Social mobile app directory Appolicious is debuting a new categories feature today, that adds custom taxonomy for both iOS and Android. Now, there are 1,400 individual categories for iOS apps on Appolicious and about 700 for Android apps listed on the app directory. It’s essentially Appolicious categorization on steroids.
Appolicious CEO and founder Alan Warms tells us that app discovery is still nascent, with most people unaware of what apps are in the iOS and Android ecosystems. He maintains that because search and categorization on Apple’s App Store and the Android Market falls short, app directory sites like Appolicious are gaining traction because they help consumers sort through the millions of available mobile apps.
Warms says that his sites are serving millions of searches each month and says that most searches on the site are category-based searches. And Appolicious aims to be a one-stop show for app discovery, including editorial reviews, user-generated content (ratings, reviews, app lists) , social content (who owns what app, who likes what app), and now hyper-categorization.
Appolicious had a big 2010, so it should be interesting to see if 2011 brings a possible acquisition or perhaps new funding. The startup formed a partnership with Yahoo, acquired AppVee, and added a plethora of new features.
