Earlier this week, Apple opened a new section at its online emporium for iPhone and iPod touch apps that . That's a modest amount of hoopla, to be sure, but for a company that barely uttered a peep earlier this year to mark the , a page at the App Store is practically a ticker-tape parade.

Apple certainly has plenty to celebrate with the App Store, which officially opened its doors on July 11, 2008. (Of course, since that opening was timed to coincide with the iPhone 3G's worldwide launch, the App Store actually sprang to life on July 10 here in the States.) The App Store debuted a year ago with 552 applications aimed at iPhone and iPod touch users.

And now? lists more than 58,000 apps available for download. Considering that the , it seems that the pace of iPhone app development has only picked up in recent months.

These app aren't exactly sitting untouched on the App Store's shelves, either. The store passed the in April. (Whether those app are being used much after they're downloaded is, of course, a subject for .)

"Fifty thousand-plus apps and 1 billion downloads kind of speak for themselves," said Michael Gartenberg, vice president of strategy and analysis at market-research firm . "The App Store is an unqualified success. It's set the bar for the industry."