A great playtoy

• Posted by Lillian2611 January 12, 2010

What I like about Chomp is how quickly we can 'rate' apps. It's just a matter of clicking a whole heart or a broken one, depending on our experience. It's superficial, though, and that's a big downside. There are some apps I would be reluctant to rate that way; I want to explain why I do or don't like something in those instances. For example, Appsaurus has a cool concept but it hasn't really worked for me when it comes to good app recommendations. I don't want to dismiss it outright because I have managed to find some interesting stuff, but I can't bring myself to simply reward it with a recommendation, either. That's where Appolicious' rating system is much more useful.
Also, Chomp's search engine doesn't find apps every time. I had to try a few keywords in some cases before it would show me the exact app I wanted. I wanted to rate a great Bible app I have but it took three tries to find it, and that only happened when I searched by developer rather than with the keyword "Bible".
I do like the way Chomp promises to reward users by making them AppStars or whatever they call it. That tactic would certainly encourage folks to give ratings. Again, however, Appolicious does something similar with its featured user option. And again, it seems more tangible at first glance.

Honestly, I like anything that gets me exploring apps I haven't heard of before. There are 100k now, and that's a lot to get through. Chomp has a simple interface (just four options to choose from at the main screen) and it's attractive. I picked two or three apps while using it and that's cool, but I can't say yet whether it's going to be useful in the long term.

Honestly, there's nothing Chomp is doing that I think Appolicious should take on. They are two different approaches and they each have appeal. I honestly believe Appolicious is more likely to be around in a year, however. Chomp will get tired if it doesn't build a real community. It'll be more of a toy than a tool.