Arguably the most successful smart phone of its generation, the Apple iPhone has now proved itself as a mobile platform. Reaching near the 1 billion mark, the “Apps store” has now provided applications to the iPhone and iTouch that at an average of $3 and app has covered the cost of launching the iPhone 3G. And with over 25,000 applications now available for download, the trend seems set to continue. So has the Apple garden yet again produced a golden fruit unrivaled by its competitors?

Rumoured to have spent in excess of $1billion on the worldwide launch, Apple Inc must be rubbing their hands with the relatively unexpected success of the App Store. On top of the unit price, tariff revenue and global marketing rights, the commercial success of the iphone seems to be cemented as the dream of creating ongoing revenue streams from integrated handset apps has arrived.

There is no doubt that the iPhone and iTouch success was preceded by unprecedented hype. The launch of the next gen units was one of the largest, most high profile marketing campaigns ever executed. Learning and building on the phenomenal success of the iPod, Apple brought to bear their considerable expertise to launch this product. Fever pitch was reached in press public and trade, and following the launch, the manipulation of supply to retail outlets was a master stroke building demand in an almost panic stricken consumer.

Is this sustainable?

So can this really last?  Well although the Apple stock is suffering with the rest of the Global economy, but the consumer is a great place to start when establishing the likelihood of continued success. With over 30 million iphone/itouch sales made an inventory of over 25,ooo applications to download and over 50,000 developers now contributing to the AppStore, Apple have created such a solid base that it seems a difficult task to imagine this not providing the firm foundation for continued growth.  A quick comparison to the Microsoft domination and success in gaming through the Xbox shows that with over 29 million units shifted, this sort of penetration provides any company with a huge asset for continued success.

With continued innovation on the platform, and continued improvement in the application quality, it is just possible to see that dedicated handhelds such as the Nintendo DS could indeed be replaced with a devive that provides real convergence for the Consumer. Indeed as Apple continue to re-invest in OS performance, and their huge ‘virtual’ development  team continues to show more and more inovation e.g. Outlook integration, in-game purchasing of virtual goods with real cash (a sort of in game paypal) and new app releases like Metal Gear Solid, Sky+, Skype, Tweetie etc, it seems the future is indeed bright for the golden fruit.

A phone, a gaming platform, a business tool, a gadget, sustainability, quality and priced just inside most consumers budget, the next gen iPhone may well prove to be the best case study for