Better Buy Ice Cream FOR This App

Normally when writing an article about an app, I don’t have to pick up a pint of ice cream. But when the app is by Ben & Jerry’s, the local Target store called out and hey, someone had to do it!

Having actual ice cream is part of the fun when using Ben & Jerry’s Scoop of Happiness app, which now includes an augmented reality-enhanced feature called Moo Vision. Augmented reality or AR is the term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are multiplied by a computer or in this case, an iPhone. It works like this: hold up a pint of New York Super Fudge Chunk, Cherry Garcia, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough or Milk & Cookies ice cream to your iPhone and let the wackiness begin. Using vector images, funky pictures appear on your iPhone screen, such as flying chickens, cows and the Statue of Liberty. Each image moves as the iPhone does and music is added which enhances this very psychedelic effect. I tried this with Cherry Garcia and New York Super Fudge Chunk (yes, I needed to check out two of the four favors, just to be sure the feature worked). Other flavors will be added to Moo Vision in future app updates. Here are two screenshots  I took earlier today:

I found the experience fun but nothing overwhelming. I'm sure that Ben and Jerry wouldn't consider me in their ideal demographic for this feature. My three-year-old daughter thought it was very cool and wondered how I made a cow fly out of her ice cream, so score one for her daddy! The app includes a virtual freezer full of each of Ben & Jerry’s flavors from Banana Split to the tried-and-true vanilla. Users can read about each flavor’s details, ingredients and the (dreaded) calorie count. For example, just 1/2 cup of Cake Batter (my favorite) has 280 calories! I really like the Mystic Moo’s Flavor Fortune feature which, like in previous versions, is a fun way to select your next Ben & Jerry’s flavor. A fortune-telling cow predicts your next taste (by the scoop or pint), based on your answers to three off-the-wall questions.

Like most brick-and-mortar store apps, Ben & Jerry’s Scoop of Happiness will search for your nearest ice cream shop. Plus, you can share your favorites from the app to Facebook, Twitter or email. The app is free in the App Store.

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