iPhone App store; why do we need 10 tip calculators?

First, it felt like I was browsing the PalmGear site where 50+ Palm OS calculators were available to download as I saw several different versions of the same type of application, some for free and some commercial. For examply, there are at least 9 Blackjack games, 9 task/to-do list apps, 11 Bible apps, 5 games with Bubble in the title, 8 weather apps, and 10 tip calculator apps (how many of these do we really need?). I encourage variety and development of applications, but I personally expected Apple to keep a bit of a lid on the number of repetitive applications. With over 550 applications currently in the store I think having so many may lead to a bit of frustration on the part of the consumer trying to find the best application in a certain category.

Second, after downloading the applications and then testing them out I noticed that just about everyone I downloaded required an internet connection. If this is going to be the case, then maybe an iPhone 3G is recommended to make the application experience better. For now, I'll stick with the slower connection or a WiFi connection with these apps. I was thinking there would be more stand alone applications and think this is where the games really shine on the iPhone.

Third, I also noticed there were a lot of applications I previously used on my jailbroken iPhone and that was good to see since those developers have been testing and improving their applications for some time. I actually went to check out some of these first.

Lastly, I think there are about 15-25 really great 3rd party applications available right now, but am surprised to see some big name applications missing that I think could really show off the power of the iPhone. For example, where is SlingPlayer Mobile, Skype, Mobipocket, Google Talk, Qik or Flixwagon, QuickOffice or other Office product, or a podcatcher application? I know many of these are coming, but wish that these major players would have been in the game at launch time.

So far I have 22 applications loaded on my iPhone, including Evernote, Facebook, Jott, Pandora Radio (awesome application), Super Monkey Ball, ShoZu, SplashMoney, eReader, PhoneSaber, Twitterific, Weatherbug, and Truphone. As I said earlier, it is a bit overwhelming going through page after page of iPhone applications. Each individual ebook is available for 99 cents and is shown as an individual application. Why doesn't Apple just have an ebook category to make things easier to find? There appear to be a ton of rather useless utilities (IMHO) that I wish weren't even shown in the store, but maybe they will appeal to one or two people. I know the same thing can be said for S60 and Windows Mobile where there are also a ton of the same rather useless utilities, but I guess I expected Apple to only have the best stuff in their App Store and am a bit surprised at the applications I am seeing in the store. Then again, I suppose they need to offer a huge choice and let the buyers decide which is the best.