There may be 140,000 or more apps, but the average person uses only five or ten, reports Katie Hafner in the New York Times (1/31/10). That stat is according to a research firm called Flurry, and applies to iPhone and iPod Touch users. But it is supported anecdotally by iPhone user Caroline Cua, 27, who says she has downloaded exactly five apps, of which she regularly uses just four. She's joined by Julie Graham, 50, who comments, "I think I'm supposed to want more of them than I have."

Even among those who do want more apps than they have, few ever actually see more than a small percentage of those offered on the iTunes store, for example, where most "people gravitate to the most popular" offerings. "The top apps featured at the store do change out," says Stewart Putney of Moblyng, an app developer. "But most users will never see more than one percent of the total offered." And, according to Pinch Media, "most people stop using their applications pretty quickly, particularly if those apps are free."

However, count Phil Minasian, 18, among the "app-happy." Phil says his iPhone is loaded with apps, most of them free games. But he does pay about $15 a month for other apps and thinks people are indeed missing out on apps "that help with everyday life." He says he uses an app to find apps, to find his apps. Simon Sinek, 36, makes his choices based on the most popular apps that are also highly rated by at least 60 percent of at least 5,000 users. In any case, analysts say that "Apple and its developers receive $1 billion a year in revenue from selling applications (Apple itself won't say).