50 billionth iOS app was 'Say the Same Thing,' Apple awards $10K gift card to Ohio man

The free iPhone application was downloaded by Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, Ohio, who has received a $10,000 gift card to the App Store for marking the 50 billionth download. That achievement was reached solely on unique downloads, and excludes re-downloads of applications or updates that can be installed.

There are now more than 850,000 applications on the App Store, with 350,000 of those native to the iPad. Apple said that customers are now downloading more than 800 applications per second, at a rate of more than 2 billion apps per month.

"Apple would like to thank our incredible customers and developers for topping 50 billion apps downloaded," said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. "The App Store completely transformed how people use their mobile devices and created a thriving app ecosystem that has paid out over nine billion dollars to developers. We’re absolutely floored to cross this milestone in less than five years."

The 50 billionth download mark was reached Wednesday afternoon, and Apple acknowledged that the milestone had been reached by updating its website with the word "Thanks" written out on an iPad mini. In addition to the $10,000 gift card awarded to Ashmore, Apple has also promised to give $500 App Store gift cards to the next 50 customers that followed the 50 billionth download.

Since launching in 2008, the App Store has seen significant growth. Apple in April 2009 launched a countdown to 1 billion app downloads, which was followed by the 10 billionth download less than two years later 35 billion apps, meaning 15 billion apps have been downloaded in the past seven months alone.

In its press released issued on Thursday, Apple included quotes from a handful of developers who have reaped the benefits of Apple's success with the App Store. Their comments are included below:

"We were blown away with our success on the App Store back in 2008," said Rich Riley, CEO of Shazam. “And almost five years later we continue to be amazed with how much people love using Shazam on their iPhone or iPad. With the App Store, we can effortlessly provide users with updates that give them great new features while making it easy for new users to discover and download Shazam for themselves."

"We started our company in 2008 as three friends focused on creating great educational apps for our children," said Caroline Hu Flexer, co-founder of Duck Duck Moose. "The App Store brought ‘Wheels on the Bus’ to the world in a big way. Sixteen apps later, a fan base of millions of parents, children and educators and a growing company with 20 full-time employees, we couldn’t be happier with our success."

"The App Store has been integral in getting us into the hands of millions of iOS users and has transformed our business," said Elizabeth Francis, Chief Marketing Officer of Gilt.com. "Our apps allow our members to access their favorite sales on Gilt every day, anytime, anywhere. App Store customers have proven to be a loyal shopper base and have been influential in making Gilt the globally recognized brand it is today."