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Infographic: Free Apps Dominated Apple's App Store in 2012

This year has proved positive for iOS application makers, according to an AppsFire infographic, which points to a growing trend in app creation.

December 19, 2012

This year has been a good one for iOS developers, according to an AppsFire infographic. More than 339,160 apps hit the App Store this year — up from about 15,000 in 2008.

"Free is clearly prevailing over paid," Appsfire said, adding that 74 percent of apps published in 2008 came with a price tag, compared to only 34 percent this year. "This can be explained by the growing popularity of in-app purchase as a way to efficiently monetize the app," founder Ouriel Ohayon wrote in a blog post.

Free or paid, well over 1 million apps have been created for iOS devices over the years, though users have likely never even heard of most of them. Only 111,540 apps have gained any traction.

According to the graphic, a mere 3 percent earned five-star ratings; most fell into the three-star (34 percent) and two-star (36 percent) categories. "This stresses how difficult discovery is if you're not part of the elite group," Ohayon said.

Meanwhile, the last five years produced another 640,380 apps that landed with a thud; another 273,285 App Store applications have since been retired. Ohayon said it's a "a red flag" when more than 25 percent of submitted and approved apps are then pulled from the store.

its iTunes store and music player late last month, providing a new user interface and experience for app users.

Ranked by category, games are the second most populated division (16 percent), following "other," which carries 49 percent of the available applications. Lagging behind are education (11 percent), entertainment (9 percent), lifestyle (8 percent), and books (7 percent).

Appsfire calculated the best apps available to iOS users, listing Angry Birds and Whatsapp as those with the highest app score among all paid apps; Temple Run and Pinterest were honored in the free category.

This year's top paid applications were Angry Birds Space and My Calendar Mobile, as well as freebies Draw Something and Google Maps, which just .

Get a closer look at the Appsfire infographic below.