The 7 Best iPhone Apps Review Websites
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?
(By) Damien Oh is an all-out technology geek who loves to tweak and hack various operating systems to make life easier. Check out his blog at MakeTechEasier.com where he shares all the tips, tricks and tutorials.
thanks.. i don’t like the reviews on the store, i see alot of 1 stars with comments being that its good.. and 5 stars but people saying how apps are bad.
I agree with you too. Some of the reviews on the AppStore do not reflect the quality of the app. I prefer to check out alternative sources for more reliable information.
Which sites, including these or any other ones, do both iPhone and android apps? Or even just android apps?
AppVee does Android app reviews as well.
Great list! I have been a long time user of FreshApps and I love it. Apptism has some cool stuff too, but really, just like you said in the review, FreshApps allows you to sort by newest free apps, and that is what I do all the time.
I love FreshApp too, that’s why they at the top of the list.
Hi Damien,
(Comments wont nest below this level)we’ve just launched http://www.iwikiphone.com website. What we’re doing is developing a platform where users can do more than simply reading reviews, they can build their profile page, create and share their apps list and do real networking on applications and above all, also developers can build their profile pages and get in real touch with users not only for promotion but for real feedback. We’d love to hear some feedback on our idea from you guys! Thank you
Wow, this list got bigger and bigger since my last visit, I am sure lot of developers are going to find this interesting. We’d like to let you know that, if you’re an iPhone app developer, you can send us a promo code of your app to support@iwikiphone.com and we’ll be spreading the word among our users to get you a review. Just drop us an email with the name, deep link, the promo code and specify if your app only sells in a specific market as we have users from all around the world.
Best to all!
Thanks so much for adding the podcast in your blog post. I love the opportunity I have to review apps daily. I understand the file size is a bit large. About 35% of our viewers watch on AppleTV’s so the resolution has to be good enough for that. Thanks again for your blog!
Great post, I love FreshApp too!
Nice post, I love FreshApp too
Some nice sites there.
Thanks for sharing Damien!
Why is my site not listed?
Great Article! As a new iPhone publisher its a real challenge to get the word out there about our superb real time stock portfolio management tool (PortfolioLive) … we are definitely going to hit all 7 of these sites.
Thanks!
What about http://www.appshopper.com? I love that site!
I have to put a plug in for TheDigitalLifestyle.tv If you want a video review of an iPhone app, check us out:
http://thedigitallifestyle.tv/iphoneapps/
I own the website http://www.appstorefans.com which was created right before the launch of the iPhone 3G and made with the exact purpose of reviewing applications, both by a team of reviewers, and by the general community. We ran out of resources and time quickly though, and the site couldn’t go through a full launch. If you check out the site though, you can see it is all custom designed and even has its own organized forum. We’ve modified dozens of mods and plugins to better display our reviews and the site is all ready for a launch.
If anyone is interested in acquiring this website and community, please send me an email at natebessa[@]gmail[.]com
Sorry to see we’re not on the list. Besides Macworld.com we get more traffic than these sites. AppleiPhoneSchool.com
What about AppTheater – video sharing site for iPhone apps:
http://www.apptheater.com/
If you want to see iPhone game reviews as well as tips, tactics and strategies, check out http://www.iPhoneStrategyGames.com. We tend to deal more with strategy games, things like Lux, Fieldrunners, 7 Cities, iShoot, etc..
-JJ
I agree with Paul. http://www.appshopper.com is the only one I use. I tracks every change in the app store, including updates and price changes.
I like Art of the iPhone http://artoftheiphone.com because they actually do full reviews. They sit down and play the game all the way through. A lot of these other sites only play the game for 5 minutes, write their first impressions, and move on to something else.
What about AppFiend.com?
You can review Apps and share that knowledge with your friends. Facebook + App Store Reviews = Appfiend.com.
I’m sure my website appbank.net has a lots of screenshots you’ll know what’s the app is even though you cannot read Japanese…
Another site is http://www.freeiphoneapplications.com with only reviews of free apps
You failed to mention Finger Gaming.
http://fingergaming.com/
This site has great game reviews.
Wow…I am amazed by the contribution by all the readers. Thanks a lot. There are indeed many uncovered gems out there.
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Hey there,
yet another gem for your collection
http://en.softonic.com/phones/os-iphone
It’s basically reviews of free apps with a bunch of screenshots for each one and a direct link to the AppStore.
i def have got burned on a few apps before so i will be trying out some of these to get more reviews
What about appleiphoneapps.com . It’s a pretty damn good site for app reviews.
iGoApps is another good one for finding apps quickly. Great category use as well
http://www.igoapps.com/
Thanks, that’s a nice one.
