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Get Rid of the App Store’s “Top” Lists

marco.org

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Re: Get Rid of the App Store’s “Top” Lists

#51

Post by robryan »

po wrote: post #16

I had the exact same observation but for another Apple app ecosystem: Game Center. I could not care less how I rank in the global rankings for an iPhone app. Do I care that some 10 kids or idiot savants have scored 100x higher than me? Not really. Maybe if I had actually joined a league or something I would like to know how I ranked globally but otherwise, that's not what you want to show people by default. There is…

I have never really properly used Game Center, every interaction I have ever had with it has felt clunky.

Re: Get Rid of the App Store’s “Top” Lists

#52

Post by gcb0 »

gcb0 wrote: post #5

maybe what we need nowadays is a curated list of categories for apps... yahoo can do that and go full circle.

oh, and by curated list i mean by quality, not by revenue, as is with apple store and google store/market/play/whatever it's going to be called tomorrow.

Re: Get Rid of the App Store’s “Top” Lists

#53

Post by reaperhulk »

MBCook wrote: post #22
po wrote: post #16

I had the exact same observation but for another Apple app ecosystem: Game Center. I could not care less how I rank in the global rankings for an iPhone app. Do I care that some 10 kids or idiot savants have scored 100x higher than me? Not really. Maybe if I had actually joined a league or something I would like to know how I ranked globally but otherwise, that's not what you want to show people by default. There is…

As someone who was once ranked 81st in the world on a game, it was a blast to see that my score was that high. Maybe it should only tell you past 1000, but it's a great little reward. Over time the app became more popular and and I lost my rank, but it was still cool. I wish Apple would fix the rampant cheating. While my rank was 81st, it was realistically ~60th because many of the top scores were simply cheaters who…

iOS 7 adds some new APIs to help with game score submission cheating.

Re: Get Rid of the App Store’s “Top” Lists

#54

Post by ibrahima »

hayksaakian wrote: post #28
gfodor wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's stunning to me how the App Store has so many downloads and so much revenue and yet still is such a huge piece of trash. It needs to be much faster. It needs to be more engaging. The search needs to be improved. The taxonomy needs a massive overhaul. Users need to be more encouraged to review apps and the review process itself needs to be overhauled. App sellers need to be able to perform legit SEO on their keywo…

> It's probably the biggest example I can think of where Apple really shows that they are unquestionably not Google. I think you give Google too much credit. The Play store is about as abysmal, sans the OS-tied updates. (Search, lists, SEO, etc. are BAD).

Eh, I just got an iPad for my mom, after owning several Android phones and tablets, and my sister used to use an iPod touch as well. We both agreed that the App Store is a piece of trash. It's slow, confusing to navigate around, and doesn't auto update your apps (I think I heard that's coming in iOS7?). It looks the same as it did on my sister's old 2G iPod touch.

Meanwhile, the Play Store search and navigation used to suck, but they've both improved a lot, and they keep the highlighted content fresh and relevant, which surprises me coming from Google (though not having used an iOS device extensively I don't know how often they update their featured content, but from this post it sounds like not often enough). They've fixed most of the stupid issues they had before and I actually like using it now.

Re: Get Rid of the App Store’s “Top” Lists

#55

Post by fpgeek »

hayksaakian wrote: post #28
gfodor wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's stunning to me how the App Store has so many downloads and so much revenue and yet still is such a huge piece of trash. It needs to be much faster. It needs to be more engaging. The search needs to be improved. The taxonomy needs a massive overhaul. Users need to be more encouraged to review apps and the review process itself needs to be overhauled. App sellers need to be able to perform legit SEO on their keywo…

> It's probably the biggest example I can think of where Apple really shows that they are unquestionably not Google. I think you give Google too much credit. The Play store is about as abysmal, sans the OS-tied updates. (Search, lists, SEO, etc. are BAD).

The Play Store has gotten a LOT better. There was a time when I routinely did a Google web search of:

site:play.google.com (or, earlier, site:market.android.com)

as opposed to using the store's own search interface. Now I only do that when I'm looking for something the store will filter out (wrong device type, wrong country, etc.). I suspect the web search is still a bit better, but closing to the point where it is usually not worth the hassle is still a big step.

That being said, I'm surprised this has been such an issue, for either store. I'd have thought making sure your search results are better than a blind web search would be a standard thing to look at.

Re: Get Rid of the App Store’s “Top” Lists

#56

Post by schrodinger »

melling wrote: post #50
brianwillis wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might find the genius lists go some of the way toward solving this problem for you. They try show things you're likely to be interested in, and don't show stuff you already own.

Now if you could only remind the 500 million other iOS users. Discovery needs to be better. Most people aren't going to dig. If my girlfriend wants an app that she's heard about, I've got to install it for her. Guess who updates the apps on her phone? :-( It's gotta be real easy for most people.

I'm excited for automatic app updates in iOS 7...

Re: Get Rid of the App Store’s “Top” Lists

#57

Post by schrodinger »

Kylekramer wrote: post #14
runjake wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He may be trolling, but its probably not far from the truth. Other than releasing the Android source, Google doesn't really play any part in most Android devices on the market. Further, their store is plagued with malware and shady apps that never get removed. I know because I've reported them and continue to see the same apps by the same developers on the Play Store. On the manufacturer's side, they rush out devices…

OK? And for Apple, iOS is a means to end: to get people using their services and get their money alongside getting their money upfront. It just so happens that delivering quality experiences are a good way of achieving both Google and Apple's ends. People who hate their phones don't see as many ads as people who enjoy their phones. But, of course, we are feeding the troll.

I think that the point is that Google makes money regardless of whether you get an Android or an iPhone. Apple does not.

Re: Get Rid of the App Store’s “Top” Lists

#58

Post by schrodinger »

corresation wrote: post #19
runjake wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He may be trolling, but its probably not far from the truth. Other than releasing the Android source, Google doesn't really play any part in most Android devices on the market. Further, their store is plagued with malware and shady apps that never get removed. I know because I've reported them and continue to see the same apps by the same developers on the Play Store. On the manufacturer's side, they rush out devices…

I started to formulate a reasoned reply, but honestly forget that: your comment is garbage through and through. Marco sounds like a bitter man about Android, as he always has been, and he has literally NOTHING to say about the platform that is worth listening to.

If you don't have anything nice to say...

Re: Get Rid of the App Store’s “Top” Lists

#59

Post by eridius »

tolmasky wrote: post #44

Here's an idea: show me the top lists without the apps I already own! Why do I need to see Mountain Lion at the top of the App Store constantly in the #1 position? Just so I can know how little Mac Software gets sold and completely dissuade me from ever considering writing Mac software again? EIGHT of the top 10 apps are Apple apps. Most of which people probably already own (I happen to own all of them). Is this the…

Why does Mountain Lion being at the top mean very little Mac software gets sold? Is it really that surprising that the OS itself is the most popular software on the store?
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