Without a doubt, 2008 was a busy year for Apple, with the company expanding its availability to new markets and releasing new products. The massive hype generated by its releases was achieved through a cleaver marketing scheme and also a prompt shipment system.

The trend is expected to continue over the next year, with the company’s officials looking to ride out on Apple’s momentum, as 2008 is widely considered one of the company’s best periods in its 31-year history.

The release of the new iPhone 3G was one of the year’s most anticipated events, and one of Apple’s biggest ever. The original version of the popular device managed to start a whole new segment in the smartphone market, with many companies looking to cash in on Apple’s success, as they begun developing their own ”iPhones,” with small variations or improvements in order to call it their own.

Even though at this point there are several touchscreen mobile models available on the market, the iPhone’s appeal appears unharmed, with its sales constantly rising all over the world. Even the price, which at first was considered a bit too much, does not appear as much in the reports, with people willing to overlook this aspect and get their device as soon as possible.

Apple’s App Store also contributed to this success, as the thousands of applications available attracted quite a crowd. At this point, there are more than 10,000 apps that users can choose from, several of them being available for free.