If 2009 was all about the drop to 99c, 2010 is all about free apps.

Indeed, some developers are now complaining they’re expected to give away 200,000 downloads before they have a chance to register on the App Store charts.

Not that the folks at FreeAppADay.com are worried.

Since kicking off its paid-for site in January, it's successfully promoted games such as Battle Bears, FaceFighter, AstraWare Casino and Tiki Towers, enabling developers to get their games in front of large numbers of eyeballs and then use that exposure to build their brands and businesses.

Downloads mean prizes

Continuing the promotion theme, it's announced the first sets of games to qualify for its FAAD Certified Awards.

Up for the January awards are Battle Bear, iBomber, Pizza Zombie, Air Hockey, Rope N Fly, Compression, Cocoto Kart, Low Grav Racer, iStunt and GeoFighter.

In February, the nominees are FaceFighter, Low Grav Racer 2, Navy Patrol: Advanced Premium, Pollywog, Tiki Totem, AstraWare Casino, 4x4 Jam, Valet Hero, MyTP Snowboarding and Steampunk Hockey.

Non game app nominees are Care World, TextPlus, FastMall, Fluxtunes, iCatchal and Belindra.

The winners will be announced at the Game Developers Conference on 9th March.

The gold, silver and bronze awards will be calculated using a combination of votes from the FAAD community and overall download numbers, while one game per month will get the platinum award representing the most downloaded application.

"I am really excited to present the FAAD awards at GDC," says Stacy Kramer, veep of marketing at FreeAppADay.com.

"We're only been live since January but we managed to generate millions of downloads for our partners, sending their applications to the top of the App Store ranking on a regular basis while helping them generate more revenue in the process."

Giving something back

It's not just about hard commerce though.

At GDC, FreeAppAday will also be officially launching its FAAD Cares Initiative, which is aimed at promoting apps making a difference for the less fortunate, the environment and other commendable causes.

"We're really proud to be able to use the site to help make a difference for various causes," says Joe Bayen, founder and CEO at ICS Mobile and FreeAppADay.com.

"We recently partnered with the altruist application Cause World and we are planning on promoting more apps which can help make a real difference."