Apple on Thursday announced that the number of mini-programs downloaded from its App Store has blasted past the 50 billion milestone, and celebrated the moment with a $10,000 prize.

The California-based maker of iPads, iPhones, iPods and Macintosh computers said that it gave a $10,000 App Store gift card to an Ohio man who downloaded the 50 billionth app — a free word game called Say the Same Thing.

"We're absolutely floored to cross this milestone in less than five years," Apple senior vice president of Internet software and services Eddy Cue said in a statement.

"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."

People are downloading mini-programs from the App Store at an average rate of 800 per second, according to Apple.

Apple opened the virtual doors of its online App Store in July of 2008 with 500 apps for the company's coveted mobile gadgets.

The online store is now stocked with more than 850,000 apps for iPhones, iPads, or iPod touch devices powered by Apple's iOS operating system.

"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 at designer fashion flash-sale website Gilt.com.

Smartphones: Android trumps Apple, Windows edges up
Washington (AFP) May 16, 2013 –

Google's Android mobile system boosted its lead in the global smartphone market over Apple in early 2013, while Microsoft's Windows edged into third place, a survey showed Thursday.

The IDC survey showed Android's commanding lead with a 75 percent market share in the first quarter, to 17.3 percent for Apple's iOS platform.

The other platforms remained far behind, but Windows Phone posted the largest year-over-year and moved past BlackBerry into third place, IDC said.

IDC said Windows phones accounted for 3.2 percent of the market, after a 133 percent rise in sales, to 2.9 percent for Blackberry.

Nokia was largely responsible for driving Windows Phone sales, accounting for 79 percent of the smartphones using the Microsoft platform.

"Windows Phone claiming the third spot is a first and helps validate the direction taken by Microsoft and key partner Nokia," said IDC's Kevin Restivo.

"Given the relatively low volume generated, the Windows Phone camp will need to show further gains to solidify its status as an alternative to Android or iOS."

IDC's Ramon Llamas said the survey shows some interest in alternative platforms despite the dominance of Android and Apple.

"Android and iOS accounted for more than the lion's share of smartphones in the first quarter, but a closer examination of the other platforms reveals turnaround and demand for alternatives," Llamas said.

A survey by the research firm Gartner earlier this week had similar results, but showed Blackberry barely ahead of Windows.