App Store: over 2 billion apps served

More than 2 billion apps have been sold to 50 million iPhone and iPod Touch owners since the launch of the App Store in July 2008, says Apple.

That figure is impressive considering that an average of 5 million apps have been downloaded per day between the App Store launch in July 2008 and when it hit 1 billion in April.

While it took 9 months to achieve 1 billion, only 6 months has passed in the build up to 2 billion. That puts the daily average closer to 10 million apps in the period between April and today.

CEO Steve Jobs trumpeted the achievement. "The rate of App Store downloads continues to accelerate with users downloading a staggering two billion apps in just over a year, including more than half a billion apps this quarter alone."

Not every one of the 2 billion sold are games, of course, but they are fueling the App Store's boom. A total of 85,000 apps are available, of which a large chunk are games.

Games dominate the top 100 charts - both volume and revenue - and Apple's recent acknowledgment that games are now the marketing focus for iPod Touch clearly demonstrate their success.

What isn't clear, however, is how many of the 2 billion apps Apple touts as having been downloaded are actually paid versus those available for free.