The figures have been published by Apple in a month where rival mobile handset platforms, including Google's Android, are attempting to make a dent in the iPhone's dominance of the smartphone market.
At the moment Apple says that there are 50 million iPhone and iPod touch users in 77 countries and that its App Store is currently the largest in the world. The model, which invites all-comers to develop applications for the phone in the hopes of coming up with a money-making hit, is being widely imitated by creators of other operating systems.
Research published last month by Flurry, which produces in-app analytics for mobile devices, found that there was a 94 per cent increase in app projects by Android developers between September and October 2009, which the company attributed to upcoming launches such as Motorola's Droid phone. It is estimated that by the end of 2010 there could be as many as 40 different handsets using Android.
Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, said: "The iPhone SDK created the first great platform for mobile applications and our customers are loving all of the amazing apps our developers are creating."
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