the iOS environment.

And as MacStories notes, this makes you wonder what the response will be to the Mac App Store when it launches early next year. In that case, we've got an established platform (remember, no one, not even most developers, had held an iPad in their hands when the apps on the App Store went live in April) with an existing software library that's moving into a new venue, so it'll be extremely interesting to see what happens, both from a developer perspective and as a consumer of Mac software. Maybe next May we'll be talking about an even faster run to 50,000 apps for sale.