TapTilt is the type of application that makes you grateful for your iPhone. Not only is it a solid app with a simple, yet promising concept, but it was designed specifically for the iPhone.
I know, I know – you ‘re thinking: ‘Well, so are all of the other apps in the App Store. ‘ Well, not really. TapTilt is an iPhone magazine that is only available on the iPhone.
Each month, TapTilt will feature nine different categories in addition to each month ‘s feature stories. For May, there are three feature stories that focus on the best baseball apps, various apps that help you become a better gardener, and one that highlights apps that allow your artistic side to shine. Each featured app also has a link that allows you to download it in the App Store.
The nine recurring categories are as follows:
Weekly Game Reviews – May features four different game reviews, all of which are video based. Each game comes with a link to download from the App Store.
Weekly Music Reviews – For May, there are three different stories on a few different music artists. Each story features both video and text.
Cartoon – Why not take a gander at a cartoon? Who knows, maybe you ‘ll even crack a smile.
iMazing – This is probably my favorite section. It contains a few fun, interesting stories about what the iPhone can do, and approaches the stories in an unconventional way. For instance, there ‘s a story about an app that helps autistic children voice their needs through an iPhone app, which is a much cheaper option than a traditional text-to-speech machine used in some classrooms.
iPhoneography – This section showcases iPhone apps that help you improve your photography skills – using your iPhone, of course.
Travel – I would assume this section is self explanatory, but just in case, here goes: this section is all about travel applications.
Tips and Tricks – In this section, you ‘ll watch a video that shows you some not-so-well-known features of your iPhone. In this month ‘s edition, you ‘ll learn how to keep your phone awake longer and save images from web the browser.
Wallpaper of the Week – Each week, a new wallpaper will be featured. You cannot download the wallpaper, however. You have to enter your E-mail address and have it sent to you.
What ‘s on Your iPhone? – Here, you ‘ll hear from a few different people and their favorite iPhone apps.
As far as content goes, you can ‘t argue with what you ‘re getting for the price. The stories and reviews are brief, but helpful, which is perfect for a pocket-sized editorial. The lack of depth to the pieces might be a turnoff for some, so do make note of that. None of the articles are more than a paragraph or two in length. For me personally, however, that is perfect given the device on which its being read.
There are some items – game reviews, for example – that are only video, with no text. I would prefer some sort of text to accompany the video.
But overall, it ‘s just nice to read through some literature that was specifically designed for the iPhone and, while doing so, learn a little bit more about your favorite handheld device.
But what about the aesthetics? Sure, the content is the most important thing. But does this app really feel and read like a digital magazine? The short answer: No.
Design-wise, the app is just OK. It ‘s sandwiched somewhere between ‘a collection of links to stories ‘ and ‘ohmygosh this digital magazine is amazing! ‘, but it leans a little closer towards the former. Don ‘t get me wrong – it isn ‘t poorly designed at all. The design is very simple and well laid out, with the exception of a few minor formatting errors and grammatical/spelling, which may only bother me, the budding journalist. But for an iPhone-only digital publication, I was expecting something more magazine-like with more of a ‘WOW ‘ factor, not just a list of stories.
It will be interesting to see how future issues play out. Game and music reviews will never run dry of content, obviously, but what about photos and travel? I know there are a lot of apps in the App Store, but I wonder how much longer those sections can produce content before they run dry.
Some other miscellaneous notes about the app: 1) You have the ability to post Twitter and Facebook links and E-mail stories to your friends. The E-mail feature, however, does not work. The link does not go to the story itself, but to the TapTilt website. 2) You can change the font size of the articles, but you have to do this outside of the app in the main phone settings app. It can be a pain navigating back-and-forth before you find that perfect font size. Luckily, however, you ‘ll only need to do this once.
What I like most about TapTilt is the potential that it has. Sideways could be on to something special here. If they continue to deliver what ‘s already here while improving on the content itself and the design, then only the sky is the limit.
TapTilt will hardly break your bank, so I recommend you give it a try and see if it ‘s up your alley. If the content suits you, then it will be worth checking it out each month. Who knows – you may learn something new about your phone or discover a hidden gem in the App Store.
The May 2010 edition of TapTilt is available now in the App Store. It will be free for a limited time. The regular price is $1.99.
*** Sideways provided a promo code to Just Another iPhone Blog for the review of TapTilt. For more information regarding our site ‘s review policies, please see the ‘About ‘ page. ***
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