What's more, iPhone owners appear to have downloaded a whopping 100 million apps in the last six weeks alone, based on previous Apple disclosures.

To put the phenomenon into perspective, the App Store launched on July 11. By early September, Apple was boasting about its progress: 100 million downloads.

Apple launched its App Store with more than 3,000 applications -- more than 90 percent priced at less than $10 and more than 600 offered for free. That number has since swelled to more than 10,000 applications, and numbers are growing as developers embrace the opportunity.

"This milestone demonstrates both Apple's strengths and prominence in this space as a newcomer," said Michael Gartenberg, vice president of mobile strategy for Jupitermedia. "It wasn't that long ago when the CEO of Microsoft and the CEO of Palm were basically dismissing Apple's efforts in mobile, talking about how difficult it is for a new entrant into the space."

A Blockbuster App Store

The App Store's applications can take advantage of the iPhone's large display, multi-touch user interface, hardware-accelerated 3-D graphics, built-in accelerometer, and location-based technology.

Earlier this week, for example, Amazon released an application that lets users tap into its shopping features through the iPhone. But games and music topped the iPhone's list of most popular applications.

"Apple has really turned the App Store quickly into an extremely viable and popular platform to developers. When Apple announced the first 100 million downloads, developers noticed," Gartenberg said. "And there are something like 10,000 applications in the store right now, which is huge for a platform that's been on the market and generally available for just a few months."

Competitors Copycat

So popular is the iPhone App Store that Research In Motion is coming online with its own store. RIM in October announced the new store and a new on-device application center that opens up the BlackBerry's millions of users to developers vying for an audience.

RIM said it plans to launch the BlackBerry application store next March, giving its users a one-stop shop for compatible applications and a user-friendly way to manage upgrades and purchases.

RIM said the introduction of more consumer-friendly features in BlackBerry smartphones has sparked interest from the general public. As a result, thousands of consumer and lifestyle-oriented applications for BlackBerry smartphones are now available.

Will Apple's and RIM's app stores duke it out? Analysts expect RIM to pick up its fair share of developers. Apple's success with the iPhone and the subsequent App Store demonstrates the velocity of mobile and how quickly things change in this arena.

"When you've got the right technology, the right messaging, the right marketing, and the right product coming together at the right time, you can do a lot," Gartenberg concluded.