iTunes App Store celebrates first birthday

By David Martin on 10 July 2009, 10:45am

The iTunes App Store is one year old this week, and Apple is celebrating by promoting some of its favourite apps and games. The company's promotion is typically modest:

"Light a candle and cue the music. Okay, forgive us for sounding like doting parents, but we're just so proud -- having watched the App Store go from promising newcomer to full-fledged revolutionary. To celebrate its first birthday, we've gathered some of our favorite games and apps. Part fun. Part function. Entirely amazing."

Yeah, pass the sick bag. But Apple does have plenty to brag about. In one year, the App Store's virtual shelves have stocked more than 50,000 apps, hosted more than 1 billion app downloads, forced its competitors to create their own copycat app stores -- and arguably changed the way people think of phones.

The store has generated plenty of controversy, too. Developers have had their apps rejected for obscure reasons. Plenty of developers have complained loudly about what they say is mistreatment by Apple.

We'd like to know your experiences. What's your favourite app? Do you think Android and the others have what it takes to catch up? Are you an iPhone developer with iTunes App Store experiences, good or bad? Leave a message in the comments section below.