iPhone/iPod Touch users - how many times have you bought an app from the AppStore only to find out that it is useless, does not function exactly how you expected or you just have no use for it?
When the AppStore was first launched, I was one of many who foolishly bought and downloaded any app that caught my eye, regardless of whether I needed it or not. Even though each app costs less than $10, it still adds up to quite a sum of money after a while.
After burning a hole in my wallet, I have grown smarter now. Instead of buying apps out of impulse, I will first check out several iPhone app review sites and decide if I really need them and if they are worth my dollars.
On my journey to find out the most comprehensive reviews for the apps, there are 7 sites I have come across that are rather unique and provide an alternative way of checking out if an app is good. If you are an app junkie like me, I would advise you to check these iPhone app rewiew websites out and probably bookmark them.
1. Freshapps
Freshapps is something like Digg for iPhone apps. You can vote (make fresh) for the app you like and leave comments/reviews for others to read. If you are an app developer, you can also submit your app for others to vote on.
One thing that I like about this site is that you are able to sort the various apps either by the newest, most fresh or the most discussed. You also can only get it to show paid or free apps and when it was added.
For those who are always looking for good and interesting apps, this is a good place to check out.
2. AppVee
AppVee call themselves the “largest and most extensive resource for professional, high-quality video reviews of iPhone applications“. I am not sure how true that is, but it is a fact that they do provide tons of quality reviews. Every app comes with a written review as well as a thorough video walkthrough of the app. Registered users can also add their own reviews.
There are thousands of iPhone apps in the AppStore, and it is rather impossible for AppVee to create a video walkthrough for each and every app in the store. Instead, what AppVee does is to handpick those apps that are of any value to the end-users and are worth downloading/buying. They then proceed to develop the written review, screenshots and video walkthrough. Even then, they have already covered quite a comprehensive list of apps on their site.
3. Apptism
Apptism provides an easy to use user-interface so that you can navigate around and find your app quickly.
What is unique about Apptism is that they allow the users to write their own reviews, compare different apps, save their favorite apps to a watchlist, send to a friend or even bookmark them in their user account. This is a good way if you just want to keep track of your favorite apps and/or compare with other similar apps.
4. iPhoneAppPodcast
If instead, you like to listen and watch video rather than reading, then iPhoneAppPodcast is the place to go. iPhoneAppPodcast reviews popular and upcoming iPhone & iPod Touch apps.
They update their site daily, sometime even several times a day, so you will never miss out anything new. Their podcasts are always very detailed and give you a thorough walkthrough of the apps, including the pros and cons. Usually at the end of the video, you will have a good idea if that app is the one you want.
One thing though, the video file size is rather big and it can take quite a while to stream if you are watching the video on the browser.
5. 148Apps
Most sites only do the top 10, 20 or even top 100 list, but 148Apps prefers the number 148 better. On this site, you will find several top 148 lists. From the top 148 paid apps, top 148 games apps to the top 148 newest apps, you will find a list that suits your needs. In addition, 148Apps also tracks the top 148 app price drop so you will know when your app is on discount.
On the review side, 148Apps provides in-depth reviews so that you won’t miss out any details. Each review comes with plenty of screenshots and several ratings. You can find ratings for iPhone integration, user-interface and re-user/replay value.
For game apps, there is even the graphics/sound rating, game control rating and gameplay rating. If you are too lazy to read the reviews, checking out the app ratings is enough to give you a gauge of how good/bad the app is.
6. iusethis
The owners of iusethis have a different thinking about apps ratings. They feel that the usual apps ratings are rather biased and based more on personal preferences than the actual functionality. Instead, they feel that a democratic way of of showing how good an app is to see the number of people using it. The more people using it, the better it is.
On iusethis, you can place a vote on the apps that you have used. The number of votes are then displayed on the site with a Digg-style icon. Users can also provide their reviews of the apps they like/dislike.
Iusethis also have a similar site for Mac applications.
7. MacWorld
Among all the iPhone app review sites, MacWorld is the one that I love best. Not only do they provide in-depth reviews, they also list out the pros and cons of the apps. It don’t take long to find out if an app is good, just read MacWorld’s review and you will know it instantly.
Which website do you usually go to for iPhone app reviews?
Tagged: iphone • iPhone Apps • user reviews
