Apple has launched a new Billion App Countdown promotion to celebrate the one-billionth app downloaded from the App Store, with a single combined prize of a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card, a 32GB iPod touch, a Time Capsule, and a 17-inch MacBook Pro. The prize will be awarded for the entry (either through an app download or through a non-purchase online entry) sent immediately following the download of the 999,999,999th app. The winners will be listed online within 10 days following the one-billionth download. Regardless of which method of entry is used to enter the Promotion, only 25 entries per person and/or iTunes account and/or email address, per day will be granted; an entrant must be 13 years of age or older at the time of entry, and must also be a legal resident of the United States, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada (excluding the Province of Quebec), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom. Apple held a similar promotion during the time leading up to the one billionth song sold via the iTunes Store in 2006.
At the current estimated rate of App Store downloads, roughly 5 million per day, the countdown would last for roughly 15 days before someone wins. However, the pace of downloads will likely continue to accelerate as it has throughout the Store’s growth, meaning that a winner should be picked in less than two weeks’ time.
