Yahoo! AppSpot for iPhone – Review
Category: Reference
Price: Free
TiP Rating: 3/5
Release Date: Updated July 6, 2011
Current Version: 1.0.1
Seller: Yahoo!
Rated: 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.0 or later.
Link to app
App Store Description: Finding apps you’ll love just got easier. Download Yahoo! AppSpot and get personalized app recommendations for your iPhone. AppSpot gives you daily picks based on the apps you already use (smart, right?). It’s the fast, easy way to discover new apps that are just right for you.
Summary: Yahoo! AppSpot suggests other apps you may be interested in based on what’s currently installed on your iOS device.
Review: Yahoo! AppSpot delivers new personalized app recommendations daily. When you first launch the app, you’ll be asked if AppSpot can scan your current app library. On your next launch, you’ll be greeted by a slot-machinesque screen. The slots are divided by app category. You can scroll through each individual category and the app name plus its rating will appear at the bottom of the column. To see more categories, just swipe left or right. If you come across a category that you’d like to see more of, just tap on the name of the category and it will open up a list of all apps relevant apps. You can sort these apps by free or paid.
Tapping on an app, whether via the slot machine or category list, will open up an app profile page. This page includes price, rating, description, screenshots and an option to view other related apps. Should this be an app you want to download, there’s also a button to the app store for a quick purchase. Users can also search for an app by category, need or app name.
In conjunction, Yahoo! launched Yahoo! App Search. When users are browsing apps on their computer, they can use the QR code reader built into AppSpot to scan the app’s code and go straight to the App Store. This feature, while a nice touch, isn’t all that effective. I could either download the app directly to my computer, or I could just search for it on my phone to begin with. Finding the app on the website means I have to unlock my phone, open the folder where AppSpot is, launch the app, and then tap on the QR code icon, scan the code and wait. Going directly to the App Store seems to be the faster method, but I like where Yahoo’s head is at.
The app recommendations are pretty hit or miss. Often times the slot-machine displays apps that I already own. I can only assume that when it’s starting up it’s re-scanning your library to check for newly added apps, but I can’t be sure. The recommendations have gotten better in terms of relevance though. Initially, results would be a bit wonky, showing strange games under the news category.
Overall, the app works well and I like the amount of detail put into the app profiles. Also, the related app search is pretty good. I still find myself perusing the App Store and playing with Discovr Apps more than AppSpot, but I’m a creature of habit. Since it’s a free app, I recommend giving it a go.
