Apple to Hit 1 Billion Apps this Thursday?

Ars Technica's report on Mobile Squared's projection that -- at the current rate -- the App Store will hit its one BILLIONth download sometime this Thursday:

Apple is currently averaging 5.1 million downloads per day. This is quite an increase from the 2.98 million downloads per day for the first 500 million, showing that the App Store's offerings have indeed increased in popularity. Unsurprisingly, most apps were free downloads, though mobile squared's data says that the average cost of a paid download is $2.20.

Now, we have to ask: if observing an event changes an event, does blogging about a projected download date increase downloads, moving the date sooner? Probably, but not as much as Apple has by offering a $10,000 iTunes gift certificate and a ton of great Apple prizes...

Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.