“Cross-store search is a huge milestone both for Chomp and the broad landscape of apps,” said Ben Keighran, chief executive officer and co-founder of Chomp. “Not only does this help minimize the app discovery problem, it also adds a valuable layer to the app search experience, providing app seekers with options that will expose the best apps for the lowest cost.”

With the growing number of both apps and app stores, Chomp has widened the scope of its discovery promise to consumers, offering customers for the first time the ability to search for an app across multiple storefronts to get its price, with the least expensive shown first, and availability within the different stores.

With more than 200,000 apps available in Android Market, including 27,000 new apps added in April 2011 alone, Chomp provides the best tool for discovery at no cost to consumers. Chomp enables Verizon Wireless customers to find apps based on what the app does, as well as the title or name of the app. Combining Chomp’s powerful search algorithm with the ability to find and compare apps across multiples stores will enhance the discovery experience by providing more pricing information and options across the two storefronts in one, easy to use application.

Customers can download Chomp from V CAST Apps. It’s available for free on a number of phones sold by Verizon Wireless.

For savvy shoppers:

• ShopSavvy Barcode Scanner: Acting as a personal shopping assistant, the app lets customers scan the barcode of any product to find the best prices on the Internet and at nearby local stores.
• ScanLife Barcode Reader: Quickly gives a customer everything he or she needs to know about a product before purchasing, including the manufacturer’s website, all product prices, reviews and more.
• Spend Smart Coupons: Find, save and redeem coupons for hot deals at favorite grocers and retailers. Spend Smart coupons cover a wide range of products on customers’ shopping lists and can be used at more than 4,000 locations of more than 20 grocery chains nationwide.
• Point Inside Airports and Malls: A comprehensive indoor navigation app, Point Inside provides customers with a full Smart Map directory of more than 700 malls and 85 airports in the United States and Canada, level by level.

Gift buying:

• Kindle for Android: Discover and read more than 700,000 books in the Kindle Store, including New Releases and 107 of 111 New York Times Bestsellers. More than 575,000 of these books are $9.99 or less, including 80 New York Times Bestsellers.

Others:

• KAYAK Hotel and Flight Search: Provides customers the same service found at KAYAK.com, including the ability to find and book flights, hotels and rental cars by comparing hundreds of travel sites with just one search, helping users save money by finding travel deals. Also track flights, manage trip itineraries and calculate baggage fees to make holiday travel easier.
• VZ Navigator: Get visual and audible turn-by-turn route directions, making travel stress-free and allowing for a timely arrival. The service is now integrated with Facebook, allowing users to keep up with their friends, family and social networks by updating their Facebook statuses directly through VZ Navigator, with the option to include and share their locations.
• NFL Mobile: Customers who can’t get enough of America’s favorite game can see the latest news, headlines, stats and scores of their favorite NFL teams. Fans can get live NFL game broadcasts every Thursday and Sunday night streamed right to their cell phones.

The apps featured above are available on select Android devices and can be purchased from Android Market or V CAST Apps. V CAST Apps offers direct billing, so app purchases appear on a customer’s monthly Verizon Wireless bill.

So what’s out there?

First up are apps to keep the family occupied on the journey there:

1. Baseball Fans – This $3.99 app gives customers access to the latest news, videos, stats, standings and scores for all 30 professional baseball teams so they can catch up on their favorites on the way to spring training sites.
2. License Plate Game – This multi-player classic road trip game ($1.49) entertains users as they travel the highways to Florida and Arizona by keeping track of the different license plates that they see while riding as a passenger in a vehicle.
3. GoodFood – Restaurants Near You – This free app has an interactive map so users can view restaurants nearby, which they can filter by cuisine or price to find the best place to eat during their trip.

Second up are apps that give users the ability to stay in contact with family and friends and give updates about their adventures:

1. Photobucket Mobile Uploader – This $2.99 app automatically saves every action shot and fan photo directly to customers’ Photobucket accounts so they can share their spring training experiences with fellow fans near and far.
2. FOX Sports Ultimate – This downloadable sports experience, available for $4.99, features live play by play, breaking news, scores and stats. Fantasy baseball updates also let users keep track of their teams and make trades while checking out the new and veteran talent during spring training.
3. WeatherBug – Rain delays don’t always have to ruin the day. For a $2.99 subscription, users can always be informed and prepared with live local weather, severe weather alerts, detailed forecasts and international weather, giving baseball lovers plenty of time to make other plans if games are cancelled.

Last there are apps that help users find stuff to do after the games:

1. Baseball Live – When the final strike has been called and the stands have emptied, customers can relive the games with live play by play on the free Pro Baseball Live app. They can also view the latest standings, easily keep track of their favorite teams, and connect to their Facebook® and Google accounts to chat with other fans.
2. Bars & Clubs – This free app gives customers turn-by-turn directions to the nearest bars, which they can filter by category, including sports bars, and distance. With so many superstar coaches and players exploring spring training cities, there may even be a chance to buy a drink for a favorite baseball legend.

Time to play ball!