Standing out in the App store crowd

After all, thousands of applications are already competing for consumer attention, and more are flooding the marketplace every week. How can a product attract notice?

"With 15,000 apps available, it's easy for developers - especially individuals and smaller companies - to get lost in the crowd," Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT, told MacNewsWorld. "In addition, there have been more than a few complaints about the App Store's opaque - occasionally schizoid - approval process."

Thanks to the Internet, though, there is a growing number of channels for promoting iPhone apps beyond the App Store, King said.

One mode is by leveraging YouTube, which, King says, follows the standard "viral" marketing model.

"Create a catchy, clever demo video and hope that it creates a buzz - attracts a crowd," King said. "On the plus side, it's cheap and easy."

On the downside, he allowed, being clever and catchy is more difficult than it might appear at first glance.

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