9Now Smartphone App Review

About
The 9Now app is the Nine Network’s dedicated on demand, catch-up and streaming television service, which replaces the Jump-in and FIXPlay services before it. The 9Now app and website launched simultaneously on 27 January 2016 with the ability to stream Channel 9 programmes and, during May 2016, live streams for 9Go!, 9Gem and 9Life were made available.

Features
The 9Now app is primarily an on-demand service and performs very well in that respect. Viewers have the ability to choose from over 150 programmes spanning 12 genres from “Comedy” to “News and Current Affairs”. Loading times are extremely quick, even when utilising mobile data, so the viewer never has to wait long if they want to watch the latest episode of The Big Bang Theory. The app does an excellent job in providing viewers with a diverse range of programming, however, each show only has about three episodes available for viewing and it would be nice to see this number increase in the near future. 



Although the streaming service takes a backseat it’s no lacklustre. Viewers are able to watch any of the four channels live, allowing access to free-to-air television in any location with a stable internet connection. There are minimal buffering times and practically no lag in framerate. Understandably, picture quality depends on internet speed but overall images are clear enough for viewers to comfortably enjoy the content.

                           

However, 9Now falls slightly behind competitors PLUS7 and TENplay, as the service requires users to create a My9 account before they are allowed to access on-demand content and live streaming, although Facebook login is available making this process a lot less tedious.

Download Links
9Now is available to download on both the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store

The Verdict
I am surprisingly impressed with the quality of service that the Nine Network has provided. Its interface is clean and easy to use by all viewers, there is a large collection of content and loading times are extremely quick. With slight tweaks being made to address accessibility and availability of content, the 9Now app has the potential to be the leading network dedicated on-demand and live television streaming service in Australia.

Reviewed by Ryan
★★★★☆

YouTube Smartphone App Review

About

Arguably one of the most definitive web platforms for entertainment, YouTube is a near perfect application that provides access to a plethora of content available on the famed website. While the YouTube mobile website seems sluggish and clunky, the YouTube app provides a fluid and smooth viewing experience, and is loaded with features.

Features

Upon opening the application, users are greeted with a simple home screen, where personalised video suggestions that have been prepared by the App are shown to the user. Users can also navigate from this screen to the search bar, as well as view trending videos, new videos from subscriptions, and see an overview of their account.

The search function can be used to browse YouTube's vast library of online videos, ranging from vlogs, podcasts, trailers, technology reviews, music videos, short-films, video game commentary, online recipes and even complete television episodes and movies (which require a payment to view). These are just a small sample of the wide range of content that YouTube has to entertain its users. In fact, so much content is available and is being added so frequently that it is literally impossible to watch every video on YouTube, as over 300 minutes of content are added every minute (http://fortunelords.com/youtube-statistics/).

Videos can be loaded by tapping on the thumbnails or icons. Depending on your phone and internet speed, as well as the quality of the video uploaded, the videos can be viewed in quality ranging up to 4K (provided your phone supports this screen resolution).

One downside about the app is the amount of ads, however these can be removed if the user is a subscriber of YouTube Red. YouTube Red also allows for videos to continue to be played when the phone screen locks, which is useful for listening to music.

Download Links

iOS users can download YouTube through the iTunes App Store. YouTube comes pre-installed on almost all Android phones, however is also available for download through the Google Play Store.

The Verdict

The YouTube app is without a doubt the most complete YouTube experience one can have on a smartphone. It is loaded with great features that make it on par with the desktop website. The ads are a small price to pay for what is literally an endless supply of entertainment, and for those who wish to skip out on the ads, YouTube Red is an option if you are a heavy consumer of YouTube content.

Rating

★★★★★

Reviewed by Juzan

Charity Miles Smartphone App Review

About

Charity Miles is an US-based fitness tracking app which donates money for every mile that you run, walk or ride your bicycle to a charitable cause on your behalf. Since launching, members have earned over $2 million for over 30 charities that are registered with the app. A few questions have arisen regarding the legitimacy of the app, so allow me to use this review to explain how the app works.

Initially, the developers of Charity Miles created a pool of $1 million to donate to charities as people used the app. Once the pool ran out of money, the developers found corporate sponsors to continue to make donations on behalf of the user. For every mile you run or walk 25 cents will be donated to a charity selected by the user from the list, and 10 cents per mile via bicycle.

