Everyone who's ever bought an iPhone has always wondered which are the best apps around, which they must try. Be it games, business or other utility apps, the list is endless when it comes to the Apple App Store. The availability and choice of apps has always been a new user's prime concern, who is not always interested in the phone's interface or basic functioning. But finding a requisite app on the App Store has not always been easy.

Chomp Logo

The iTunes App Store has over 500,000 apps available, both free and paid, and divides these into the most popular apps, as well as different categories. It also has Genius recommendations to help users get an idea of the apps they must try, but it's not quite useful at all times. The app inventory in the App Store is so huge, that finding apps has become more and more complicated an exercise over the years.

Aware of the fact that app discovery is not getting an easier on the App Store, Apple very recently acquired a company called Chomp, to make app search a simpler and more efficient task. Chomp is nothing but a simple search engine for mobile devices, and although in look and feel it may seem pretty basic, it performs extremely well. Operating both for the App Store and Android Market, Chomp produces better results for search queries. Chomp's website says, “"Chomp's proprietary algorithm learns the functions and topics of apps, so you can search based on what apps do, not just what they're called." The company first came to light and became popular due to the backing provided by angel investors and venture capital firms, and even well-known personalities such as Kevin Rose and Ashton Kutcher.

TechCrunch reports that the acquisition of Chomp could prove to be extremely beneficial for Apple, and in essence a complete overhaul of how apps are search on the store. Chomp's technology will be integrated into the App Store, thereby making searches for apps yield better results, and these suggestions could be supported with additional data such as social cues and user behavior data.

The integration will benefit not only users, who'll be able to search better, but also developers who can get exposure and a market for their apps.

Source: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/what_apples_acquisition_of_chomp_means_for_the_fut.php