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Top 5 Free Apps

Release Date: August 05, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: May 22, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: August 29, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: March 27, 2009
Release Date: August 07, 2009

iTunes New Music Releases

Release Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: September 20, 2009
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: August 25, 2009

Top 5 Paid Apps

Release Date: April 22, 2009
StickWars $0.99
Release Date: March 31, 2009
Genre: Games
Bloons $0.99
Release Date: April 05, 2009
Genre: Games

Discover New Music

  • Aretha Sings the Blues

    • 6 out of 10
    • Aretha Franklin
    • While she didn't always have the best taste in song selection, Aretha Franklin is a must-study for anyone with interest in the human voice. She has the kind of powerful, recklessly passionate deliv

  • Rock Spectacle

    • 8 out of 10
    • Barenaked Ladies
    • These guys know how to put on a live show, and whomever recorded this knows how to capture one. Rock Spectacle is one of the warmest-sounding recordings I've ever heard, and totally fills a room at a
  • Odyssey Number Five

    • 10 out of 10
    • Powderfinger
    • Guitar-driven rock out of Australia, Powderfinger has not seen much exposure in the States, but should get a nod for their toe-tapping songs. Building off their previous release, "Internationalist" (
  • Chicago Transit Authority

    • 10 out of 10
    • Chicago
    • For those of you who don't know, Chicago didn't always suck, and everyone in the band didn't always play a keyboard. When the band started off they were pioneers of rock and jazz fusion, and guita

  • Plans

    • 8 out of 10
    • Death Cab for Cutie
    • With the introduction of Plans, Death Cab for Cutie became a new addition to many user's Artist list after the single "Soul Meets Body" became a hit on iTunes. Offering a fresh alternativ

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iPhone

AdMob Metrics Detail iPhone App Usage Pyramid

Mobile phone advertising network AdMob revealed metrics for the month of May Friday that offer a detailed look at the pyramid-like distribution of actual app usage. In AdMob's network of 2,309 free, app-supported iPhone apps, only the top 5% (119) had 100,000 or more active users during May, while the majority, some 54% had fewer than 1,000 active users.

In the middle of the pack, 14% of the network's apps saw 10,000-100,000 active users, while 27% fell into the 1,000-10,000 range. All told, the firm said that there were 15.1 million unique users on iPhone and iPod touch devices in May 2009 in the AdMob Network.

Admob Total Usage Chart for May, 2009

Digging more deeply into the top 5% of apps, we see a microcosm of the broader trend, with approximately half of the top 119 apps getting approximately 100,000-250,000 or fewer active users. The graph curves up sharply towards the end with the top 10 apps in the network getting 1,000,000 or more users.

AdMob Usage Chart for Top Apps in May, 2009
Chart courtesy of AdMob

Such distribution curves are common in many industries. For instance, broadband providers have long grappled with how to manage that 90% of their throughput comes from roughly just 10% of their user base. For iPhone apps, that distribution curve isn't so much a burden, but rather a goal of developers to get into the steeper end of the curve.

AdMob's data only represents less than 5% of the total iPhone app base of more than 50,000 apps, and doesn't include any paid apps at all. As a statistical sample, however, the firm's data is good benchmark for the broader free app market.

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