iPhone developer house Pinch Media has analyzed the App Store numbers, listing the number of apps and what they will cost you. Of the 550-plus applications available right now, about 25 percent of them can be downloaded free of charge.
Apple's App Store, where customers can buy applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch, opened its doors Thursday morning.
Pinch's research shows developers are flocking to the OS and mobile devices, displaying what may be the first tipping point towards mass adoption of internet enabled mobile devices. According to Pinch Media:
552 applications at launch is a pretty impressive number, especially if you consider less than 20 applications were available (by legit means, anyway) for the iPhone and iPod Touch prior to today's launch.
This number is sure to grow once more developers jump on board, and considering the hype surrounding the App Store and the iPhone, it is easy to see these numbers jump higher. Add the possibility of revenue and businesses might be able to thrive on this software market.
According to an interview in the New York Times, Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs says Apple is "not trying to be business partners" with application developers, preferring to sell iPhones instead. Yet, the company is taking 30 percent of any revenue generated on the store. Did we mention Apple programmed its devices so the only way to download and install applications on the proprietary devices is through iTunes? Natch.
That said, locked-in and exorbitant phone network pricing plans and iPhone third-party development restrictions could possibly put a crimp on growth while open-sourced and Linux-enabled mobile operating systems like Open Moko and Android threaten to catch up... someday.
