News that Angry Birds has been named as the top paid app on iPhone for 2010 on both sides of the Atlantic will surprise very few, but the unveiling of Apple's iOS countdowns as part of its iTunes Rewind 2010 promotion isn't without its eyebrow raising moments.

Namely the stark difference between the number of games populating the three iPhone countdowns and those that have managed to make their mark on iPad.

Not so Angry BirdsImpressively, every single one of the top 10 paid apps on iPhone in the US is, in fact, a game. Aside from Rovio's aforementioned monster hit, Lima Sky's Doodle Jump also features, as well as Skee-Ball, Bejeweled 2 and Fruit Ninja in the top five.

In the UK, six of the top 10 apps are games – Tetris making an appearance on these shores though absent from the equivalent countdown in the US.

The top grossing apps also sees Angry Birds take second spot in the US, with Call of Duty: Zombies making an appearance in the American countdown thanks to its $4.99 price tag.

Game off?Things are notably different on iPad in the US, however.
Angry Birds yet again makes an appearance in the top 10 paid apps countdown, but this time it's joined by only one other game – baKno's Pinball HD.

Again, only three games feature in the top grossing iPad apps rundown on the other side of the Atlantic – familiar favourites Angry Birds HD, Real Racing HD and Plants vs. Zombies HD.

This all stands in contrast to the performance of games on iPad in the UK, where six of the top ten paid apps are games – the same rate as on iPhone.

Such differences raise an interesting question as to whether iPad has a distinctly different appeal in the UK than it does in the US.

Apple's countdowns suggest British consumers see iPad as an extension of the kind of gaming they enjoy on iPhone, while those in the US – where functional apps like Pages, Numbers and Keynote perform strongly – would appear to use the tablet more as a work tool.

[source: BGR/Pocket Gamer]