The iPhone Application Store is pretty groundbreaking in its design, integration, and offerings. Regrettably, however, is that the apps available are of extremely variable quality.
There are a lot of great applications out there that will undoubtedly change the world of personal computing as we know it. Unfortunately, there are some that are better off far away from your iPhone and computer, at least for a few more weeks.
Here’s my list of Five iPhone applications that just aren’t cutting it:
Twitterrific
Twitter might be the best thing since sliced bread, and I’m pretty sure the Mac OS desktop client comes highly regarded, but Iconfactory’s Twitterrific is just a big letdown.
Why? In the week that I’ve been using it, it’s been one of the laggiest and buggy applications currently on my iPhone. It’s crashed my phone several times now, and even worse, seems to be stuck on Tweets from a few days ago– I log in to my iPhone Twitterrific and see old news, not the new, fresh content and updates Twitter drives. Yuck!
The advertisements are a bummer, too, but I’ll take them in a free app. That works, that is. I’m eager to delete Twitterrific but, it’s a shame to say, the other available ones for the iPhone are no better.
ShoZu
Although it’s gotten some critical acclaim from the tech crowd, I can’t wrap my head around the overly-complicated ShoZu. I spent twenty minutes entering my account information into this application just to realize it wasn’t going to benefit me in any way, shape, or form. Got rid of this one pretty fast.
iFob
I really want to love this app. I really do. A program designed to introduce users to other individuals using the same Wi-Fi hotspot, iFob promises to either make you a bunch of new friends or lead to a bunch of awkward coffee-shop encounters. If the look and feel of iFob were a bit more polished, it’d have a permanent (even if rarely-used) spot on my iPhone home screen.
Jott
This app appeals to me too, but do you know what doesn’t? Two e-mails in my inbox the day after I install the application asking how I’m doing and what I can do with this piece of software. I’ll admit, it was a nice gesture to check in, but it’s not like I’ve had much experience with the app at this point to be able to request some assistance or feature recommendations. Gimme some space, guys!
Flashlight
Seriously? At least it’s free, compared to some of the others in the store. You’ve got to be a pretty interesting specimen to use this thing. (Then again, Justine does, so who am I to talk?)
Afterword
Now that these gripes have been aired, I do have to say– the application developers have been doing a fantastic job working with such limited resources over the pre-launch development period. My post on the social mobile web a few days ago drew such a surprising number of comments from application CEOS/etc.’s that I’m entirely certain that both the best and average iPhone apps will continue to improve over the bright future of this device. Keep up the good work, guys.
That’s about it for me. Which iPhone applications let you down?
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