This morning Apple announced that more than three billion applications have been downloaded from its Apps Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch. That's a lot of apps. How are the other apps stores faring?"Three billion applications downloaded in less than 18 months-this is like nothing we've ever seen before," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, in a prepared statement. "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."

I'll say.

None of the other apps stores for phones -- BlackBerry Apps World, Android Market, Mobile Marketplace for Windows, Palm Apps Catalog -- have been as transparent about the number of applications their users are downloading. Some details on the numbers would help put things into perspective here.

BlackBerry is the one platform that has the highest chance of being second to Apple, given the number of BlackBerries out there in the marketplace. But it would be a distant second. I'd place Google's Android Market third in total number of apps downloaded. It may offer five times the number of apps that Research In Motion does, but its installed base is much smaller. As for Windows and Palm, well, who the heck knows. The Palm Apps Catalog just hit the 1,000 apps benchmark. It has a long way to go.

For now, Apple remains on top. I can't foresee any of the other apps stores dislodging it from its King-Of-The-Mountain perch in the near or long term.