The App Store Celebrates Its Third Birthday
July 10, 2011
Today is a very special day in the App Store world, as Graham Spencer of Macstories reminds us. Indeed, exactly three years ago Apple launched the App Store; on July 10, 2008.
So what happened in three years? About a half of a million apps happened, according to Appshopper. The bigger story is that Apple has completely revolutionized not only the mobile, but also the software distribution business. In the last three years, people have discovered that it no longer takes heavy investments to be successful making software, and that even includes games. If you're good, you can make it happen. Apple has made people crazy about apps, and it's paying off, as just a few days ago, Apple announced it had sold its 15 billionth third party iOS application, and recently paid out over 2.5 billion dollars to developers.
It's not over yet, as Apple keeps making the store even better, and also creates new ones, like the Mac App Store, or the upcoming Newsstand.
Also, as other platforms are growing, the App Store has stayed a privileged place. Nobody in the industry is coming anywhere near creating such a great marketplace.
So for nostalgia's sake, here is the very first App Store ad Apple aired:
Do you remember your first app? Mine was Super Monkey Ball.
Happy birthday App Store!
