Most apps about apps are obsessed with freebies. Rather than cater to an obsessive's notion of thrift, Discovr Apps takes a more organic approach to broadening your handheld horizons. It won't tell you what's on sale, what's brand new, or what became of the missing e in its own title. Nor will it examine past purchases and fashion a list of tailored recommendations. What it does do, and with elegant simplicity, is use any application as the starting point for an elaborate spider web of interrelated App Store offerings.
Choose from a row of recommended apps, select one you've already installed, or fill a text box with something else entirely. An icon appears, then sprouts branches, each bearing the icon of a similar app that you might find interesting. Tap any of these icons, and it'll sprout nodes of its own. Words with Friends might lead you to Chess with Friends and Crosswords, which might in turn lead you to The Game of Life and NYTimes Crosswords, and so forth. We did get some odd results now and then -- Official Rugby World Cup 2011 yielded everything from lacrosse to aikido tools, but nothing at all related to rugby -- but this was the exception rather than the rule.
You can always pinch to zoom in and out, and if there's a limit to the number of tiles you can call onto the canvas, we never found it. Simply exploring all the branches becomes a strangely enjoyable pseudo-game in its own right, and regularly leads to intriguing apps you might never stumble across otherwise.
Discovr Apps is too effortlessly functional to wind up a mere novelty, either. Each tile in the sprawling networks you generate neatly shows its overall user rating, supported devices, and whether it'll cost you anything. Double-tap any app's icon to immediately access a detailed description and collection of screenshots, or add that app to your wish list. Unlike all too many app-finding apps, the only time it'll boot you out to the App Store is when you're ready to make a purchase. You can even share your discoveries and app map images via Facebook, Twitter, and email.
One could deride Discovr Apps as a one-trick pony, and lament that it doesn't shape its results to what it might learn over time about your tastes and preferences. But in truth, it doesn't try to get to know you because it doesn't need to — it's already ridiculously useful. You might even find that you visit its ever-changing branches more often than the App Store itself.
The bottom line. A wonderfully natural way to find interesting apps of worth inside the ever-expanding App Store.
of 6
iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad running iOS 4.0 or later.
Attractively minimal presentation. Dummy-proof touchscreen interface. A wealth of interconnected information at a glance. In-app descriptions and screenshots. Wish list and social networking functions.
Doesn't show all your installed apps under the Library tab. Some occasional oddball recommendations. Won't actually read your mind. Slows down a bit if a large number of app icons are around at once.
benwest0411
September 08, 2011 at 1:16am
Thanks for the review Cameron, and the 'Official Rugby World Cup 2011' feedback - we have now improved that set of links. We are constantly improving our recommendations, so it's awesome to hear of areas our customers want us to focus on :-)
Ben from Filter Squad (Previously 'Jammbox')
