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Discoverability is a problem that has long plagued the world of mobile applications. The issue worsens with each new title added to Apple’s App World and Google’s (not-yet-as-massive) Android Market. A variety of “solutions” have come to market, including apps built to find other apps, like Chomp and Appolicious, and recommendation engines like Apple’s Genius. Ever-expanding app libraries, however, ensure the problem of discoverability will only grow worse before getting better.

With the App Store outside their realm, Apple’s carrier partners can’t really crack the discoverability nut. In the world of Android, however, the issue means an opportunity for network operators to connect their customers with the perfect apps — which opens the door to a space operators have lost their grip on since the emergence of the smartphone era.

Verizon Wireless, for instance, is opening its own branded app store; it will be available on Android phones by year’s end. Sprint is taking a different tack with its new ID, which packages apps and content based on themes that can be chosen and tweaked by consumers.

But as James recently noted, Verizon’s new store doesn’t bring much to the table; Sprint ID, meanwhile, is but a small step in the right direction. For operators to truly make app discovery an easier process — and maybe give Android an edge over Apple — they must also address four crucial challenges:

1) Stress quality over quantity. “There’s an app for that” was a great marketing slogan at one time; now there’s an overabundance of apps. Instead of addressing this surplus, carriers should distribute only the best and most innovative titles and let Android Market play the role of app warehouse. Quality is a very subjective thing, of course; putting a filter on apps is guaranteed to make some developers whine. But as I’ve argued before, an elite store of only top-notch apps would help consumers immensely and keep them returning — and generate increased app revenues for carriers.

2) Leverage  high-profile brands. The surest way to ease users into mobile data is to give them apps from brands they know and trust. This is why Sprint has the right idea in partnering with ESPN, Disney and others for Sprint ID. The growth of mobile data hinges largely on converting feature phone users into smartphone buyers. Once those consumers get comfortable using mobile data from familiar names, they’ll begin to explore offerings from lesser-known publishers. And if Sprint ID is marketed well, the idea of a “sports phone” or an “Oprah phone” could potentially poach smartphone users from other carriers.

3) Build a better recommendation engine. Such an offering would have to enable users to adjust their personal settings and must take into account things like download histories and suggestions from friends. Users who download sports apps, for instance, could be presented with a sports-themed casual game which they could recommend to like-minded friends. And like Apple’s Genius, the engine should provide recommendations only when prompted by a user.

4) Don’t load up the phone with crap users don’t want. Android’s open nature allows carriers and manufacturers to tweak the operating system as they see fit. That’s a double-edged sword, however. On the one hand, it presents an attractive, easy-to-use UI. But it also means operators can preload apps that can’t be uninstalled. Verizon’s Droid X, for instance, comes loaded with a Blockbuster app and a demo for “Need for Speed: Shift;” Sprint’s Evo comes with carrier-branded NASCAR and football apps. None of these offerings can be uninstalled by the average user, and are almost always inferior and typically cost more. I suppose it’s understandable that carriers are scrambling to find ways to monetize apps in an ecosystem where they’re increasingly losing their grip, but it’s the mobile equivalent of this guy from the film “Fargo” pushing TrueCoat. Don’t do it.

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