App Review #15
My thoughts on apps I’ve been using for the past week+
I decided to take out the numbered ratings because that is not the focus of the blog. My goal is to discover new apps and share them with others while examining the UI and UX of apps.
Overcast (FREE with 4.99 upgrade)
Although podcasts have been around and growing in popularity for several years, I only recently began listening to them recently after Serial. I’d been using iTunes for the most part and overcast is a way better solution. I’m able to easily subscribe and discover new podcasts while keeping up to date with my current subscriptions. I am on the free plan for the moment and am highly considering the paid upgrade in order to listen at more than 1x speed as well as a sleep timer.
The app is very well designed but could have had a better on boarding experience. I had to click around a bit before I understood all of the options within the app. I think this is due to the icons not having text and could be solved easily with an introductory explanation when I first open the app.
Short (FREE)
Short has been an incredible addition to my daily routine. As I am constantly catching up on my Pocket feed where I save all content I want to read, I have always searched for quick reads when on a walk or taking an Uber. The discovery process to find a quick read is quite burdensome and Short has solved this problem in a perfect way.
Short syncs your Pocket, Instapaper or Readability accounts and gives you the ability to filter by 1–5 minute reads or 6–10 minute reads
A super neat feature of short is their in-app reading experience. As you read an article, there is a progress bar at the top that moves forward as you advance through the article. Additionally, when you finish an article, you can pull to archive the article and are taken back to your list screen.
My only gripe with the app is that at times, I archived several articles and they did not sync with my Pocket app so I needed to go find them in my Pocket list to delete them. Additionally, I would love if their was a delete option in addition to the archive option. Despite this, it’s a great way to weed out your short articles from your read it later apps.
StockTwits (FREE)
Over the past few years as I have followed the stock market, I have never found a mobile finance app that I am happy with. I started out using Yahoo Finance. I then moved on to Bloomberg followed by CNBC followed by Seeking Alpha. I think I have finally found the right app in Stocktwits.
Since I started using Stocktwits web on a daily basis this past year, the amount I have been able to learn about the markets is incredible. Being able to follow brilliant minds of the industry and seeing their thoughts on a daily basis is tremendous.
In terms of the app, there are several features I really like, most notably the watchlist. I’m able to keep track of a long watchlist I’ve compiled while also seeing the trending tickers in one tap. Additionally, the UX of the streams is very well done. Your following streams are centralized on one screen and you can swipe through between people, watchlist, suggested, trending and charts.
My only wish for the app is that I am able to access the candlestick charts that are present on Stocktwits web when I click on an individual ticker.
Strut(FREE)
In my search for some new clothes, I found Strut to be a great option. Strut offers you 50 clothing items each day based on your preference, which it learns over time after making your baseline style selection. Using the Tinder-esque swipe right to like and left to pass, Strut offers a super simple
I think Strut only featuring 50 items for you per day is very smart. It made me want to come back to check the app to see what it had in store for me each day. I don’t think I would have had that feeling if I could just endlessly explore
I may be in the minority that do not find the social aspect as useful. I don’t feel that looking at the styles of other people and the outfits they create is an appealing experience. That’s a personal preference but I do understand how this can be a fun experience. My only gripe here is that I would love to see suggested outfits based on my results after my daily 50 as opposed to taking me to a random users page. Additionally, I would love to be able to put in price filters as majority of the recommendations I have been receiving are extremely out of my price range.
Alto’s Adventure (1.99)
Over the past several months, I’ve shied away from downloading any games for more productive apps. However, Alta’s adventure has been the one exception. To say it’s addicting would be an understatement. The concept of the game is simple (snowboarding down a mountain) and yet the design and experience in playing is beautiful. You are able to see the amount of effort that went into the app by noticing the intricacies of small changes as you go down the mountain such as how the time of day changes progressively.
I really enjoy how a user progresses through levels by achieving 3 goals per level, which is extremely similar to the addictive nature tiny wings had. I’m not one to preach games on other people but if you are looking for a phenomenally designed gaming experience, be sure to check out Alta’s adventure.
Previous App Reviews — Week 14, Week 13, Week 12, Week 11, Week 10, Week 9,Week 8, Week 7, Week 6, Week 5, Week 4, Week 3, Week 2, Week 1
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