Apple Announces 2 Billion Downloads Ahead of Marketplace for Mobile Launch

With Marketplace for Mobile scheduled to launch alongside Windows Mobile 6.5 on October 6th, Apple's statistics announcement for its own App Store today is probably meant, on some level, to take a little bit of steam out of Redmond, WA's launch of Windows Marketplace for Mobile in exactly a week and a day from today. Apple's App Store is the first large-scale applications download model that has been met with large success, and today the Cupertino, CA firm announced that there has been over 2 billion downloads since the store's inception with over 85,000 free and paid applications available.

Microsoft is really paying attention to the App Store in its Marketplace for Mobile launch, and we're hoping that the software giant is taking notes. Though Apple's App Store has been met with great success, it has taken a strong beating lately. Complex applications approval process, app rejection, and lack of demo and trial-ware have provoked the ire of consumers, developers, and journalists. Apple has garnered a lot of negative publicity by restricting SlingPlayer Mobile to WiFi and not over 3G, rejecting the Google Voice app, and sometimes not approving apps without any rhyme or reason.

Read on to find out more.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is trying to benefit from the media backlash against the app store. The firm has been actively trying to court developers by making it easier to port their iPhone apps to Windows Mobile.

The company also is downplaying the number of applications for Marketplace for Mobile and is instead focusing on the quality of applications available. At this time, Microsoft isn't publicly commenting to how many apps Marketplace for Mobile will launch with. In an email statement, a Microsoft spokesperson told us: "Developers are still working hard on their apps for Marketplace and it would be premature to commit to a total number of applications available at launch with Windows Mobile 6.5 on October 6." With Windows Mobile's already large, but disparate, catalogs of applications, freewares, cabs, and programs available, we're hoping that those get approved into Marketplace for Mobile quickly.

Additionally, Microsoft has told developers for Marketplace for Mobile that it hopes that they would price their app higher than $0.99, a common entry point for paid apps at Apple's App Store. Rather, Microsoft is hoping developers can and will create quality, feature-rich applications that they can charge a premium for. This would help to keep Marketplace for Mobile price competitive and maintain a higher standard of quality against Apple's App Store, which saw an influx of "iFart" apps at the $0.99 price point.

A company spokesperson for Microsoft has stated: "We are currently focused on building out the infrastructure and partnering with the developer community to ensure that Windows Marketplace for Mobile launches with a rich variety of quality applications for work and play." The statement gives an early glimpse at the types of applications that will be coming to Marketplace for Mobile as Microsoft tries to brand its Windows phones around "work and play."

Marketplace for Mobile may not be available at launch on October 6 for older Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1 devices, which we had previously reported.

Additional details about Marketplace for Mobile will be available at launch, so stay tuned with pocketnow.com for your Windows Mobile 6.5 and Marketplace for Mobile coverage.