With over 100,000 apps available for the iPhone/iPod Touch and billions of downloads since the App Store opened just under two years ago, the market is clearly hot. And with the release of the iPad, expect a new flood of apps into the market. However, a recent article in the New York Times suggests that even with the wealth of options, people generally use only five apps despite having downloaded far more.
The average iPhone or iPod Touch owner uses 5 to 10 apps regularly, according to Flurry, a research firm that studies mobile trends. This despite the surfeit of available apps: some 140,000 and counting.
Another finding that the article notes is that even thought hundreds of thousands of apps are available, the entire user group is generally exposed to the same few thousand apps.
A survey of iPhones, iPod Touch and Android users conducted in July 2009 by AdMob, an advertising network that helps people promote their applications on smartphones, found that people discover apps most often by browsing app stores. And even though the iTunes store is bloated with offerings, people tend to gravitate to the most popular….
“…The top apps featured at the store do change out,” Mr. Putney said. “But most users will never see more than 1 percent of the total apps available.”
These findings are important for iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad users, app developers, and even us here at iMedicalApps, and here’s why. For users, this means that finding the best apps requires some work – a conscious effort to search the app store for things that interest you. That includes looking beyond the most popular medical apps. For developers, this means that reaching potential customers requires finding ways to climb that popularity ladder. For the Malcolm Gladwell enthusiasts, this means finding the Mavens, Connectors, and Salesman (from Tipping Point) – basically the people with large social (or professional) networks who are most likely to adopt early and spread the message about your great app. And for us here at iMedicalApps, it means actively looking for that diamond in the rough, languishing at the bottom of the popularity rankings, and helping our readers discover useful apps they wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
![Thumbnail image for Anatomy Apps: Clemente’s, Rohen’s, and Moore’s Anatomy Flash Card Apps: Similar User Interface, but Different Images, Could Be Used for Patient Education [App Review]](http://cdn.imedicalapps.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/thumb.jpg)
The problem is there are way too many 99 cents apps proliferating in the App Store. There should be a minimum charge of 3 bucks or so to keep out these less “usable” apps.
The Medical section of the App Store leaves a lot to be desired. First of all, they have allowed, lifestyle or non-clinical apps to infiltrate the section. They should have a section with apps targeted at medical professionals.
Ultimately, browsing the App Store is not going to be a good way to find apps. Review websites like this and more sophisticated developer websites that link to the individual apps in the App Store will become important. So will apps linked together as some kind of product line i.e. the Epocrates quiz app. Finally, there will have to be a way for institution like med schools or large clinics to deploy a family of apps.
Jamie, I don’t agree with making the minimum price of an app $3. I still think supply and demand should be allowed to work themselves out, however, you do have a point, many of the 99 cent apps really are legitimate applications.
StatCoder – There have been a few med schools to emply a “suite” of apps, but many times they are home brewed and lacking in real functionality. With all the great educational apps out for the iPhone I’m waiting to see a school to truly embrace a collection of 7 to 10 “learning” apps for their students.