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.

Related Posts:

1. Should Medical Professionals Get an iPhone or an iPod Touch?
2. The Best and Most Useful Medical Apps for the iPhone or iPod Touch
3. iPad App Store needs to mature before medical community can adopt the iPad for healthcare use

So you’re a practicing provider or you’re in medical school.  You’ve seen some interesting medical applications out there and you’re wondering if you should get an iPhone or an iPod Touch.  This is a scenario that is often e-mailed to our site from providers and students.  In order to answer this question, I’ll first talk about the differences between the two devices and how the user experience will vary from a medical standpoint.

The iPod Touch runs the same operating system as the iPhone, called the iPhone Operating System.  However, the iPod touch has key hardware limitations that differentiate it from the iPhone.

The major difference between the two is obvious.  The iPod Touch doesn’t have any cellular capabilities.  So in order to use the internet, you must be connected to WiFi (wireless internet).  This is key to note because there are certain applications that require you to have an internet connection.  Two that come to mind are the Blausen Human Atlas and the Clinical Orthopedic Exam Apps.  These apps can function without a dedicated internet connection, but you aren’t able to use them to their full potential.  Both apps require you to stream videos that are not built into the applications.

If you hospital has a dedicated WiFi connection and your iPod Touch can connect to this WiFi connection easily, then this difference will not affect you.  But if your hospital does not have a dedicated WiFi connection, or if it’s difficult for you to connect to the internet, than the iPhone would be a better option if you want to use applications such as these to their maximum potential.  Remember though, if you aren’t getting reception in the hospital, often the case with AT&T, than your iPhone won’t be able to connect to the internet unless you turn the WiFi on. 

My suggestion would be to contact your hospital’s IT department to see if they can connect your iPhone or iPod Touch to the wireless internet.  In order to use the WiFi in my hospital you have to go through a login screen, which can be extremely painful and annoying.  Luckily, the IT department is great and they were able to change the wireless setting on my iPhone so I didn’t have to go through the normal login screen anymore and and now my iPhone is always connected to WiFi. 

To be honest, for medical professionals, this is the main key difference between the two devices.  The medical apps we’ve run across don’t really utilize the added functionality of the iPhone, such as Push-notification, GPS, and the camera.  Medical Apps such as Epocrates, Merck Manual Professional, and other reference apps don’t require this added functionality and will run just fine on your iPod Touch. 

If you’re always in the hospital, and are easily able to connect to WiFi, then I’d recommend you stick to the iPod Touch and save yourself from having to pay the extra monthly data fee that comes with the iPhone.  Plus, if you’re a resident you’re working 24/7 anyways and you probably won’t even that that much of a chance to use the extra functionality. 

If you’re a medical student, all the study applications we’ve reviewed, such as the USMLE question banks and anatomy apps, will work just fine on an iPod Touch. 

There are also some minor differences, such as the lack of an extra “zoom” feature that the iPhone has.  I highlighted this in the iRadiology review.  This feature can be useful when looking at detailed radiology, however, it’s not that big of a deal.

Now if you want to get the iPhone because you want a dedicated smart phone, than by all means, it’s a great device.  I went with the iPhone because I need to always be connected to the internet so I can respond to e-mails.  I use the push-button notification,push-email, and GPS functionality constantly, but I’m fully aware that many healthcare professionals don’t. 

In our reviews, if a medical app has limitations on the iPod Touch, we almost always comment on it.  If you still aren’t sure though, feel free to comment on this post or a particular review before you buy a medical app and your question will get answered.

Related Posts:

1. How to sync the right user with the right medical app for their iPhone, iPod Touch, and the upcoming iPad
2. The Best and Most Useful Medical Apps for the iPhone or iPod Touch
3. Optimizing Your Medical Practice Experience with the iPod Touch