Some folks might still be thinking that the idea of mobile applications is just a flash in the pan, but there’s a reason Research in Motion, Microsoft, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and other industry players are all hustling to get their own application stores up and running: in the year since Apple introduced its App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch, users have downloaded more than 1.5 billion applications. Like the iTunes Store before it, Apple looks to be setting the bar for the mobile applications business, with over 100,000 developers signed up for its program and over 65,000 applications available for its mobile platforms.
