One weekend, one million iPhone 3G sales

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 15 July 2008 02:31

Business IT - Technology

Some people will no doubt be tempted to divide 10 million by one million and get 10 applications per iPhone, but there are all those original iPhones and iPod touches that have been updated with the new firmware that are also able to run iPhone applications.

Apple sold at least 5 million first-generation iPhones, but the company doesn't break its iPod sales figures down to individual models. So I wouldn't argue if you were to tell me there are around 10 million app-capable iPhones and iPods in use.

The other thing is that Apple didn't mention how many of the 10 million downloads were freebies, and how many were paid for. My suspicion is that a <i>lot</i> of owners downloaded Apple's free Remote. This app turns an iPhone or iPod touch into a Wi-Fi remote control for iTunes or Apple TV, and it's been the top free download since Day One of the App Store.

Apple does point out that of the 800+ items in the App Store, more than 200 are free and more then 90 percent cost less than $US10.

I'm not saying that 10 million downloads in three days shouldn't be considered a success, but Apple has yet to provide evidence that it has a commercially viable platform for developers that need to be paid for their efforts.