Calling the iTunes App Store ‘successful’
would be an understatement. Not only are users gobbling up every app under the
sun (iFart is a sad testament to this fact) but all kinds of developers are
dishing out for the potluck.* Applications range from mundane file transfer
programs to exclusive gaming titles, like Metal Gear Touch. And yet, the entire
market is essentially shrouded in obscurity. Apple provides no solid numbers on
app dissemination, leaving merely a ‘Most Popular’ flavour of the week by which
to judge just which programs users are invested in. But with a new report
recently published by comScore, we now know the 25 apps most likely to be found
on an iPhone/iPod Touch. The results are…interesting.
In the following chart comScore has ranked
the top 25 applications (available through the App Store) in terms of ‘Penetration of
Installs.’ Pene-what? Despite the odd moniker, the percentage simply represents
the portion of iTunes’ users that have download that particular app.
Recent estimates put the iPhone/Touch user
base in North America at 15 million, a number adroitly determined by estimating that of the 30
million units sold, 75 percent were sold in the United States and an estimated two-thirds of those users utilize mobile web or
applications (see here for the full analysis). This means that an app like Tap
Tap Revenge has reached nearly 4.8 million iPhones. A pretty sizable fanbase
and certainly a selling point for the digital digit-workout app. However, these
numbers also tell us that 3 million people have installed Bubblewrap, the game
where you pop bubblewrap…
Other notables include Virtual Zippo
Lighter, Flashlight, and Lightsaber Unleashed.
Comparing this with the App Store’s Top
Apps none of those listed in the comScore top 25 are contained within the top
paid or free apps. But this is almost like leaving out a giant bowl of assorted
candy and ranking who takes what kind; bottom line, it’s all free. So the free rockets get taken first and the milk duds are left behind, how does this benefit the developers?
Cue the advertisers.
Essentially comScore’s ‘penetration
statistic’ tells companies which apps the average user is installing, providing them with data that they can then use to entice advertizers. However, their sales pitch is based on the
hope that said apps are actually being engaged with on a regular basis (I can’t
really imagine Virtual Zippo Lighter is in the daily rotation for the majority
of the near 3 million people that have it installed). The difficulty Apple
faces, and by extension the developers, is how best to monetize this app
frenzy. Unfortunately for advertisers the most popular apps appear to be those
of the one-night-stand variety. And yet Tap Tap Revenge has to be a glimmer of hope with its large user base constantly ingesting adverts, as well as the growing success of the paid-versions of the app.
At the very least these numbers reveal the
kinds of applications users are gravitating towards: games, social networking,
and entertainment. Ah, the future…
