Apple reports that, since the App Store's July launch, it has handled in excess of  [cue Dr. Evil voice]  500 MILLion downloads. Even if just half of that is for paid apps, it still amounts to quite some cashflow for a nascent venture.

But does it really shock anyone? Seriously, if you?re an iPhone user, you know that the virtual storefront is like an amusement park for grownups. We pay our admission to ride, have a little fun and then go on to the next. (Hmmm, actually, it's a perfect relationship for commitment-phobes? but that's another article.)

What really has me astonished is that someone measured this phenomenon. According to Physorg and Mobile Burn, a new study by Pinch Media revealed a few interesting stats based on an analysis of 30 million App Store downloads:

• Only 1 percent of downloaded iPhone apps are used long-term
• 30 percent of app customers use it the following day
• Less than 5 percent of users actively use an app one month after downloading
• Games are used longer than other apps
• Paid ones are used more than free apps (though the drop-off is still significant)

Okay, maybe we do have some form of collective ADD. But so what? There are only so many hours in a day, and there's just so much room on my phone. And with so many new apps to play with, the 'tap and toss? has become a fun, cheap form of entertainment, one that is priceless (especially these days).

And it's good to know that app development seems to be doing well, even in this receding economy. As companies in all sectors seem to be scaling back or closing down (or asking for a bail-out), at least there's hope that iPhone offerings will be ongoing. So far, I have 60+ applications, but I could always use more.