Apple's App Store launch (2008)
Apple opened the App Store with 500 apps. Anyone with a $99 per year developer account could publish software for the iPhone, creating a new distribution model for mobile software.
The store grew to thousands of apps within months, sparking a mobile software gold rush.
The App Store became the template for mobile app distribution, with Google's Play Store following the same model.
Shows how lowering publishing barriers can transform an ecosystem. Google's move removes the $25 developer fee for personal apps, a similar barrier-lowering step.
