Nobody loves giving Apple a pat on the back quite like Apple—and for that, you could be grateful.

The Cupertino, CA, company is just about wrapping up its “Countdown to 1 Billion Apps” contest, which will reward a lucky downloader or other entrant with a sweet Apple prize pack.

The contest prize will be rewarded when the billionth app (worldwide) is downloaded, and Apple has a countdown ticker on its website so you can follow along as the time approaches—at about 989.1 million at this writing.

If you download an app from the iTunes store, or from your iPhone/iPod touch device, you’re automatically entered. You can also enter without downloading anything.

If you win, you’ll be doing quite a bit of downloading—the grand prize includes a $10,000 iTunes gift card, a 32-GB iPod touch, a 17-inch MacBook Pro, and a Time Capsule.

CNET says a UK company has predicted the download to occur sometime on April 23, so you better enter pretty soon. Update: Apple passed the milestone on April 23 around 2 p.m. PST, so the contest is ovah.

What’s your favorite App? Do you generally pay for them or just grab the freebies? Right now the all-time top free downloaded ones include:

• Facebook
• Google Earth
• Pandora Radio
• Tap Tap Revenge
• Shazam
• Pac-Man Lite
• Backgrounds
• and Touch Hockey

Arlen Schweiger - Editor of Electronic House Magazine

Arlen writes about home technology installations and product news and reviews for electronichouse.com and Electronic House magazine.