Steve Jobs took the stage at Apple Incs Worldwide Developers Conference to announce new features and products from the company.
The chief executive began by giving an update on the iPad. The tablet computing device sold 2 million units in the first two months since its debut and has 8,500 apps on Apples online store. So far, 35 million apps have been downloaded, he said, which breaks down to 17 apps per iPad.In an update on the iPads built-in book software, Jobs said the iBookstore platform had sold more than 5 million books in the first 65 days — or about 2.5 books per iPad.Further, Jobs said that for five of the six largest publishers, about 22% of e-book purchases are being sold through the iPads bookstore.In an addition to the iBook reading apps functionality, the app will allow users to do inline note-taking.Jobs also invited Netflix CEO Reed Hastings to the stage to announce a new, free Netflix application for the iPhone. Hastings said the Netflix app for iPad has been among the most popular apps in Apples App Store, and No. 1 in the entertainment category.
Its been a tremendous success for us, Hastings said. Its our fastest growing platform.The Netflix iPhone app will be available starting this summer. Marc Pincus, the CEO of Zynga, came to the stage to announce an iPad version of Farmville, which is played by 35 million people every day, largely on Facebook. Jobs said the company crossed 5 billion downloads. He followed that comment with what he called his favorite stat of the whole show, which is that Apple has paid out $1 billion to its app developers. We were thrilled about it, he said. Jobs announces the iPhone 4. Stop me if you have already seen this, he said, referring to the leak of the phone by Gizmodo. But believe me, you aint seen it. Its one of the most beautiful designs you have ever seen. Its beyond a doubt the most precise things and one of the most beautiful things we have ever made. Jobs shows photos of the phone, familiar from the leak. He calls it the thinnest smart phone on the planet, noting that the iPhone 4 is 24% thinner than its predecessor.
