Apple acquires Chomp for iTunes revamp
A few months ago, 9to5Mac rumored that an entirely new interface is in the works for iTunes.
The new design is said to be even simpler and more user-friendly than the current design. Apple is working on ways to enhance the speed and efficiency of finding new content, such as songs, videos, and applications. The cornerstone element of Apple’s new iTunes Store is interactivity. As Apple vaguely explained to a number of music labels and entertainment partners, Apple is looking to make the iTunes Store a much more engaging experience
Instead of doing everything internally, Apple has turned for outside help by buying a Startup called Chomp, the now ex-partner for Verizon’s Android Market. Chomp allowed users to search for apps in both the iOS and Android Market, not just with keywords, but categories. For example, searching for “To-do apps” wouldn’t just bring up apps called “To-Do”, but would bring up apps from that entire category.
This is not a cheap “acqui-hire”, Apple has bought the Chomp team and technology and plans to use both to completely revamp App Store search and recommendations, I hear.
The Chomp CEO Ben Keighran and CTO Cathy Edwards are already working at Apple, Keighran joined the iTunes marketing team, and Edwards is now a senior iTunes engineer.
