That Was Fast: Apple App Store Downloads Now At 2 Billion

Apple today revealed that its App Store has surpassed 2 billion downloads and is populated with 85,000 apps. The iPhone and iPod Touch continue to drive users to the online music and app distribution store, with Apple continuing to reap the benefits.

Apple also boats more than 50 million iPhones and iPod Touches in circulation, contributing to the acceleration of the App Store's growth, and an independent developer ecosystem numbering more than 125,000.

"The rate of App Store downloads continues to accelerate, with users downloading a staggering 2 billion apps in just over a year, including more than half a billion apps this quarter alone. The App Store has reinvented what you can do with a mobile handheld device, and our users are clearly loving it," Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, said in a statement.

The march to 2 billion downloaded apps came with much less fanfare than the first billion, which Apple crested in April this year. The lead-up to the 1 billionth App Store download included a Web site tracking the downloads as well as a prize for the person who downloaded the magic app.

Connor Mulcahey, a 13-year-old from Weston, Conn., ultimately downloaded the 1 billionth app and received a $10,000 iTunes gift card, an iPod Touch, a Time Capsule and a MacBook Pro.

The Apple App store launched in July 2008 and took about 10 months to reach the 1 billion download mark. The second billion apps were downloaded in five months. The speed with which Apple made the leap from 1 billion to 2 billion downloads is impressive, demonstrating the strength of the Apple developer ecosystem.