Just a few short months after acquiring app discovery firm Chomp, it seems Apple has silently killed the Android version of Chomp's recommendation software. As first noted by GigaOm, the app has vanished from Google Play, and all mentions of Google's OS have been removed from the Chomp homepage. Apple purchased the company for an undisclosed sum earlier this year, and it's widely believed that Chomp's algorithms — which dive into an app's utility and functionality rather than just providing results based on name alone — will be used to improve search and discoverability in iTunes and the App Store.

Perhaps a bigger question is the current working relationship between Chomp and Verizon Wireless. Prior to Apple's buyout, Chomp's technology had powered search results in the carrier's VCAST Android storefront. If this latest development is any indication of what's to come, we suspect Verizon might be on the lookout for a new partner to fill that role.