Symbian, iOS, Android, Windows Phone 7, Bada, Maemo and Meego: the range of operating systems for smartphones is truly dizzying. And that’s before one considers the different apps available for each system.
Mercifully, a few new Web sites have popped up to help consumers pick the winners from the losers before they get lost in the flood.
Applications for smartphones, or apps for short, often provide some basic entertainment or a basic service for free or [inexpensively]. But the true cost of finding a smartphone app doesn’t hit one’s wallet. Instead, it’s a question of time.
The main time drain comes from wading through all the programs out there, with quality ranging from mediocre to excellent, until one finds the app that suits best. Official app stores and marketplaces can be especially dense to navigate.
But new sites that offer app recommendations help save time. These run the gamut. Smokin’ Apps and Appboy are both stores that include recommendations for the Blackberry and Palm operating systems.
Other sites are more selective. Appsfire only focuses on applications for Apple’s iOS operating system, which runs the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. A keyword search brings up a list of suitable programs for review. An advanced search will filter applications based on price, category, ratings or date of release. There’s also a Now Free list of nothing but free apps.
Potential app designers seeking inspiration can go to the site’s homepage and follow a path showing which apps have received clicks recently. Another flag, App Trends, lists the programs that are currently hottest on Facebook. An archive highlights current hits, either from the last few hours or recent days.
Appsfire also offers recommendations for users of Android-powered smartphones. But accessing that requires downloading an application onto the smartphone. There is no separate Web site for Android apps.
Owners of Symbian-based mobiles…