Features

There are a few options that are presented to the user for creating an account when launching the app for the first time. You can login through Facebook or you can enter your name and email address. 

Users also have the option to “Quick Start” which allows you to use the app without telling it anything about yourself. However Location Services are needed to be enabled in order for the app to work as it does collect data about where you are.

Before the app starts tracking your progress, you select a charity from a list provided. With charities including The Michael J. Fox Foundation, Autism Speaks and The Leukaemia & Lymphoma Society. The app allows you to choose a different charity for each session you initiate or you can choose to stick with just one.

When you’re ready, you select the activity you’ll be completing, and a new page loads. Charity Miles starts automatically but it’s difficult to tell. Unlike other activity tackers, there is no button or any other indicator that it has begun. A small red button appears at the top right of the screen, but this acts as a finish/pause button which remains visible after pressing. I wish that the app incorporated clear indicators for when it was recording a session and when it was stopped or paused.

As you begin to move, statistics including total miles and speed appear in front of a backdrop image that also acts as an advertisement from the sponsoring company. As you scroll down, more information is presented about the organisation and their goods and/or services. Once finished, you press the previously mentioned red button to complete the activity and the app will show you a summary of how far you traveled and how much was earned for your chosen charity.

There are a few other features such as the ability to join a team or start your own so that you can raise money for charities collectively with friends.

Download Links

Charity is available for free download on the Google Play Store and iTunes App Store.

The Verdict

The Charity Miles app lets anyone earn a little bit of money for a charity of their choice and it can really add up over time. Though it could stand some useability improvements, Charity is an admirable app that is worthy of all the awards it has received.

Reviewed by Ryan

★★★★★

Fitbit Smartphone App Review

About

Given the current prevalence of wearable technology, Fitbits have exploded in popularity. The Fitbit app is a great way to track your activity and health (if paired with a Fitbit tracker). In essence, the tracker device used (be it the Fitbit Flex, Charge, Blaze, etc.) performs the collection of data, and the app presents this data in the form of graphs and charts, and also provides the ability to set goals and log food and water intake.

Features

Step tracking

The app lets you set a goal for the amount of steps you want to take per day. Upon viewing the dashboard, you can see where you stand in relation to your goal for the day. You can also view a chart of your past week, month, quarter of a year, and full year. The app also calculates your averages steps, so you can see if you are becoming more or less active.

Distance tracking

Similarly to step tracking, distance tracking reveals the total distance that you have walked. Goals can also be set, and graphical summaries can also be viewed from within the app.

Activity monitoring

The app also presents information on physical exercise, detecting when you have been moderately active for a minimum of 30 minutes in one session. Unfortunately, this feature is more targeted towards cardio exercise, and those who exercise using weights may not be able to fully reap the benefits of this feature as a result. I found that when playing football, the feature would work properly, however wouldn't recognise that I was exercising whenever I went to the gym.

Sleep tracking

The Fitbit app can also track sleep. It provides graphical summaries about sleep cycles, and provides logs of previous nights to see if your sleeping pattern is changing. Personally, I find it hard to sleep while leaving my tracker on, and so I usually give this feature a miss.

Food logging

The app also allows users to log what foods they have eaten, to display accurate information about calorie intake and burning. I personally do not use this feature as it is too time consuming, and my goal is not to lose weight. However for those who wish to keep track of their calorie intake and want to adjust their exercise pattern accordingly to lose weight, this is a pretty nifty feature. The feature takes into account your current weight, target weight, age and BMI to calculate a calorie budget. Logging your food intake updates your position in relation to your calorie budget, so you can see how you are fairing. Meals bought from establishments (fast food, popular restaurants) can be searched through the app and added in. They are pre-filled with the amount of calories they contain. However for homemade meals, it will mostly require users to fill out details about the meal they are logging, which can be difficult. This is a great tool for those looking to lose weight and monitor their diet, however as previously stated I didn't find this particularly useful for myself.

Exercise tracking

You can also log exercise using the app. This feature, once turned on, will track exactly where you are going and deliver some information about your exercise upon completion. The feature is only for those who run, walk or hike, however, and if these activities are not part of your exercise routine, this faeture may not be too useful for you.

