Nine months and 12 days after launching the App Store, Apple has hit the milestone of 1 billion apps downloaded.

In preparation for the event, Apple had been keeping a running ticker counting up to the billionth download, with the fortunate billionth downloader receiving an Apple bundle with a $10,000 iTunes gift card and Apple hardware. Now, instead of a ticker, the site merely reads “Thanks a billion.”

Apple has yet to identify the lucky winner.

The App Store’s success speaks to the popularity of the iPhone with users and developers, who get keep 70% of all revenue their apps generate for Apple. Apple has sold approximately 37 million iPhones and iPod Touches overall, according to COO Tim Cook, and currently offers more than 37,000 different apps.

For more information, see I4U’s coverage of the Apple’s quest for a billion downloads.