In the battle of mobile apps, it's Apple's 500,000 to Microsoft's 18,000
Today, Andy Lees, president of Microsoft's Windows Phone division, boasted about 18,000 applications in 7 months. He can only wish for this kind of future: 500,000 applications approved to Apple's iOS app store in about three years. This isn't even a fair fight. The elephant in the room could squash the mouse just too easily.
But there is hope for Microsoft. Apple crossed the 10,000 apps threshold four months after App Store launched. The number of Windows Phone apps is about the same as iOS apps during similar timeframe from store launch. So maybe there's more to Lees' boasting, if Microsoft is using Apple's success as measure of one possible Windows Phone future.
Developers 148Apps, Chillingo and Chomp have put together a tidy infographic showing off Apple's App Store progress since its debut in July 2008. According to the inforgraphic, there are 85,569 unique developers represented at the App Store, and there is an average 4.6 apps per developer.
Angry Birds is the best-selling all-time paid-for app, followed by The Moron Test and the Moto Chaser. Gulp, iFart Mobile is No. 12. Sixty-three percent of all apps are paid, with average price per app of $3.64.
The value of all apps currently live is $891,982.24. There are 244,720 paid apps and 174,966 free ones. It's a fun inforgraphic -- and, who knows, maybe Lees will be able to boast this kind of Windows Phone success in three years.
