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Searching an app on the Play Store for new apps results in a failure most of the time. By failure I mean we don't find the desired app although the name matches exactly. Popular examples are Temple Run (1st week after release) and Instagram (right now too). Searching on Google for terms like "Instagram for android" results in an immediate hit. Is this is a problem only in India or is it everywhere? And why is the Play Store search so backward compared to Google Search which has better success over a bigger search pool?

edit1

To clear up things, I was able to download the apps from http://play.google.com onto my phone.

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I don't see a question here. What exactly is the problem you're hoping we're going to help you solve? – Al Everett Sep 25 '12 at 19:27

closed as not a real question by Al Everett, Flow♦, roxan, Izzy, Chahk Sep 27 '12 at 13:17

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, see the FAQ.

2 Answers

up vote 6 down vote accepted

The general opinion everywhere is that the Web marketplace is much better with search results than the marketplace app (it is really puzzling as to why is such the case). And no, the problem is not India specific, it is faced everywhere. The same opinion holds for other stores as well, including Apple's AppStore. The good news is, there are a few companies trying to make it better, namely Chomp and Tapjoy:

Chomp has been pretty successful and has been solving a truly-existing problem, which is evident since Verizon now includes Chomp in its tethered phones.

For more info, see xconomy.com news article discussing the search issues in the mobile market places and apps like Chomp and Tapjoy.

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Alright, thanks for that answer, but why is it that we need a 3rd party search provider for this ? – Aadi Droid Apr 5 '12 at 5:06
up vote 0 down vote

Maybe your phone doesn't support the app you're searching.

Also, some apps only can be install from certain locations(example Google Listen is available in a few countries).

From Google Play website all apps are going to appear, but when you try to install this apps its gonna say "this app is not compatible with your device".

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Did you even read the question? I said the search is not showing up results, plus did you read the answer provided above by another user? – Aadi Droid Apr 5 '12 at 5:04
@AadiDroid From what I understand, sometimes apps don't show up in results if they aren't supported; you didn't mention that you were able to install it from the website until your comment on the other answer. Regardless, no need to be so hostile. – Matthew Read♦ Apr 5 '12 at 16:07
alright my bad, sorry about that! – Aadi Droid Apr 6 '12 at 6:30
Thanks for your time @Matthew Read – Fabricio PH Apr 9 '12 at 16:18

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