What I mean is that with the proliferation of apps in the Apps store / Marketplace etc and with Android there being multiple market stores, the problem arises

1) as to how do I discover a good app for my particular purpose ? Of course just searching thruu the Marketplace is not a good option anymore - since along with the 5 gems you will find 50 junk apps as well - so how do we filter ? (Ratings based is not always dependable either).

2) So I go ahead and install around 20-30 apps at max on my device.
Now its not very practical to remember all 30 apps - sinse some of them are very rarely used - not a everday usage scenario applies to all.
(for example I use MINT app and a Finance app and a eTrade app, and a second 3rd party finance app all for checking on my porfolio - now any of these apps I don't use everyday. So I nowadays remember the MINT app when I want to check my accounts, but the portfolio growth or loss is better reflected in the GFinance app - and I may have forgotten after a month of non-use that I had it installed (or what its name was).

3) The problem 2 arises since I can't possibly have all the 30 apps I installed as a shortcut on my desktop when I don't use it regularly - and also having all apps on the desktop would kill the purpose of the "quick-access" nature of the desktop itself (even with 5 desktops). So this very nature of "multiple applications and then have some frequent usage apps on the desktop" paradigm is also partly limited I would say since it only works upto a certain extent.

4) And after a year's worth of other apps that you may have bought on impulse (remember mobile apps are priced for impulse buying unlike desktop apps), my apps list might scroll to an unmanageable lenghth - and trying to find THAT one app for say my cardio training purposes that I used last summer (while I lazed all winter in front of the Kinect ) is pretty hard enough unless you remember actively what you had used 5 months back.


This is what I already face to a small extent - with only 30 apps (and my limited memory). I guess unless you run into this issue yourself, its difficult to appreciate the problem. But good for you Dan that you have been able to keep your apps installation to a minumum. And aso I hope I have been able to explain the issue to you. Its not a "you cant do it" kind of a problem, but more of a usability issue as you install more and more apps on your device.

Also to address the solution you mentioned - go to the apps marketplace online and do a search - while that is OK for times when you are looking for apps at leisure, it doesnt work when you need the app right now, but dont have the time to search from your god-awfully long list of apps on the device, let alone seacrh online.

I personally believe this app centric view of the mobile workspace is quite limited in scope and functionality. There HAS to be a better paradigm.