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Let's face it: The iPhone's "Genius" recommendation tool for finding apps is mediocre at best. Fortunately a startup cooked up something better. It's called Appsaurus.
You "train" Appsaurus into understanding you better by tapping apps on a list that you like; you swipe to remove those you dislike. Every time you tap an app you might like, a new list pops up with possible recommendations. You keep tapping and deleting apps until Appsaurus grows familiar with your preferences. The app breaks its learning process into "Evolution Stages"; the final one is "All-Knowing." It doesn't end there, either: It keeps learning with each app you select or ban.
I had some time to test drive Appsaurus and found a few gems after tapping through. To me, an even more useful feature is the ability to perform a custom search for a type of app you're looking for based on a search term and category. From there on, Appsaurus narrows down the lists based on your criteria, and you find recommendations the same way — tap apps you like and swipe those you wouldn't consider.
Appsaurus is a slick-looking app, and it's better than Genius. The App Store's Genius tool makes recommendations based only on the apps currently installed on your iPhone, and it spits out a pretty bland list of recommendations, from my experience.
Appsaurus' approval can be considered a triumph. In November, Wired.com published a story documenting a major risk of developing for mobile platforms controlled by larger corporations: You can be easily squashed if you inadvertently compete with the giant. Software development house Hello, Chair was an example. The team of three was working hard on an App Store recommendation tool called Appsaurus, but Apple beat them to the idea by releasing App Store Genius in September.
Put yourself in Hello, Chair's shoes, and you'll face some tough questions. Do you keep moving forward with Appsaurus? Is Apple going to reject the app since it does something similar to a built-in iPhone feature (as the company has done with apps that "duplicate functionality" of the iPhone)? Ultimately, is it wise to continue competing with a giant?
Hello, Chair opted to finish Appsaurus and submit it. Apple did, in fact, reject the app a number of times: The initial submission of Appsaurus pulled information from star ratings and user reviews to help make recommendations, but Apple is extremely protective of that data and wouldn't allow it to be used in the app.
Finally, after a series of confusing phone calls with Apple and tweaks to Appsaurus, the app showed up in the App Store on Monday. And, albeit a compromise, the end result is still pretty sweet. It's available in the App Store for $1.
Download Link [iTunes]
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