DEC. 28, 2009 • Mobile analytics firm Flurry estimates that the iPod Touch far outsold the iPhone for the first time during the Christmas season.  The estimate was made based on downloads of apps to iPod Touches on Dec. 25, which were 172% higher than downloads for the iPhone. Flurry tracks such activity, and noted downloads for the Touch traditionally trail those for the iPhone. On Jan. 5, Apple Inc. announced that users had downloaded more that 1.5 billion titles from the App Store since July, for 3 billion total. It had taken 12 months for the first 1.5 billion applications to be downloaded.

Impact: In the recent DFC Intelligence report on the market for iPhone and iPod Touch applications we argued that the iPod Touch was a key distinguishing factor that set the iPhone apart from other mobile products. The iPod Touch is a pure digital entertainment device that does not require the consumer to lock into an expensive data plan.  Having both the iPhone and iPod Touch allows developers to reach a much larger and more stable installed base