Download Links

Fitbit is available for free on the App Store for iOS devices and the Google Play Store for Android.

The Verdict

The Fitbit app provides some pretty neat features to track your exercise and diet. It integrates these two areas remarkably well, and can be a great companion to your health. That being said, it is not for everybody. Those who exercise in ways other than walking or running will find it hard to accurately track their activity. Features such as food monitoring can also be useful, but may require a lot of time taken out of the day to log all information in, especially if you need to manually add a meal that isn't already part of the database. As such, this app has many great features and a great user experience, however I wouldn't recommend it unless you are big on running or walking as your primary way to exercise.

Score

★★★☆☆

Reviewed by Juzan

Nike+ Run Club App Review

About

The Nike+ Run Club app is a run tracker. It's curated playlists for your jog and also works as its own social network where you can share your run and workouts with other users. The aim of this app assist the user with their running, with the motivation of other runners surrounding you and expert guidance to help you reach your goals.

Features

Track your progress: Every mile matters! The app delivers details about: pace, distance, routes and personal records. this gives you control over the the most important things about your run. 

Personalised coaching: The app allows your to personalise your coaching plan which is perfect for a workout that is specific to your needs, as it is important to go at your own pace. 

Run together: The app works as its own social media platform for runners. You can compete with friends and fellow runners around the world, with the usual techniques of #hashtagging and sharing. This is convenient and useful to all users, as it gives a sense of community to the running family. 

Motivation!: What better way to stay motivated than to have a reminder - you can set the app to send you notification when you're due for a run, which can be extremely motivating and encouraging. You can also set your playlists to suit your run and share your music with other users. 

Download Links

Nike+ Run Club is available for free on the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store for iOS and Android respectively.

The Verdict

Recently, Nike has redesigned the app and upgraded it to the Run Club. Surprisingly, many users seem to be unsatisfied with the new system and have expressed their appreciation for the old version of the app. This isn't to say that the Nike+ Run Club app is not good, however the new upgrade may take some getting used to! The app still performs everything you need it to, just in a different way. As a user of the previous app, adjusting to the new one has been frustrating. In saying this, I still use and will continue to use the app as it is a great running partner. 

Score

★★☆☆☆

Reviewed by Grace

Drifty Chase Smartphone App Review

About

Chrimson Pine Game’s Drifty Chase is a pursuit based game where your main objective is to outrun police as they chase you through city streets after robbing a bank. The game is not a traditional racer as it features drifting with a full car of cash through a ridiculously crowded city. Gameplay consists of only one tap in order to drift either left or right. It’s as simple as that!

The game has only been available for download for five days as of this review, yet it has already achieved the position of top racing game on the iTunes gaming charts. The simple gaming mechanic is what makes this game so addictive for gamers and capitalises on the success of past games like Temple Run and Subway Surfers

Features

The game consists of 10 different cars and city landscapes, which are unlocked as you progress through the game. Drifty Chase appears to consist of one never-ending level which increases in difficulty the longer you play. Streets get narrower and traffic becomes heavier as you speed your way through the busy streets avoiding a mix of cars, buses, trucks and fast-moving motorcycles. 

Take a corner too wide or too sharp, or find yourself travelling head on towards an eighteen-wheeler and the game punishes you with a fiery demise and police cars crashing into your rear, forcing you to continue your “get away” from the start.

The visual and aural design is simple but adds to the charm of the game. This allows gamers to full appreciate the gameplay instead of being distracted by beautifully rendered graphics. The vehicles and buildings featured are comprised of minimal geometric shapes but excellently represent the environments the game visits, from London to New York City’s China Town.

Download Link

Drifty Crush is available for free in beta on the Google Play Store and in full on the iTunes App Store with additional support on Apple TV for IOS users.

The Verdict

Chrimson Pine Games has shown us the beauty of minimalistic design and simple gameplay that few modern day games are able to achieve. In the small period of time that I have had with Drifty Chase, I have been obsessed with improving my score and upgrading to better cars. Although the game relies heavily on advertising revenue, which is definitely noticeable, this doesn’t detract from the wonderfully designed gameplay and the hours of fun that gamers will gain out of it.

