Apple has passed yet another milestone in App Store downloads since its launch in 2008 with the iPhone 3G. The Cupertino, California company announced that the App Store has surpassed 40 billion downloads, with 20 billion of those downloads in the year of 2012 alone. In December 2012, Apple surpassed a new record of 2 billion downloads in a month, adding to the total.

Apple also mentioned that they now have over 500 million user accounts on the App Store and as the number of accounts increase, more apps are being downloaded. Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue commented on the company’s new achievement:

It has been an incredible year for the iOS developer community. Developers have made over seven billion dollars on the App Store, and we continue to invest in providing them with the best ecosystem so they can create the most innovative apps in the world.

In its press release, Apple also noted some of the developers and over 775,000 apps that contributed to the success of the App Store and its increase in downloads. The company quoted the developers behind the hit game Temple Run.

In 2012, the husband and wife team at Imangi Studios saw their game Temple Run downloaded more than 75 million times

Other apps and companies highlighted by Apple in the press report included Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Autodesk, Marvel and Major League Baseball, JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot Interactive, Bottle Rocket Apps, and Backflip Studios. Apple’s App Store has experienced massive growth over the past several years, with the company holding a “1 Billion App Countdown” contest in 2009 and later announcing the winner, a 13 year old who downloaded the free app, Bump.

{Via MacRumors}

Apple’s App Store was released to the public in 2008, and started off with only a handful of apps. The App Store has since grown to become one of the largest online services in the world, suppling millions of iOS users with fun and intuitive applications. On Friday, Apple’s App Store finally hit the 25 billion downloads mark, making it the highest number of apps ever downloaded.

The winner of the promotion, who has not yet been announced, will be awarded a $10,000 gift card valid for App Store, Mac App Store, or any other iTunes Store content. Apple has conducted similar promotions in the past, for the App Store and iTunes Store and offered a range of products from iPod touch to Macbook Pro. The prize for 25 billion downloads is a $10,000 giftcard for online purchases with no hardware.

Apple has approved a total of nearly three quarters of a million apps for the App Store, with over 550,000 of them currently available in the store.

After its introduction in 2008, it took roughly two and a half years to reach 10 Billion downloads, and another six months to 15 billion downloads. With the latest 25 billion milestone, the iTunes Store acheived over 10 billion of the 25 billion mark in only 8 months, the fastest downloading period ever for the App Store.

The winner of Apple’s App Store promotion is expected to announced in the coming week once the company has verified the results and contacted the winner.

{via Mac Rumors}

Apple has posted a new page on their website, counting down to a total of 25 billion App Store downloads since its introduction in 2008 with iOS 2. The user who downloads the 25 billionth app or who submits an entry form during that time will win a $10,000 Apple Gift Card which can be applied to any of Apple’s online media, including the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store.

As of today, nearly 25 billion apps have been downloaded worldwide. Which is almost as amazing as the apps themselves. So we want to say thanks. Download the 25 billionth app, and you could win a US$10,000 App Store Gift Card. Just visit the App Store and download your best app yet.

The winner must download the app after the 24,999,999,999th app download or submit the form, whichever comes first and will later be announced on the web page if they are the winner. Apple has done such promotions in the past, including ten billion App Store downloads taking place just over a year ago and another one for ten billion iTunes Music Store downloads, as well as one billion song and app marks and at the 100 million song milestone.

Apple changed the prize to a $10,000 gift card last year after giving away big time prizes including Macbook Pros, iPhones, and iPod Touches in the past. Apple’s countdowns have gained much attention over the past few years and have become a part of Apple’s massive success with their online stores and online sales. The 25 Billion App countdown is expected to end early tomorrow, with App downloads about 500,000 away from 25 Billion.

July 10th 2008 saw the launch of the iOS App Store and the sales numbers have been stellar ever since. The next milestone to arrive will be the 10 billionth download, and Apple will be celebrating by giving the lucky downloader a $10,000 App Store gift card.

Let’s just think about that 10 billion number for a minute. It’s taken the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch just 2 and a half years to reach that incredible number, but now there’s a new kid on the block in the guise of the Mac App Store. If Apple choose to combine the sales numbers for both stores, one can only imagine how quickly we’ll be seeing the 20 billionth app be downloaded!

Now, I’m off to download some apps – I want that gift card!