GetJar has strengthened its claim to be the world’s second-largest mobile app store with news that it is achieving up to three million downloads per day and has hit over one billion downloads to date. The store also named Facebook Mobile as its most popular app download.

Unlike its competitors such as Apple’s App Store, Google’s Android Market, Nokia’s Ovi Store and RIM’s BlackBerry App World, GetJar is an independent app store not tied to a device or platform. It offers around 70,000 apps and is available across all platforms. Its latest statistics make it second only to Apple’s offering, although it falls a long way short of the Californian’s vendor’s 5 billion+ downloads and almost 250,000 app offering. Apple also has around 13 million downloads per day, although Nokia ‘only’ has 1.7 million.

Silicon Valley-based GetJar also differs from major rivals through distributing software for all mobile phones for free. It generates revenue like Internet search engines do — from companies who want to promote their software. Developers can make money, for example, through selling advertising within their programme or selling virtual goods.

GetJar conducted a review of its apps within its store and recorded the following most popular downloads as of July 2010:

Top 10 Apps Overall by Downloads

  • 1. Facebook Mobile
  • 2. eBuddy Messenger
  • 3. Nimbuzz
  • 4. Migg33
  • 5. Opera Mini browser
  • 6. Yahoo! Mobile
  • 7. Google
  • 8. Yahoo! Mail
  • 9. Bitstream Bolt Browser
  • 10. YouTube

GetJar said its downloads are coming from more than 200 countries and 2000 different handsets. “Clear patterns are starting to emerge,” said the company’s CMO, Patrick Mork. “We see Indian consumers downloading more productivity applications that enhance the usage of their phone compared to Americans for example and English consumers downloading more entertainment apps then Indians. Religious apps are popular in the Middle East. Downloads by platform are also shifting quickly. Android wasn’t even a part of our business last year. Today, it’s the second most popular platform developers are submitting on when uploading content to GetJar and we have at least three devices in our top twenty list of devices in the US that are Android powered.”

GetJar is likely to lose its number two app store status soon, given the phenomenal rise of the Android platform. However, the company has no plans to give up its independence. “We have had multiple strategic acquisition requests,” founder and chief executive Ilja Laurs told Reuters in an interview, declining to be more specific. He said the company – owned by Laurs and venture capital firm Accel Partners – was not keen to open its books to rivals. “We have no plans to be acquired any time soon. GetJar is as strong as it is independent,” he said, adding this, combined with the fact the firm turned profitable in late 2009, protects the company from being sold off.