During its fourth-quarter earnings call with analysts, Apple said its App Store will reach 200 million downloads sometime today, just over 100 days since it opened on July 11, which is staggering to say the least.

The App Store is currently available in 62 countries and has over 5,500 apps available for immediate purchase. Jobs described the rate of apps being submitted to Apple from developers as “incredible”. Part of that is no doubt the recent lifting of the NDA which formerly governed the development of apps.

As with many of the products and services Apple designs and launches with fanfare and success, competitors soon follow trying to duplicate it. As we’ve seen with products like the iMac and iTunes, that’s not always an easy task.

As expected when the App Store launched, the release of cool new applications and more mainstream high-tech app developers coming to the fold has led to increased iPhone sales.