Apple’s AppStore – international differences

In which I provide some differing iTunes AppStore charts from around the world, which might signal opportunities for iPhone/iPod Touch developers.

Apple is celebrating the impending billionth iPhone/iTouch application download from the Apple Store with a competition. It is a lottery based on all downloads from today until the billionth download. Each time you download an app (free or paid-for), you get an entry in the competition.

Once the billionth download happens, a person will be chosen at random to win an iPod Touch, a Time Capsule, a MacBook Pro and a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card.

On the competition page they list the all-time top 20 free and paid-for apps. If your country is open to the competition, your local iTunes Store lists the top apps for each store.

Developers might find some ideas in apps that are popular in other countries, by finding some apps in the top 20s downloaded elsewhere. I’ve shown apps that aren’t in the US/Canada top 20s in bold.

While researching this I found that Australia, New Zealand, Spain and France have exactly the same top 20s. Either those countries have exactly the same tastes, or they share statistics, or not all countries have their own charts and this is the chart for ‘elsewhere in the world’.

To see what’s sold in other countries, go to the iTunes Store home, and choose another country from the pop-up menu at the foot of the window. Somewhere on the home page, you’ll see a button showing the current application download count, click it for the top 20s.

US & Canada Top 20 All-Time Paid Apps
1. Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D
2. Koi Pond
3. Enigmo
4. Bejeweled 2
5. iBeer
6. Moto Chaser
7. Pocket Guitar
8. Flick Fishing
9. Tetris
10. Texas Hold’em
11. Super Monkey Ball
12. Pocket God
13. Cro-Mag Rally
14. Ocarina
15. Fieldrunners
16. iFart Mobile
17. Touchgrind
18. iHunt
19. iShoot
20. Monopoly

US & Canada Top 20 All-Time Free Apps
1. Facebook
2. Google Earth
3. Pandora Radio
4. Tap Tap Revenge
5. Shazam
6. PAC-MAN Lite
7. Backgrounds
8. Touch Hockey
9. Labyrinth Lite Edition
10. Flashlight
11. Urbanspoon
12. Movies
13. iBowl
14. Lightsaber Unleashed
15. SOl Free Solitaire
16. MySpace Mobile
17. Virtual Zippo Lighter
18. The Weather Channel
19. BubbleWrap
20. Remote

UK Top 20 Paid Apps
UK (US & Canada)
1. Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D (1)
2. Moto Chaser (6)
3. Virtual Pool (-)
4. Cro-Mag Rally (13)
5. Flick Fishing (8)
6. Koi Pond (2)
7. Monopoly (20)
8. Super Monkey Ball (11)
9. PocketGuitar (7)
10. iCopter (-)
11. Pocket God (12)
12. London Tube (-)
13. Bejeweled 2 (4)
14. Texas Hold’em (10)
15. Real Football 2009 (-)
16. Blocked (-)
17. Fieldrunners (15)
18. Tetris (9)
19. iShoot (19)
20. iFart Mobile (16)

UK Top 20 All-Time Free Apps
UK (US & Canada)
1. Facebook (1)
2. iPint (-)
3. Google Earth (2)
4. PAC-MAN Lite (5)
5. Touch Hockey: FS5 (8)
6. Labyrinth Lite Edition (9)
7. Lightsaber Unleashed (14)
8. Tap Tap Revenge (4)
9. Flashlight (10)
10. Shazam (5)
11. Backgrounds (7)
12. iBowl (13)
13. Crazy Penguin Catapult (-)
14. Remote (20)
15. BubbleWrap (19)
16. Audi A4 Driving Challenge (-)
17. Darts (-)
18. eBay Mobile (-)
19. Last.fm (-)
20. Movies (12)

Australia/New Zealand/Spain/France Top 20 Paid Apps
Australia (US & Canada)
1. Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D (1)
2. allRadio (-)
3. Texas Hold’em (10)
4. Ocarina (14)
5. iBeer (5)
6. Enigmo (3)
7. Koi Pond (2)
8. Pocket Guitar (7)
9. Super Monkey Ball (11)
10. Flick Fishing (8)
11. WifiTrak (-)
12. Brain Challenge (-)
13. Asphalt 4: Elite Racing (-)
14. Monopoly (20)
15. Cro-Mag Rally (13)
16. Real Football 2009 (-)
17. Moto Chaser (6)
18. Fieldrunners (15)
19. Face Melter (-)
20. Tiki Towers (-)

Australia/New Zealand/Spain/France Top 20 Free Apps
Australia (US & Canada)
1. Facebook (1)
2. Labyrinth Lite Edition (9)
3. Touch Hockey: FS5 (8)
4. Google Earth (2)
5. Shazam (5)
6. Flashlight (10)
7. PAC-MAN Lite (5)
8. Remote (20)
9. iBowl (13)
10. Tap Tap Revenge (4)
11. Free Translator (-)
12. Crazy Penguin Catapult (-)
13. Lightsaber Unleashed (14)
4. Backgrounds (7)
15. Audi A4 Driving Challenge (-)
16. Fastlane Street Racing (-)
17. iHandy Level Free (-)
18. AroundMe (-)
19. fring (-)
20. Sudoku (-)