Blippy is a website where people obsessively review everything they buy.
Level 6

Paul M. Watson

South African web-developer living and working in Ireland.
Vimeo App
Lovely app for the awesome video content on Vimeo. Close button could be a bit bigger though.
LUAS App
Surprisingly good app, does exactly what I needed (nearest LUAS stop and where the line goes and when is the next LUAS arriving.)
Opera Mini Web browser App
It's really good tech, especially if you have a consistently poor internet connection. But some of the UI is a bit overwrought, some is poorly finished and fitting it into your daily habits is difficult when Mobile Safari is so deeply integrated.
Talking Carl Free App
Not just hilarious for toddlers but a great party app. Get two iPhones and set Talking Carl yelling at himself. Keeps my toddler entertained for ages.
riddlefish Lol. Who needs a babysitter when you've got Talking Carl?? ;D
Dublin Culture Trail App
This is a lovely app. that is even useful for local people wanting to explore Dublin more. What I like most about the app is how straightforward it is. No fancy tours or complicated maps, just a list of excellent spots with useful info for each and all in a fast and nicely crafted app.
· app from iTunes
Red
Completely enjoyable entertainment.
· 4,99 € movie from iTunes
Hoccer App
I'll tell you once I find a single other person who is using this app. Same problem as Bump, far too dependant on all your friends having it.
NikeWomen Training Club App
Slick, useful, engaging app. It might say "women" on it but can be used by men just fine too.
Salt
Too clever for its own good. Not clever enough to paper over the mundane special effects and action sequences. I can see how they thought they'd take after the Bourne series but they missed the boat. The story twists can be seen a mile off.
· 3,99 € movie from iTunes
awesome · funny (1) · informative (2) · omgwtf
productjoy agreed
girlfriday Ten writers got slap-happy on twistiness.
The Irish Times Ticket App
Poor translation of the rather enjoyable Ticket magazine. The content is not reformatted very well for the iPhone, the navigation is not suitable for the breadth of content and it is slow to use. The app needs a much more "magaziney" design to effectively translate the Ticket content onto the iPhone. That or it needs to become an augment to the magazine, providing listings, gigs and information while you read the paper Ticket.
Friends Plus App
Some interesting features and ideas but overall I found it difficult to use it on a daily basis for monitoring my Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn streams. It is almost more of a tool you dip into to get contact details or perform a specific social-network function. One to keep an eye on though, if it improves its activity stream views it will be very good.
· 0,79 € app from iTunes
Mr. Nice
This movie is not for everyone. It isn't even for all fans of the fabulous book. The book is better but the movie has its own feel and merits. I rather liked the hammy green-screening and linear pace of the movie. Rhys Ifans is fantastic as Mr. Nice. One could almost treat the movie as an appetiser before reading the book.
· 4,99 € movie from iTunes
ABC Wildlife App
Wonderful app for young kids (my 2 year old daughter loves it.) Especially like that it has evolved since it launched, adding new and engaging features and keeping the content fresh.
· app from iTunes
productjoy that's cool, i didnt know there were educational apps for kids!
paulmwatson There are hundreds of amazing educational apps for iPad and iPhone. The Montessorium ones are very good. Lots of pop-up books too, drawing games, jigsaws etc. My 2 year old uses my iPad more than she watches TV, learning as she goes.
Kindle App
Better than iBooks. No fancy page turning FX, no shiny wooden shelves, just your books and the words on the page. Dictionary look-up is useful, notes and highlights too (though still no good, public way of seeign what you have highlighted/noted). Good selection of books from Amazon too with easy one-click delivery to your Kindle.
· app from iTunes
awesome (1) · funny · informative (2) · omgwtf
riddlefish Simple and effective, huh? You know what would be awesome is that if you didn't like the book at the end you could digitally burn it. I've always wanted to do that to my math textbooks after class was over... You think that would sell? Haha. ;p
Evernote App
Evernote the website and the idea are brilliant. When I first tried the image search a few years ago it blew me away that text in images could become part of your search corpus. I've always liked the website. The apps though, not so much. The desktop app hogs resources, takes ages to sync and drives me nuts. The iPhone and iPad app just never clicked with me.

Take my ranty "review" with a pinch of salt, I think the desktop experience has coloured my judgement of Evernote apps. Website good, apps not so much.
Alpha Writer App
Another quality educational app from the Montessorium team. A bit advanced for my 2 year old daughter but the key to Montessorium apps is that they make it so attractive and rewarding that it makes kids want to do better. Any parent with a young child should have Alpha Writer on their iPad.
· 3,99 € app from iTunes
Angry Birds App
Thankfully I never got addicted to this fun game. Judging by friends around me one would think this is the crack cocaine of the iPhone. A fun game with decent challenges, well put together graphics and sound.
· app from iTunes
awesome (1) · funny (1) · informative (1) · omgwtf (1)
girlfriday We're livin' in a whole new world ...
Osmos App
Don't play this if you only have a few minutes to spare, you'll end up getting hooked and blowing a whole hour. The graphics and audio are top-rate but what really works for me is how it is never easy but never leaves you frustrated. You'll keep wanting to beat the levels without feeling like it is a lost cause.
· app from iTunes
gkruis Wow. Good review. What sort of game is it?
Discover App
Nice idea and the layout is good but the typography and fine UI detail needs a lot of work. The sort of thing I, a coder, would design.
· app from iTunes
Khoa It looks lovely
Words With Friends HD App
One of my most used iPad apps. Rather than playing fun but mindless games I'm finding myself spending all those spare minutes battling against distant internet wordsmiths. Better than the official Scrabble app because of the internet play option.
paulmwatson I just checked and I see the Scrabble app now has internet play. I don't think it used to, just a LAN option. I'm still happy with Words With Friends though.
more
  • paulmwatson
Blippy