Review: Cycorder
by Jeff Noble
August 24, 2008
Cycorder v0.9-2 | Published by Jay Freeman (saurik) | Via Cydia | Free | Released: 8-23-08
Update
9/05/08 - Cycorder v0.9-4 Released.
Overview
Just a day after iPhone Video Recorder was released for jailbroken 2.0 iPhones, Jay Freeman (aka saurik) released his free video recording app called Cycorder through Cydia. Although it does not yet support audio, the app description on Cydia says the feature will be added within a week and may be only available as a paid feature depending "on how well the AdMob ads do as a monetization strategy."
Functionality
The only real functionality for Cycorder at present is simply this... clear, seamless video. It encodes immediately, so there's not the significant wait time as compared with iPhone Video Recorder. You point, click on the round record button icon, and when finished, click it again. Your video is there to view in a list, immediately. It is also labeled clearly and without confusion.
An upside-down triangle in the lower left corner is a little confusing as to what it does, but a quick touch shows that it toggles between the video screen and the video list screen. There are no other features at present. Pressing the edit button simply allows you to delete the video. You can SSH into the iPhone to grab your video, but there's no interface to share or export your video from the phone.
Freeman also includes rotating ads on the top (on the image below, left) of the screen. These are his experiment with AdMobs. Go ahead and click on them! Hopefully, it will persuade Jay to leave Cycorder as a free app.
Cycorder records in .mov format at 7-15 fps. The result is exceptionally clear video.
Review
It seems obvious that Cycorder was rushed out the door by Freeman as an attempt to say, "Hey, a free video app... Don't spend $19.95 on iPhone Video Recorder!"
However, I am super impressed with what Cycorder represents already. The only thing to compare it to is iPhone Video Recorder, and while the latter works, there is a lot of ugliness to it. Long encoding wait times, confusing video screen lists, etc.
Cycorder is simple and easy to use. For some reason, the name of the app conjures up images of Spock scanning his surroundings with a portable device...
Summary
Cycorder has a lot of promise. I'm anxious to see what Freeman has up his sleeve for new versions, and right now, if you're in the market for video on your iPhone, I would recommend holding off on the $19.95 purchase iPhone Video Recorder. There's a new kid in town.
Usability: 4 / 5
Value: 5 / 5
Utility: 4 / 5
Aesthetics: 41 / 5
Overall Rating: 4.25 / 5
