1.5 billion downloads in one year

CEO Steve Jobs believes it will be hard for others to catch up

Apple today announced that customers have downloaded more than 1.5 billion applications in one year from its App Store.

The App Store currently holds over 65,000 apps and features over 100,000 developers in the iPhone Developer Program.

“The App Store is like nothing the industry has ever seen before in both scale and quality,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “With 1.5 billion apps downloaded, it is going to be very hard for others to catch up.”

The App Store is available to consumers in 77 countries and works with both iPod touch and iPhone including the new iPhone 3GS, the fastest.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh.

Today, Apple is a leader in the industry with regards to computers, operating systems and professional applications.