Here’s some research that throws up a dilemma: consumers are more likely to be interested in brands that have good apps. But it’s really hard for app makers to make their apps ‘discoverable’.

GetJar: infographic

The research was carried out by an app store called GetJar, so is suitably pro-app and pro-Android app, to boot.

It claims that 40% of the 2,500 people surveyed plan to switch to an Android phone next time they get a new handset.

But even with this bias, it does raise some interesting questions for those who are deciding whether its worth investing in an app for their next marketing campaign.

The good news is that some people spend a LOT of time using apps on their phone (34% of the respondents said they spend an hour or more a day).

The bad news is the most popular kinds of apps are games and social networking. Although that’s not bad news if you can make a really cool game, of course, but then you’ve got the problem of people finding it in among the hundreds of thousands of apps.

A couple of years ago, the mere fact of creating an app might be enough to get you some coverage. Now there’s so many around, it means you really have to be savvy about getting the story of it out.

GetJar’s research says that only 25% of people find the apps they’re looking for using app stores. That is a frustratingly low figure for anyone who has invested a lot of money and time in making something worthwhile. And indicates that for people developing app strategies in future, working out how to make sure people know about it is almost as important as what it actually does.

There’s a load more information available on GetJar’s blog.