95,000 Apps on iTunes: More of the Same?

**Paul Daniel Ash** · 10-31-2009, 03:31 PM

The First & 20 website showcases iPhone home screens of "some of the best and brightest developers, designers and tech writers." The idea behind the site is to give users the opportunity to be exposed to the apps that the smart guys are using, with the idea that there may be some hidden gems out there that people were unaware of. However, the selections show a lot of repetition, and few unusual choices.

Alfredo Padilla at TheAppleBlog did an analysis of the home screens because, he said "I have all the time in the world I decided to have fun with some math." 77 different third-party applications were shown, of which 46 were found only once and 31 were found multiple times. He further broke down the totals by the number of spaces on the home screen they occupied. on the 28 home screens featured, 162 slots were taken up by third-party applications. The 31 apps that were found more than once took up over 71 percent of those slots on home screens.

Padilla's takeaway?

What it indicates to me is just how meaningless Apple’s constant prattering about the total number of apps in the app store is. The reality is that only a small percentage of those applications are good enough to make it onto the home screens of the most discerning users. I mentioned above the problem that led me to eagerly check out the First & 20 site: the fact that finding good applications is so hard. The more useless apps continue to enter the app store, the greater this problem becomes.

Padilla makes the point that the small number of actually popular apps means that emerging platforms have that much less catchup to do in order to compete with the iPhone. With the rapidly expanding array of app choices available for Android, for example - including versions of many of the most popular App Store offerings - the iPhone's competitive advantage seems less and less formidable.

Like the operating system wars and browser wars, this may just come down to another case of the market being dominated by one or a couple players, and choice allowing for everyone to have their own preferences. And similar to those conflicts, there may well end up being no one clear "best," but rather a healthy diversity.

image via TheAppleBlog

**cssoz** · 10-31-2009, 03:33 PM

so true some apps does the same job

**Windmeel** · 10-31-2009, 03:41 PM

At Bat 2009 is the only one from the list on my Home Screen

**mikerlx** · 10-31-2009, 04:03 PM

I have accumulated 80 apps so far and hardly use them for me novelty has worn off and my focus is cycorder and pixelpipe

**Fallguy** · 10-31-2009, 04:19 PM

Way to many flashlight apps and other useless utilities . However there are a few good ones I put to use daily .

**MetallicaFan1991** · 10-31-2009, 05:24 PM

We already new this about the App Store.
90000 useless apps and 5000 good useful apps.

**Zeal** · 10-31-2009, 05:35 PM

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Need i say more?

**CaptainChaos** · 10-31-2009, 06:14 PM

^please do!

**tudtran** · 10-31-2009, 08:32 PM

That's good. More competitions = cheaper apps.

**gotem3303** · 11-01-2009, 05:59 AM

wheres cydia?

**ultimatexpka** · 11-01-2009, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by gotem3303

wheres cydia?

wrong place

**Carlos** · 11-01-2009, 12:54 PM

I got like 122 apps, and thats not even including Cydia....I need to go through and eliminate some

**KartRacer** · 11-01-2009, 03:14 PM

The best part is the most useful ones aren't aloowed. You have to get the apps that are worth having from Cydia. So much for be different, more like do what you're told.

**rwin84** · 11-01-2009, 07:20 PM

I saw an apple commercial today that said there were 85,000 apps... tisk tisk apple incorrect advertising

**Bolbol24** · 11-01-2009, 07:37 PM

lol me too they said 85k but who care

**rhekt** · 12-11-2009, 12:40 AM

unfortunately this is so true

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