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New data on iTunes: 11 billion downloaded

When Steve Jobs announced 150 million accounts with credit cards on the iTunes Store, iBookstore and App Store, he stated that as far as he knows it has “the most accounts of any store on the web”.

More interesting is the claim that iTunes has enjoyed 16 billion downloads.

Subtracting the 5 billion app downloads, that leads to Music+Video adding up to 11 billion (books at 5 million is still too small to make an impact.)

The last download data on iTunes was in February when Apple reported 10 billion songs downloaded. The new data implies the daily download rate is about 9.3 million per day.  The forecast I had suggested 11.1 billion by June 1 so it’s come in a bit less than expected.

12 billion songs is expected in September.

The graph that follows shows actual and forecast cumulative downloads for the App Store and iTunes store based on months after launch.  As it shows, 5 billion apps took 24 months whereas 5 billion songs took 46 months.

This graph shows the download rates.  The green line (apps) clearly overtakes the slowing blue line (songs/media).

WWDC: Download rate increased to 16.4 million apps per day

The download rate has just shot up.  It’s gone way above the song daily download rate.

WWDC: App Store reaches 5 billion sold at an average selling price of 29c per app

Total sales: $1.43 billion
Amount to developers: $1 billion
Apps sold: 5 billion
ASP: $0.29

My expectation was 4.9 billion by June 1. Apple is about on target.

WWDC Context: A quarter million apps approved

Six months ago IDC predicted 300k apps before end of 2010.

Here is a quick mid-year check: As of today there are around 215k available, with 250k likely approved by the end of WWDC.

These are the stats from three app store tracking spiders:

Apple’s WWDC banners proclaim 200k apps which was the last public count stated at the April iPhone OS 4.0 launch event.

Looks like IDC’s forecast will not be a stretch especially as the new iPhone will create a new wave of apps.

Also noteworthy is the nearly 10k iPad apps available in less than 3 months.  The original iPhone reached 10k apps in about six months.

The Walled Garden is only as good as its gardener

I’m assuming we’re supposed to compare this approach to the freer alternatives such as community gardens and city parks. Ignoring for a moment the fact that these gardens are also regulated by serious restrictions on what one can and can’t do, it still puzzles me that the “walled garden” is presented as an obviously undesirable structure.

Aren’t the benefits of a closed, carefully managed garden clearly visible? The experience is controlled, so it tells a story – one which may not emerge from a democratic, anything-goes process or do you think this sort of slow and deliberate story would emerge in a busy American city in the year 2010? Charging for admission means that the place can be maintained, improved, and marketed. There are downsides to this, of course — maybe the management makes boneheaded decisions now and then. Maybe you think that vine maple would look better a little to the left — maybe you’re even right.

via The Walled Garden – Neven Mrgans tumbl.

A walled garden is great as long as the gardener is an enlightened genius.  I can tell you that when operators tried to make walled internets for their handsets, the result was an atrocity.

It’s understandable why people recoil at the thought of a walled garden.  But they shouldn’t.  If it’s no good you can go somewhere else.