Everyone loves a good iPhone app, ranging from time wasting games to practical applications that make everyday life a little easier. With more and more being released everyday, are any of the newest apps the next must-have like Angry Birds?
Ban.jo (cost: free)
Ban.jo combines several forms of social networking, such as Facebook and Twitter to provide a real time update of what’s happening. It also shows you which of your friends are nearby, displaying their locations on a map. So, it’s essentially a GPS tracker that lets you stalk all of your friends at once. However, if that’s already not enough of a massive invasion of everybody’s privacy, you have to agree to let it post facebook statuses on your behalf. If you’ve got a lot of friends and find it hard to keep up, its combination of many social networking outlets is fluid and well done, and will allow you to keep in the loop; sadly I don’t think this is enough to overcome the privacy issues.
Final review: 1.5/5
Evi (cost: £0.69)
Evi has been making headlines due to its similarities with Apple’s native software Siri. But which is better? Evi is only £0.69, considerably less than the Siri hosting iPhone 4S, and it’s compatible with UK users, something that Siri still hasn’t caught up with. Evi allows you to ask almost anything ranging from "Where’s the nearest Thai restaurant?" to "How fattening is bread?" and will swiftly find an answer. Although it is sometimes a little slow connecting to servers, and there is no function to delete your search history, this targeted alternative to search engines is excellent, especially for UK users where Siri isn’t useful.
Final review: 3/5
TaskRabbit (cost: free)
TaskRabbit is an interesting app with a concept we’ve not seen before. With it, the user asks for a task to be done, which can be anything from shopping to DIY. Then TaskRabbit’s own team of personal assistants will do that task for you. The idea seems innovative and could prove to be a great time saver; it has an easy to use interface and pretty graphics that make it a very presentable app. However it currently only functions in the US, so if you’re in the UK, like me, there just isn’t any framework or support at all. Really, this app should have been released only in the US. Sadly this makes TaskRabbit useless for now, but should they branch out to the UK, it could be brilliant.
Final review: # if released properly in the UK)
Forkly (cost: free)
This is an app for all you foodies out there. It’s a social network of food, for people to recommend restaurants, particular meals and even upload pictures. It does have one or two downsides. The first being that you have to sign up to use it, which seems to put some people off. The second is that it is currently full of reviews for places such as McDonalds and Sainsbury’s microwave meals which are two things sure to make any real food lover run a mile. This is however just because it’s in its infancy and needs to populate content. Once more people join and start reviewing, sharing and suggesting places, Forkly is sure to go down well.
Final review: 3/5
Lume (cost: £1.49)
The only game featured, Lume is full to the brim with charm and boasts some of the best graphics seen in an iPhone game. It’s a puzzle game, so is sure to suitably waste some of your time. However the puzzles are fairly trivial, and the app as it stands is only part one of the story. This consequently makes Lume a short game that will leave you feeling slightly disappointed at the £1.49 you paid for it, especially when compared to games like Angry Birds or Cut The Rope. Whilst the way it looks does go half way to making up for the price, it’s not enough, although with further updates and puzzles added, it could well be.
Final review: 3/5