“It is also clear that the Top 25 lists in the store play a major role in most users’ purchase decisions. 46% of all iPhone users rely on recommendations from friends, while about 20% find new apps through ads in other applications and about 19% base their download decisions on news articles and blog posts they have read,” Lardinois reports. “Given the size of the store at this point, it only makes sense that users rely on popularity as a measure of quality.”
Lardinois reports, “About 40% of all iPhone users use about 4 to 6 apps at least once a week. Only about 5% use more than 20 apps per week.”
More in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
Word of mouth is by far the most compelling since you can see the App on the device and see how it works. Last week of ten people at a party I attended, 5 of them had iPhones and immediately started talking about Apps. Quite boring for the turds that had B Berries, so sad.
Let’s see. Google Reader, Trein, Twitterific, FaceBook, Lux DLX … yep, that’s 5.
Another good source is industry magazines. Both EAA and AOPA have articles about flying apps in their daily email blasts and magazines.
AOPA’s new airport guide is bitch’n.
There are four good apps on the store:
– Air Sharing Pro
– Harbor Master
– Field Runners
– Apple Remote
Everything else is crap.
I read “the best of” articles, scan the lists, read the reviews, and most of all do searches on topics that I want / need.
If the app maker has good reviews and reasonably frequent updates, and responds to user requests / comments, that’s a very important signal that the app will be worth my time.
“There are four good apps on the store…Everything else is crap. – Cat in a Blender.
Are you four years old or just as self-absorbed and foolish as you sound? Not everyone has the same interests (or is as small minded) as you.
An even better source than the “best of” articles? The user comments/recommendations under the “best of” articles.
The Other Steve, you are absolutely right!
I usually hear through Twitter, iPhoneApplicationList.com, AppShopper.com, and AppTism. PandoraBox is the app I use to track price changes and new apps.
I get a lot of tips right here.
Not just the articles and top 10s but from of you other regulars.
Thanks Everybody
I recently started visiting iphoneappreviews.net occasionally just to see what they are reviewing, because there are so many daggone apps. Otherwise, I like to just browse the store sometimes and see what’s available and popular. Hard to believe, but I only have 16 apps on my phone that I’ve downloaded. Sad, I know.
I just downloaded everything and threw out the ones I didn’t like.
Of course, I used a stolen credit card, so… 😀
I use an application called App Sniper that helps. But overall I wish Apple would do something to make app discovery faster and more fun. There’s just too much shit.
One addition on the horizon, keywords, should be a big help.
Lawyers spend a lot of time waiting…in courtrooms, offices, conferences and hallways. There seems to always be a cluster of lawyers discussing and demonstrating the latest discovered “productivity” app. That’s how the word gets out on good apps.
@cat in a blender:
You should consider changing your name to “brain in a blender” if you actually believe the horsesh*t you wrote.
There is a giant never-ending void that eats every other app not listed in Top 25 or Apple picks. Developers who create an independent app pray to Steve that it gets a shred of cred from an external source, otherwise that app is only gonna be downloaded by a handful of savvy iPhone users.
I don’t know what the answer is, but it seems like the App Store is missing something.
Like a last.fm for apps.
Honestly, I wish there was an easier way to browse the app store. I pretty much have to luck into stumbling across a good app. I don’t load iTunes to go browsing.
A web based virtual storefront would be a nice addition to the app store.
@ NCIceman
Good point.
I also find it unnecessarily difficult to discover what I need, especially on the iPhone App Store. Sometimes odd app naming sits in the way, but there must be ways, based on keywords and/or description content to enhance the search experience.
@cat in a blender,
Yes. The other 59,996 are crap. Only 4 good apps in there.