One Year of the App Store

Posted on July 11th, 2009. Written by James.

On Tuesday 7th July Apple officially started celebrating the App Store’s birthday, we’re bring you this article today on Saturday 11th July because this is the official date the App Store launched on iPhone and iPod Touch, as most would agree, a remarkable day that has changed the way we look at mobile phones, iPhones and iPods forever.

The App Store, the business model that took the mobile world by storm, prompting companies like Nokia, Microsoft and RIM the guys behind BlackBerry to launch there own off shoots of Apple’s App Store business model.

Looking back at the App Store after one year, the apps, the memories and the future. In the past year we have seen the App Store go from only a handful of app’s to the 57,000 and counting that fills the store today.

I’m sure most of us would hate to know how much we have spent on app’s this past year, I personally don’t want to know right now, I keep every single iTunes receipt I receive, I archive them all in a folder for that day where I’m finally brave enough to add them all up and reveal what I expect to be a shocking figure.

As well as its highs the App Store has hit a few uncertainties and lows this past year and received criticism due to applications like the ‘Baby Shaker’ and just recently the press surrounding where or not adult rate content should be allow in the store.

If you’ve been browsing the App Store this week you’ll have noticed the usual advert spot on the ‘New’ section feature page was taken up by one of Apple’s own adverts ‘ Our Favourite Apps’.

As Apple have brought you their favourite apps to mark the year anniversary of the App Store, We thought we’d bring you a handful of our favourite apps from the past year, we have way to many favourite apps to list in a single article!

Tweetie

We’d be lying if we said we didn’t like Tweetie. Yes there are free alternatives, and there is huge discussion about which twitter client is ‘THE’ twitter client for iPhone. As far as we’re concerned? – Tweetie has everything you twiterers crave. A great Apple-esque, user-friendly UI, and taking full advantage of the iPhone 3G’s built-in location services, Tweetie will keep you up-to-date on the move, wherever you are. – Arron

Read the full article.

Toki Tori

Toki Tori features fantastic graphics accompanied by addictive game play in what most would call a Platform Puzzler. Although I’ve never really been a big fan of platform games, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this title and I was right to be excited. I’ve always been a fan of puzzle games on iPhone and this does not dissapoint, the platform aspect really makes things a lot more fast paced and exciting.

Whether you a fan of platform games, puzzle games or both. Toki Tori is a title coming to iPhone this year that you aren’t going to want to miss! – James

Need For Speed: Underground

If you own any racing game what so ever, even if it is Ferrari GT, Asphalt 4, Fastlane, Raging Thunder, Fast & Furious or GTS World Racing then buy this and compare the two games. Need for Speed dominates all other games on so many levels, and in my opinion is the best game on the App Store to date. I would be happy to pay $9.99 for this game and would easily pay $30 or more on the PSP or DS. Do not hesitate to buy this game, you will be blown away! – Damon

Read the full article.

Sneezies

Sneezies is a very undemanding game, perfect for not only the office but in fact anywhere! With its lavish graphics, quirky sounds and addictive gameplay, this is defiantly a title that will sit on your desk for hours on end. This has to be one of my personal favourites and games I’ve played the most, Sneezies will have to playing at work, in bed, at the pub and just about everywhere. – James

Read the full article.

Rolando 2

In a nut-shell this is one of those “Why are you still reading? You should be buying it!” situations. However, we realise some of you will be weary, especially at a price tag of £5.99 / $9.99. Honestly though? There’s not a game on the App Store like Rolando yet, and from a developer like Hand Circus, and a publisher like Ngmoco, whether both ifunded or not – they ooze quality and style from the get go. You really can’t go wrong. – Arron

Read the full article.

BeeJive

The king of instant messaging on the iPhone. BeeJive IM is a flawless instant messaging client for iPhone, providing you with a native experience for all your needs with push notifications, a slick user interface and experience and multiple account support from GChat to MSN to AIM. The price maybe a little higher than other clients such as IM+ but you won’t regret your investment, if your serious about IM, BeeJive is the only client you’ll ever need. – James

TapTap Revenge

TapTap has been around since the days of Installer on Jailbroken iPods and iPhones before the App Store was even born and has just been getting better even since! For fans of games such as Guitar Hero, Rock Band and online gameplay this game is a complete must, in fact its a must for anyone that wants to chill out and have fun on there iDevice. Featuring hundreds of tracks to keep you tapping away to your hearts content, two player mode, an online mode and all for the tiny price of ‘FREE’, what are you waiting for? – James

I think we can all agree that past year of the App Store has been outstanding and a complete success for Apple, developers and of course, us the end users (Some refer to us as ‘App Addicts’). We can’t wait to see what the year ahead brings the App Store and from what we’ve seen of the potential in iPhone 3.0 and iPhone 3GS, we know its going to be an exciting one!

Many Happy Returns & Happy First Birthday, App Store!