Reviewed by Ryan

★★★★★

Injustice: Gods Among Us Smartphone App Review

About

Injustice: Gods Among Us is a 3 on 3 beat-em-up game, where players can create and customise their dream team of DC superheroes and face off against AI and online players. Players tap and swipe at their opponents to cause damage to them. Winning a battle progresses the player to the next round and earns them credit points that can be spent on more characters, upgrades, booster packs, and a plethora of other in-game items.

The game was released in 2013 in anticipation for a console release under the same name. Since then, NeatherRealm have continually updated the game to incorporate new features, gameplay types, challenges, and characters to continually deliver an enjoyable experience.

Gameplay

Players select 3 heroes to make up their team, and can pair them with up to 3 'gear' items that enhance certain attributes or provide additional features to the character. After this team is formed, the team faces off against a computer team of varying difficulty based on how far the player has progressed throughout the game. Once the fight begins, the player swipes and taps to deliver different attacks to the opponent. Attacking and absorbing hits generates power for the player, which can be used to deliver special attacks. Once the health bar for each opposing player reaches zero, the player has won the battle and is able to collect their reward and return to the menu.

Multiplayer

Injustice has also introduced a multiplayer mode since its launch, which allows players to fight against other players' teams. Notably, this is not in real time, and the opposing team is merely another player's characters which are controlled by the computer. Another disappointing feature about the multiplayer mode is the long loading times. Progressing through each screen before a battle can take almost 30 seconds each worth of loading while the rest of the app manages with loading times of around 5 seconds between the menus and battles.

Store

Injustice has several different playable characters from the DC universe, which can be purchased using in-game credits or real money via in-app purchases. Players can also purchase upgrades for each characters' abilities, as well as 'gear' to improve certain skills additionally. Support cards can also be bought to increase health and strength of each character. The store also sells booster packs, which give the player a random character from a certain tier of characters.

Challenges

To keep the game interesting, special challenge characters can be earned by completing a set of battles in challenge mode. Challenge mode characters are updated almost every week or two, so there's always another reason to open the game up and play. Challenges introduce new characters based on which DC movies are also being released at the time, which is a nice touch. For example, the recent Suicide Squad movie prompted the introduction of a challenge phase to earn each of the main characters featured in the movie.

Download Links

Injustice: Gods Among Us is available for free on the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store for iOS and Android respectively.

The Verdict

Injustice is an intricately created game that has been well supported by its developers for years since its launch to become one of the most popular smartphone games on the market. Even if you are like myself and don't care much for comic books and superheroes, you will not be disappointed by the vast customisation options and engaging gameplay in Injustice that has kept users playing the game for several years.

Regardless of the continual addition of new features to the game, Injustice can get a little repetitive. It's a shame that the multiplayer mode couldn't be realtime and allow players to play against their friends, and instead only pairs players with randomly selected opponents who are computer controlled anyway, making this feature very similar to the rest of the game.

Score

★★★★☆

Reviewed by Juzan

Candy Crush Saga App Review

About

Candy Crush is an extremely addictive puzzle game that is easy to play and accessible to anyone. It is a free game released by King in 2012. Players are given a number of lives and are required to solve the puzzle throughout a number of levels. Candy Crush is reminiscent of the old PC game ‘Bejeweled’.

Features

Each level of Candy Crush Saga is slightly different, whether you have to get rid of all the sweets encased in jelly within a certain number of moves, achieve a certain point-score within a given amount of time, or drop the various ingredients for a tasty recipe to the bottom of the grid. It requires a degree of logic that keeps you entertained through Candy Crush's numerous levels, more than 100 in fact!

Candy Crush Saga offers you five lives, and once you've run out of lives, you must either put down the game and wait for your health to be replenished, or stock up by begging your Facebook friends for more or forking out real cash.

This becomes a problem only when you get reasonably far into Candy Crush and the difficulty ramps up, at which point the user is more than tempted to begin paying real money to progress in the game!

Download Link

Candy Crush is available for download on iTunes Store for Apple users and Google Play for Android.

The Verdict

I used to be a Candy Crush fan myself, and would play it constantly! The game is incredibly addictive and many fans will confirm this. The only downfall of the app is that it’s too addictive! It’s a worldwide trend and one of the most popular games today. The ability to pick up the game whenever and wherever makes it easy and fun!

Review by Grace 

★★★★★