App reviews! I’m iPhone-only for now, but I’ll try to nab devices on other platforms if this keeps up as a weekly column. Three this week:
SeattleCrime.com (free): Jonah Spangenthal-Lee (full disclosure: a PubliCola contributor who I’ve beaten multiple times in Madden) has squeezed his entire site into a free app. It’s essentially an RSS reader, listing the site’s latest posts, but it also includes SC.com’s Google map of the city’s 911 calls.
In good news, the map updates in real-time, which I tested Thursday night when firemen descended on the Crocodile in Belltown with axes and picking equipment in hand. Nobody at the concert—a reunion of ’90s Seattle band Satchel—knew why, so I checked the SC.com app. The map zoomed into my location and displayed a yellow dot: “Auto Fire Alarm,” it read with a tap of my finger. The app was right; a false alarm had been triggered, and the firemen left without incident. (An aside: nobody in the drunken crowd seemed to care that five axe-wielding firemen walked through the place, and the band didn’t pause or notice. The scene seemed straight out of Tales From The Crypt.)
That’s certainly cool enough for a free app. To be picky, I’d like access to more than 24 hours of police activity, since I’d check if there’s been a crime trend in any location I might find myself (read: waiting 40 minutes for a bus after midnight). Also, the touch sensitivity is a bit off when tapping the “My Location” button and other portions of the app. And I don’t understand a third of the phrases on the 911 map. Those (such as “investigate out of service”) come automatically from the city of Seattle, so unless the app implements real-world translations of certain phrases, my confusion is here to stay.
This American Life ($3): NPR’s popular documentary/quirk show sells its individual episodes for a buck a pop via iTunes. For $2 more, why not get access to every single episode of the radio show since 1995?
That’s right: every episode, one app. Catch is, to use the app, you have to be online via wi-fi or cell phone and leave the app open. As such, it’s not the ultimate option for killing time on an airplane, nor can you switch apps and continue listening to the show as if it were a normal iTunes MP3. (The app makes it easy to find and download a particular episode in MP3 format, should you care to cough up another dollar for the convenience.)
But, really, there’s no other app like this. Full archival access for a series with so many quality episodes, all for $3? You would never need to buy an audiobook again. And it’s more than a value proposition; the slick interface allows you to filter episodes by, say, your favorite authors. The app also hosts snippets of the Showtime TV series of the same name, along with schedule information for new radio episodes. Highly, highly recommended.
Canabalt ($3): One of my fave free web games of last year, Canabalt is now available in slightly overpriced app form. You can find cheaper timesinks, but few are as stylish in their simplicity.
Tap the screen to make your little runner hop from building to building as you attempt to flee some unnamed apocalypse. Tap longer to jump higher. Die from a missed jump, then try again to beat your last run. When I got my hands on an iPhone, I rushed to nab a copy of Canabalt, and I’m still addicted to its speed and paranoia. The free web sample is identical to the app.
