25,000,000,000

It wasn't long ago that Apple's App Store reach 10,000,000,000 (ten billion) downloads. Today, apple.com features a countdown to the twenty-five billionth app download. That's 25 with nine 0's, an astronomical number if there ever was one.


Great. So what? Apple's had a lot of downloads. What's the big deal?


The big deal is that Apple is offering a $10,000 App Store gift card to the person who downloads the 25 billionth app. That's 1 with four 0's, not an astronomical number, but large, none the less.


This giveaway marks a milestone in Apple's history, and this milestone places yet another feather in Apple's hat. The Android Market has some catching up to do.


See Apple's countdown.