Apps are awesome, right?  They’ve changed our lives and some expect computing to move to being completely app based at some point.  But how many do you actually use?

If the stats are correct, you use 10 or less on a regular basis, regardless of whether you’ve downloaded 15 or 150.  In fact, a Pew Research study revealed that 68% of users only use five or fewer apps at least once a week.

I realized after reading that statistic that it was true for me and I started asking others and they have the same experience.  What was interesting to me was how some apps I adopted early and used often, like “Bump” (to share contact information) and Angry Birds (to kill time in line at the post office), are apps I haven’t touched in months and I don’t miss them at all.  So even the apps that were originally sticky ended up not sticking.

Only two-thirds of people with apps on their phones use them.  My theory is that our bandwidth is limited, our choices of what to do with our limited free time are growing exponentially, and we’re choosing to use the few apps that either make our lives easier, save time or entertain us well.

Here are the types of apps that adults download and then do not delete on their cellphones:                            

Type of application                                 % who download

News, weather, sports, stocks                       74

Communications (social)                             67

Learning                                            64

Travel                                              53

Work-related tasks                                  48

Shopping                                            46

Video viewing                                       43

Health management                                   29

SOURCE: Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, July 25-Aug. 26, 2011 tracking survey.

How do these numbers compare to the types of apps you download and use frequently?  Do you use the same apps on your phone as your iPad?   (I could say ‘tablet’, but let’s be honest, that’s like calling Kleenex ’tissue’).  Which apps do you find the most useful?  …inquiring minds want to know.

A friend sent this to me on Facebook and it struck me.  We talk about how things have changed so much in our lifetimes, but we usually reference things like 8 track tapes and vinyl records switching to compact discs and bytes on an iPod. Did you realize that the patent for the compact disc was filed in 1966 and the first one wasn’t produced until 1982?

But think about how much your life has changed just in the last 10 years from advances in technology.  Can you remember life before you had an email address or a cell phone?  This video is from a newscast in 1981, almost 20 years ago.  Look how how far we’ve come with the advancement of Moore’s Law.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What made watching this even funnier to me was that I saw my friend’s email on my iPad and clicked a link to go to Facebook to read the message.  Then I clicked into YouTube and watched this on a thin crisp iPad screen.  That’s normal today.  ‘Normal’ when this was broadcast was to move the rabbit ears on a TV the size of a bank safe to get good reception and cable TV was a new phenomenon.

I’m not enough of a fanboy to already own an iPad, but most of my friends have one already and love them.  If I was a gamer or wanted it for watching Netflix movie streams maybe I would have been an early adopter.

Instead, I’ll wait 6 months and they’ll probably release one with a camera, video capabilities or more features.  For now I’ll enjoy learning about what’s fun and great about the first version by playing with my friend’s iPads.  So far it  just seems like a larger screen to enjoy apps on, but I’m sure that theory will be proved wrong.

Follow my friend Matt Emmi’s blog as he documents his experience of using the iPad to replace his crashed laptop.  He’s moved all of his data to the cloud through Mobile Me and others apps and feels confident he can pull this off.

For now, we can all enjoy a moment of zen from our friends at Blendtec who have blended everything from glow sticks to Chuck Norris.  Now, it’s the iPad’s turn…

Click here to view the embedded video.