application store

application store

Apple has made a significant change to the “Top Charts” section in the iOS App Store just ahead of its Worldwide Developers Conference next week in San Francisco – it’s now only featuring the Top 150 Paid, Free and Top Grossing applications, where before it was featuring the Top 300 on iPhone, and Top 1,500 on iPad. That means that half the applications that previously counted on being ranked here for discovery purposes are gone and have to be found via search or category listings instead.

As noted in Forbes’ regular Apple Loop column, Apple appears to be testing a promotional code system, where developers can redeem codes to gain access to in-app purchases. Currently being trialled on a very small number of application, including EA’s Real Racing 3 which was already seen as a test-bed of the freemium model by the publisher, the widespread availability of promo codes for use by developers may be one of the announcements at next week’s WWDC.

Joy of Cooking [iPad; $5.99] Joy of Cooking, the first cookbook in many kitchens, is now the must-have app for every cook-experts and beginners alike. Version 1.0.4 brings the following changes:

Seismometer 6th [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $0.99] Taking advantage of the built-in accelerometer in your iPhone and iPad, Seismometer 6th detects and visualizes any vibrations and moves of the device.

Already, the company has made several improvements to App Store search, most recently with the introduction of “related search” suggestions that appear after a user types in a keyword or keywords to find an application of interest. For example, a search for “calendar” may offer similar suggestions like “calendar planner” or “daily planner.”

Record of Agarest War [iOS Universal; $14.99] HyperDevbox is proud to announce that the massively popular tactical role-playing game (J-RPG) for home video game consoles, Record of Agarest War (English version), is now available for iOS.

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Fiksu wanted to figure how if “popularity” as determined by download volume was having any impact on search results, so it began testing App Store search following the removal of the viral hit Flappy Bird from iTunes. Every day after Flappy Bird’s disappearance, Fiksu ran a search for the phrase “flappy bird” and then matched the results to the app’s then-current overall chart rankings. These chart rankings are based on recent download volume, among other things.

Gameloft explains in the app’s release notes: “New York is under threat from a city-wide gang war and only Spider-Man can stop it! Standing in his way are Electro and other nefarious villains. Can Spider-Man restore order and safety to the Big Apple?!”

In the U.S., for example, Google Play revenue grew approximately 55% quarter-over-quarter, taking the country past South Korea (home to Samsung and LG), and second place on the Market Index since Q1 2013. Now it’s number three, with Japan (#1) and the U.S. (#2) ahead. The change indicates that stateside Android users may be slowly warming up to the notion of paying for apps and other in-app purchases, specifically games, like category leader Clash of Clans, for instance.

What can be said for sure, however, is that an app’s search position will matter more as the store grows in size, and as queries become increasingly sophisticated thanks to recent App Store improvements, like the newly added related search suggestions, for example, and other changes yet to come.

The official iOS adaptation of the “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” movie promises mobile gamers an open-world adventure full to the brim with “non-stop action,” and charges players with helping the Marvel hero face his greatest challenge yet.

Search results are generally understood to be calculated by three key metrics: the company name, an app’s title, and the 100-character meta-keywords provided within iTunes Connect by the app’s publisher. But Fiksu says it found that download volume, as measured by Category rankings, appears to also have a strong impact on search results ranking.