March 2010
11 posts
AppStoreHQ links
AppsVu now offers a third option for the Android Market mirror. AppStoreHQ now joins Cyrket and AndroLib links for each search result. This is what the results look like now:
Clicking on the [AppStoreHQ] link will take you to the app detail page. AppStoreHQ offers a clean, clutter-free interface and this new addition will definitely help searchers quickly search for, decide on, and install the...
Some Query Statistics
AppsVu crossed 100,000 queries a few days back and it’s time to look at some interesting numbers around the querying and filtering habits of Android users.
Below you can see the 5 most popular queries (normalized so that the most popular query, “games”, is 100):
You can see that the falloff of the power-law head is quite steep. This jives with the really long tail, with...
More Filters
AppsVu now offers the ability to filter apps based on rating as well as Free vs. Paid at the same time. So you can now find paid apps with a rating of 3 Stars or better for any given query. The filters are added just below the regular filters you’ve already been using:
The filtering is done at the same speed as the other filters, so you won’t see any performance degradation while...
Screenshots & Reviews
AppsVu is all about helping you search for, decide on, and install the best app for your needs as quickly as possible. With this in mind, the first few results (typically three) have a [screenshot] meta link that will open a screenshot hosted at Cyrket.com in a separate window. This step, along with many others, is designed to help you quickly make a decision without leaving the site.
Also new...
Review site snippets
AppsVu now shows a sample of search results from review sites like androidtapp.com for every search along with the standard Android Market results. For now, these appear only at the bottom of the first page of results, below the pagination links. Like so:
The example results above show up when you search for the keyword “finance” on AppsVu. Not all searches show these results...
Switched QR Code and Market links
The [market] link is now the last and right-most link on search results. Before this, the [QR Code] link was positioned as the right-most link. Several Android users searching on AppsVu from their smartphones would hit the [QR Code] link, which only makes sense if these were accidental clicks. Now it’s much easier for mobile users to simply hit the last link on the right without the fear of...
Even more Snappiness
Now even novel queries should be much quicker in presenting results, not just the popular ones. In addition, sorting and filtering have been speeded up substantially for all queries as well.
More speed improvements
Popular searches now load significantly faster. Several different optimizations have been completed and they should all work together to deliver a faster experience for most visitors.
Please continue to offer Feedback.
More Reviews integrated
You can now find many more sources of Android Apps reviews in your search results. Starting with Android Tapp mentioned previously, there are now 4 other review sites integrated. So almost a thousand Android Apps have 3rd party “[review]” links showing up on search results.
Integrating more authoritative review sites and improving the existing experience continues to be a priority...
QR Code as a Lightbox
Previously, the [QR Code] link to the right of every search result on AppsVu popped up a new window with the image. Now, the QR Code shows up as a nice javascript lightbox overlaid on the search results page itself. Like this:
We’re out of the dark ages now.
Reviews from Android Tapp
Android Tapp is an excellent review site for Android Apps. A typical review there shows nice large screenshots, goes through the pros and cons of the app, and gives you both a user-rating as well as an Android Tapp staff rating.
Now, you can find links to Android Tapp reviews right here on AppsVu search results. If any of the apps on your search results have been reviewed on Android Tapp...
February 2010
7 posts
Higher Contrast
The link color on the search results is now much darker. The earlier ones had a washed out look. The increase in contrast should mean people searching from their Android phones no longer have to squint to see the results.
Please continue offering awesome feedback.
Caching
The Android Market search on AppsVu now caches search results, so you should see a healthy speed improvement for most popular queries.
"Quality" Filter
You may have noticed some changes to the filters and sort options in the left sidebar of the search results page.
You can now mix and match filters and sort options. Now you can find Paid Streaming Radio apps sorted by Popularity and other such combinations.
Also new is the “Quality Filter”. Basically, a “Quality” app in this filter is defined as any app that has a rating...
1 tag
Android QR Codes
You’ll notice that every search result on AppsVu has a link to the right labelled “[QR Code]”. On clicking it, you’ll find a small new browser window popup with a squigly picture on it, like this:
“QR Code” stands for “Quick Response Code” and was developed by a Japanese company called Denso-Wave back in 1994. A QR Code is a type of barcode,...
1 tag
Filters
The left sidebar on any AppsVu search contains filtering options with which you can narrow down your search results:
These filters are present on all searches with a reasonable number of results. Clicking on a particular filter will highlight the selection. Once any filter is clicked (enabled) a new option pops up: “All (clear)” which will clear all filters and take you back to an...
Stemming
AppsVu now does stemming for Android search. Results are now much more comprehensive, and there’s a much higher chance that any given query will show results.
1 tag
Results structure
Here’s what a typical result on an AppsVu Android search looks like:
In this post, I’ll go through what each component does.
The big “Pandora Radio” link in blue goes to the Pandora Radio description page on AndroLib.com, which is a mirror of the Android Market.
The smaller [Cyrket] link, also in blue, goes to the Pandora Radio description page on Cyrket.com, which is...
January 2010
1 post
AppsVu blog.
Welcome to the AppsVu blog.