App Store downloads exceed 60 million in first month

Consumers have downloaded more than 60 million iPhone applications in the month since Apple opened the App Store, the computing giant's CEO Steve Jobs revealed in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. While a majority of the applications were free, Jobs said that Apple still sold an average of $1 million a day in iPhone apps, generating about $30 million in sales so far--if sales continue at their current pace, the company is poised to earn at least $360 million in new revenue from the digital storefront. "This thing's going to crest a half a billion, soon," Jobs said. "Who knows, maybe it will be a $1 billion marketplace at some point in time. I've never seen anything like this in my career for software." But Jobs said Apple stands to derive minimal direct profits from the App Store, claiming the 30 percent of application proceeds the firm retains are just enough to cover operating expenses. Jobs said iPhone application earned about $21 million during the first month, with the top 10 developers raking in roughly $9 million. He declined to update sales totals on the iPhone 3G itself.

For more on the App Store's early success:
- read this Wall Street Journal article [1]

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