Apple has begun the countdown to 50 billion downloads from the company's mobile App Store, and the company is offering a US$10,000 Apple Store gift card to the person who downloads that stunning milestone app.
Apple 50 Billion Downloads Promo
50 billion. Billion. With a B.
That's 7.2 apps per person on the planet, and that's all the people on all the planet, which Google tells us is currently 6,973,738,433. It boggles the mind.
If you want to break it down to just iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices—Apple said in January that it crossed the 500 million mark—that's roughly 100 apps per iDevice owner. It boggles the mind.
Apple frequently does countdowns to promote milestones on iTunes and the App Store, but this is a big one. In addition to the $10K gift card mentioned above, Apple will be giving the next 50 people who download an app a $500 App Store gift card.
The static counter above came from the promotion's landing page. On the home page of the App Store is a live counter that stood at 49.2 billion when we snapped this screenshot.
49.2 Billion & Counting
So, get to downloading and good luck.