Apple's App Store Turns One

On July 11, Apple's App Store will celebrate its first birthday. And, when you look back, it's pretty amazing to see just how far the App Store has come in its first year of life.

The App Store has truly revolutionized the way people get software on their smartphones. Before it arrived, you had to go out to third-party shops, find the titles that worked on your phone, and download them -- either over-the-air to your phone, or to your computer, which meant that you then had to sync the software over to your smartphone. The App Store changed all that: With a few taps of the screen, you can get the software you want installed right on your phone.

The App Store works so well that most major smartphone makers have launched their own versions of it. One of the more successful is BlackBerry App World, which earlier this week reached its own milestone: 2,000 applications are now available in the store.

That number, though, pales in comparison to the number of apps available for the iPhone. Estimates put it at nearly 63,000, which would mean that, in the last month, the App Store has grown at an astonishing rate of 299 apps per day, according to DigitalBeat.

All those apps are the App Store's greatest strength, and its greatest weakness. While variety makes the store great, it also makes sifting through the available titles a challenge. Here are a few guides to help you in your search:

- The Best Twitter Apps for Your iPhone

- The Best Office and Productivity Apps for Your iPhone

- iPhone Apps to Organize Your Life (New York Times)

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