iOS App Store hits 25 billlion downloads

Apple's download the 25 billionth app from the iOS App Store contest has come to a close, which means the iOS App Store has officially reached 25 billion downloads. The winner of the contest has not been named, yet, but some lucky girl or guy out there has a $10,000 (approx Rs.4,92,700) gift certificate to the iTunes Store to her or his name. According to Redmond Pie, this confirms that the iOS App Store is currently the biggest hub for mobile applications. Apple made the announcement on its website with a banner reading, “A billion thanks. 25 times over. The App Store has reached 25 billion downloads. Thanks for getting us there.” The winner can spend the winnings on apps, music or books from Apple's online stores.

25 billion reached

The contest began on the 13th of February and was set to end whenever the 25th billion app was downloaded from the App Store or the receipt of the non-purchase entry after the download of the 24,999,999,999th app, whichever came first. Contestants entered the race, either by downloading apps or by filling out a form online on the Apple website, which served as a non-purchase method. Last year in July, the iOS App Store crossed 15 billion downloaded applications. To compare notes, the Android Market has sold 11 billion apps and BlackBerry's App World has sold 2 billion apps. On the 18th of February, the download ticker clocked 24.328 billion apps and two weeks later, the contest target was met. According to The Next Web, this means that an average of 48.6 million applications were downloaded per day.