Apple’s infamous App Store recently hit the 25,000 app milestone, but how many of those are worth downloading? Changes to the store since its debut in July of 2008 have addressed this issue, but users still complain about paying for dud apps that are quickly removed to save space. Luckily, third party market researcher ComScore is around to tell us which are the most popular iPhone apps.

Pac-Man – Namco – $5.99

Namco’s arcade classic has had new life breathed into it with this simple app. Players can not only relive the glory days of sinking a sack of quarters into their latest high score, but can also play in accelerometer mode and tilt their iPhone or iPod touch to make Pac-Man change direction. According to ComScore, Pac-Man is currently installed on 24% of the devices in question, tied for fifth place with iBowl.

iBowl – SGN – Free

This popular app, in Wii-like fashion, has players swinging their iPhones like bowling balls. Considering the phone doesn’t come with a strap, I’m not sure I’d want to try it. Nevertheless, it does have 24% penetration, so maybe it’s just me.

Facebook – Facebook, Inc. – Free

The most popular social network on the most popular phone is not the most popular app—but it’s close. The Facebook app allows users to view and send status updates, receive notifications and friend requests, view profiles and chat. It’s also tied for third place at 26% penetration.

Touch Hockey: FS5 – FlipSide5, Inc. – Free/$1.99

FlipSide5’s air hockey game features a nine-level single player game, 3D graphics and accelerometer-controlled lighting. You can even play against friends on your local WiFi network. The game comes in two flavors: standard and an ad-supported free edition. Touch Hockey: FS5 is currently installed on 26% of iPhones and iPod Touches.

Backgrounds – Stylem Media – Free

The second most popular app’s name says it all—Backgrounds is stuffed full of, well, backgrounds. With over 5,000 background wallpapers to choose from, you’re not likely to find a better source of wallpapers for the iPhone OS. Backgrounds has 27% penetration, second only to…

Tap Tap Revenge – Tapulous, Inc. – Free

The most popular App in the App store is the closest you can get to playing Guitar Hero or Rock Band on your iPhone and far, far less expensive. The original comes with 50 free songs while the sequel, Tap Tap Revenge 2, features over 150 downloadable songs. Players of the sequel can even play in tournaments and other contests. Aside from the original game and sequel, both of which are free, players looking for more Tap Tap Revenge can purchase Tap Tap Dance, Tap Tap Coldplay or even Nine Inch Nails Revenge ($4.99 each).

Apple iPod Touch – $229-$399

“The funnest iPod ever”—a slogan that, had I heard it before making my decision, might have convinced me not to buy one. Having most of the features of the iPhone, including the accelerometer that allows the Touch to register simple movement, the most popular MP3 player is more like a PDA that happens to play music better than it does anything else. Three different models of the 2nd Generation iPod Touch are currently available, from 8 GB (the most popular) to 32 GB (which falls somewhat below the iPod Nano).

Apple iPod Classic – $249

The iPod Classic has a few intriguing features—Genius playlists and Cover Flow presentation, most notably—but its real selling point is its capacity. At 120 GB, the 6th generation of iPod Classic is a digital music player for users who think more is more and the most is even better. In fact, given no options with more memory, users have only one choice to make when purchasing an iPod Classic—black or silver.

Apple iPod Nano – $149 or $199

For those users who can’t stand having some great lump of technological wizardry bulging from their pockets, the iPod Nano is a popular compromise. Already possessing all of the features of the iPod Classic in a smaller package with less memory, the 4th generation iPod Nano also has an accelerometer that, as with the Touch, allows users to view their music collection or videos using the screen in either portrait or landscape mode. The iPod Nano comes in nine different colors, the most popular being black and blue, and two different sizes—8 GB or 16 GB.

SanDisk Sansa Fuze – $79.99-$119.99

See? I told you there’d be a non-Apple product eventually.

SanDisk’s Sansa Fuze may owe its popularity to its price—it is, after all, the cheapest MP3 player on the list that also plays videos. The Fuze has a few other features that make it stand out, though. It comes with a 30-day trial subscription to Rhapsody which, unlike Apple’s iTunes Store, doesn’t require users to pay per track. It also has a built-in microphone, a feature that even the vaunted iPod Touch doesn’t have. The Sansa Fuze can be purchased in 2 GB, 4 GB or 8 GB and five different colors.

Apple iPod Shuffle – $49-79

Much controversy surrounds the 3rd generation of the smallest iPod, which could see it lose its place to the Sansa Clip once stores run out of the 2nd generation model. The first and second generation Shuffles cater to users who want to fiddle with their music as little as possible—going so far as to lack a screen with which to navigate your music selection. The third generation takes the minimalist approach one step further and offers no controls on the device itself. Instead, Shuffle owners must use a remote included as part of the headphones that come with the shuffle. This has the unfortunate effect of requiring users to purchase new Apple headphones should the included pair ever become lost or broken. While the 2nd generation Shuffle came in a plethora of colors and a couple of different memory sizes, the 4th generation is only available in 4 GB and in two different colors—black or silver.

In the 7 years since its release, iTunes has become one of the most used media players in the world. This is in no small part due to iTunes’ proprietary relationship with the iPod. Another factor is the iTunes store, one of the first retail sources of downloadable media.

A recent Soundscan report has revealed the first track to exceed 2 million sales through iTunes. Of course, such a track would need to be a timeless classic, but not too timeless—old people don’t have iPods, right? It would need to be something released within the last ten years or so with both the musical acumen and lyrical genius to appeal to both teenage girls and aging hipsters.

Of course, it could also be Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.”

I can only attribute this phenomenon to the Sopranos series finale in which the song was featured. It certainly isn’t so popular based on its own merit.

Right?

Right?

Napster was once the most popular way to download music, but due was shut down to the rampant illegal file-sharing, and Napster has been relaunched as a legal online music market, hoping to compete with Apple’s most popular online music download service.

The biggest downside with the popular online music store is that unlike mp3s, tunes you download from Apple’s Music Store will not play on other portable players that are not iPods. The iPod has quickly become the most fashionable portable digital music player, but as other competitors research and create their new portable devices, many users will be left with digital music collections that will only play on Apple brand devices, since Apple has not licensed its FairPlay DRM technology.

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