I listen to a podcast called Mac-Aroni. The guy who does it has fun with the whole thing and recommends iphone apps just about every week. GREAT ARTICLE!
Do you have the URL to the podcast?
And what about our site?
We are a mix these days of daily news and unique app reviews, for the ones that don’t know yet;
iPhoneTunes.net
What about just free iPhone apps?
http://www.freeiphoneapps.com/
While I agree these are good sites, I have to put my site up against any one of these.
http://www.appVersity.com
We are the ORIGINAL and ONLY site that gives away every app we review for free. NO STRINGS attached.
We also have major vendors such as EA Mobile, Gameloft, and Chillingo, as well as many other respected iPhone developers parterning with us.
We have video reviews, forums, and a great community and growing every day! Check us out at least see if you like our style?
We are even listed in many apps on iTunes
hehehe… gotta love all the sites that didn’t get mentioned…
how about http://www.whatsoniphone.com
Freshapps is really good but I could never get 148apps to work, anyone else having issues with it?
-Jennifer
148apps works fine for me.
The best new iPhone app review site right now is http://www.slapapp.com. They offer completely unbiased reviews. And if they don’t have a review for something your looking for just contact them and you’ll recieve feedback almost immediately.
Unbiased, up-to-date and straight forward app reviews at
http://www.iphonecommunity.org
I like http://www.theicrew.com
They don’t review a ton of apps but the ones that they do review are very good.
Hi Guys, I have 10 Promo codes to giveaway for the iPhone App Store. The Giveaway expires on 31st March 2009 so come and grab yourself a Promo code by visiting http://whichwebsite.com/2009/Mar/mms_buddy_iPhone_promo_code_giveaway.html
I like http://www.theiphoneappreview.com
The reviews are honest and the writing is great.
Animsign:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=311745565&mt=8
iNitpick:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=310826056&mt=8
DongTsang:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=311747545&mt=8
“Eluding the cat”
“Eluding the cat” http://bit.ly/3kVn4
“Eluding the cat” is a challenging and addicting game.It is a fun way of testing your intelligence and improving your skills. ,You must use all your wit to drag the bird before the cat catch the bird.
You can flick finger across the screen as fast as possible.and each round, you have 3 chances to challenge yourself , then you can save your personal high score.
Early levels are pretty easy, but gets quite fun and challenging at the later levels.
Feautures:
Full bird and cat are animated
interface is good and simple
great sound,and excellent graphics
something mysterious were owned by cat
the clouds movement is very smooth
Though I’m just starting, you can find reviews of what I believe to be the best apps on my website.
I like Woundmedia the new iPhone app which brings fashion and art magazine on device. Is any one reviewed this app cant find it on AppVee & Pod cast ?
if you run/bike, the best application ever is RunKeeper, a free app that uses the iphone’s GPS to track your fitness activities on a map (and much more!!)
RunKeeper, free GPS tracking for iPhone
For people who want reviews of medical apps or news about them, i’ve found http://www.iphonemedicalappreview.com/ to be a really good site. They review a good amount of paid apps as well.
Here are a few nice ones that I like for all ages.
Hoot Dunnit?
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=318571759&mt=8
Sir Insult-a-lot
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=312942026&mt=8
12 Week Fitness
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=325059707&mt=8
One of my favorite iphone review sites is
Nice reviews and they do great headphone reviews as well.
This is a pretty rad iphone app. You use it to order food and drinks from your seat when you are at a stadium then when it’s ready you do not have to wait in line to pick up. This is their website: http://www.thefango.com
Great reviews.. Do any one suggest me sites where the webmasters review websites submitted by the users?
I have found 148 Apps to be the most trustworthy and comprehensive site. The website provides the upsides and downsides to the games you are interested in. Its list is constantly updated to reveal the most up-to-date apps.
I found this site that joins a whole lot of websites together in the one site and I liked it http://www.reviewmyiphoneapp.com
I think many sites will join together sooner or later.
After you’ve looked at all the others come to appshouter to see why we are clearly the best
I have personally found appspatrol.comto be the best review website around. I have tried some of the others but they all seem to be bias or written after 5 minutes of play. The people over at appspatrol really take the time to write a solid review.
iPhone Apps view app rank and reviews in all languages from all app stores around the world.