Apple announced yesterday that downloads by iPhone and iPod touch users on its popular App Store hit the 3 billion mark, with the last billion downloads coming in just over three months.

“Three billion applications downloaded in less than 18 months - this is like nothing we’ve ever seen before,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “The revolutionary App Store offers iPhone and iPod touch users an experience unlike anything else available on other mobile devices, and we see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon.”

On 28 September last year Apple announced that they reached the 2 billion downloads mark. The App Store allows iPhone and iPod touch users from 77 countries around the world, to download applications that fall within 20 different categories, for instance games, business, news, sports, health and travel.