Recall for iPhone Remembers Pop Culture Recommendations So You Don’t Have To
October 8, 2012
We’ve all been there. A friend or colleague recommends a favorite app, book, or movie, and before we get home, we completely forget about it. Recall for iPhone remembers these items so you don’t have to. The app arrives in the App Store on Wednesday, Oct. 10.
Created by Overcommitted, the $0.99 app captures recommendations on music, movies, apps, books, or television shows. To add recommendations select the type of item from the bottom of the app, and then click on the “+” icon. After typing in the search text, the app will offer possible matches unique to the item type.
For example, a movie search includes results showing titles and artists. Apps, by contrast are listed according to the name and developer.
Once an item is selected, the user can either click on the “Add” link and include it on their list, or purchase the item via a buy link, where applicable. Recall’s buy links go only to Apple stores, including the App Store, iTunes Store, and iBookstore.
Each listing also includes information about the item selected, including release date, tracks, and description, depending on the type of app. For instance, movie listings contain ratings, Rotten Tomatoes scores, a list of actors appearing, and a brief description. Apps include App Store ratings (but not reviews), descriptions, and screenshots, among other details.
Recall also includes two listings that make finding current items even easier: New Releases and Top Charts. Both lists lead to the same item pages as listed above.
Finally, Recall includes release date information, which comes in handy especially when the item is not yet available. In these cases, users can select “Remind Me,” and select the date they want to be reminded via a notification.
In a nice touch, the “Remind Me” feature under movies defaults to the day the item becomes available. This date, however, can be changed according to the user’s preferences.
Recall looks very promising, although there are two ways that it could be improved. For one, adding items to lists could be a much more streamlined process.
For example, each item list is blank by default, and includes a “Browse New Releases” button. However, this button goes away as soon as the first item is added. To include other items, the user must click on the “+” sign or go back to the app’s side screen for links to the New Releases and/or Top Charts listings.
Second, the app’s database doesn’t seem to include items that are to be released beyond the coming week. As a test, I attempted to find Justin Cronin’s “The Twelve (Book Two of The Passage Trilogy)," which arrives on Oct. 16. Unfortunately, Recall didn’t include the book in my search results. Instead, I was presented with a list of 20 books for students with topics ranging from chemistry to mathematics.
Still, Recall is 99 percent there and is worth considering.
Take a look:
Recall from Overcommitted on Vimeo.
Recall arrives in the App Store later this week. You may also want to check out, Apps for TV Lovers and Is Lister Going To Be Your Go-To List App?
