warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Woman Hangs Up On $10,000 Prize From Apple

David McAlpine |
January 24, 2011 | 10:06 p.m. PST

Executive Producer

Apple's App Store (Creative Commons).
Apple's App Store (Creative Commons).

Who doesn't hang up on telemarketers these days?

So it only stands to reason that UK Resident Gail Davis told who she thought was a solicitor from Apple, "Thank you very much, but I'm not interested." That is, until Davis realized that call was worth $10,000 to iTunes, she told CultofMac.com.

According to Davis, whose daughter was the one who bought the 10 billionth app on Apple's App Store, she didn't know she made a mistake until her children came running downstairs pleading her to call back the representative.

On the first call, Davis said, she got someone at the Apple help desk who was unable to connect her to the right person.

"The more I thought about it, the more I realized it was a genuine call," Davis said. "The girls were getting quite tense. They would have never forgiven me. They would have held it against me for all eternity."

Davis' daughter downloaded the free app "Paper Glider," a game where the player flicks a paper airplane across the screen for points, early Saturday. 

The creator of the app was just as surprised to see that his application was the lucky download.

Oli Christie, an Oxford England resident, missed a call from the U.S. over the weekend informing him of the news. Though he didn't receive a gift card himself, he did get instant fame -- and a boost in downloads over the weekend.



 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.