But despite all that, some users, analysts, and developers are critical of Apple's decision to shoehorn the App store inside of iTunes, using many of the same features that were designed to be used for music, not software.
Mismatched media?
Claremont McKenna College freshman George Posner says he noticed the differences between shopping for music and for iPhone apps right away.
"They do different things," Posner says. Although Posner professes to like the App Store, he says it isn't always his first stop when looking for applications for his new phone. That seems strange, considering the App Store is the only place a user can legally download third-party software. But Posner says he relies instead on other sites, such as Facebook, and word-of-mouth from friends to give him suggestions for apps to buy when he visits the App Store.
"Apple let the App Store get away from them," says , a Los Angeles-based branding guru. "They did such a great job of building the entire iTunes empire. They thought they could just clone the structure. It doesn't work." Frankel says the store looks and feels like "a bolt on" to the iTunes Music Store, rather than a unique retail outlet selling unique products.