Disclaimer: 21+ Only, this app serves up results that are not for all audiences. This review was done at the request of the developer, The iPhone App Podcast does not subscribe to or recommend any of the search results provided by the app.
Price: Free
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February 25, 2009
#1
Jerad, I just thought you should know that you're WAY off base with this app. It obviously has more cities than just San Francisco, as the app description on iTunes explains. It shows you the closest city (assuming that you are in that city looking for entertainment) and any known gay businesses in that city. So, if you were in New York, you would see New York results. That's why this is a travel app, in my opinion.
February 25, 2009
#2
First of all it does not say that in the app description that there are any other cities besides San Fran. I played with the app for about 5 minutes andproceededto record the walk through of the app. Judge the review as you may but there is nothing explaining that it shows only the nearest city you are close to and omits the rest. I would be happy to re-review the app once it has been updated to work similar to any other location finder app which shows other cities as well.
February 25, 2009
#3
The third sentence in the app description (from iTunes):
"Instantly access gay-friendly restaurants, gay bars, hotels, and beaches in over 70 cities worldwide."
Also, reading the reviews on iTunes, you can see that other people have used it successfully in other cities outside of San Francisco.
I'm not affiliated with this app, and I'm not even gay, but I watched this review and thought you might be swaying people away from it without giving it a fair chance.
February 25, 2009
#4
I don't have time to read others reviews of the app. What I do have time to do is use the app and see what I see, then report on it. I did not see any of those other 70 locations. How could I use the app if I was planning out my trip? You can't. I can't give this app a fair chance because it lacks inusability, I would have said the same thing about all of the other location finder apps that I have reviewed if it only showed the nearest city I was in. That is very limiting. Like I said, if the app worked the way it should to provide information the way any other directory does then I would be willing to re-review the app and give it better ratings. When you open a directory of places to eat, drink and sleep and you turn to the section for San Francisco you can just as easily turn to the New York section. Same goes for all of the location based apps that are worth downloading from iTunes. Yes there may be 70 of those cities but from this app you will never know about those 70 cities because it only shows you the nearest city. That does nothing for me when I am in Modesto which is 70 miles from San Fran and also about 70 miles from Sacramento which also has gay friendly clubs, bars and restaurants. How could one make any decision to travel somewhere when the app gives you no selection.
I knew reviewing this app in any light would result in me throwing myself under the bus to one community or the other. If I reviewed it in a good light I would upset one group and bad the other. So I reviewed it straight forward and called it as I saw it. I don't care that it is a alternative lifestyle related app, it could very well have been an app that shows the nearest Chuck E Cheese Fun Houses, if it was limiting to it's functionality and did not return the results that it boasted in it's description, I woulddefiantlyexpress where it was lacking. I contemplated reviewing this app at all because it returns results to locations that nobody would want their kids finding, hello “Daddy Bar” or whatever it is called? I have to think about the ramifications I could have to deal with from parents who's kid downloaded this app after watching a review of it on my website. I reviewed it because I knew that it would come across as mediscriminatingagainst the gay community if I did not and I am the last person to discriminate against the gay and lesbian community when one of my best friends is gay. I was hoping that I would not even have to explain myself but now that there are comments flying I felt I needed to let it be known exactly where I stand. I hope this helps you understand more about where I am coming from. I love people and it does not matter to me what their lifestyle is all about.
March 2, 2009
#5
Jerad, after having a few days to think about this and debate whether to reply or not, I finally decided to download the app since it is free and see if you had missed something. I immediately discovered that you can easily select any city you want to. Here's how:
After the app finds your current location, at the bottom of the screen, press "Browse." Then, press on the city that is listed for you. It brings up a list of all the cities across the world that it covers. It's that easy.
This blatant overlook begs the question of whether you have completely sold out on this podcast by now. I understand that you are taking requests from different people and companies, but you should spend a little more time with an app before giving it an unfair review that is easily overturned by anyone who spends just enough time to download it and look into it for half a minute. You almost lost a viewer in this, with your slightly argumentative comment replies.
March 2, 2009
#6
Alan, I am sorry if I have came across as argumentative, that is not my intention. You can clearly see in my review which section I am in. I am in the browse section and am only seeing one result, when clicking on that city it does not bring up a list of other cities, if it did that would be confusing. Why would you click on your city to view more cities? That option should be called “other cities” or other locations. If you clicked on browse and all cities available came up that would even be a good option. I am unsure as to if there have been any updates to the app between my review and your look at the app but there very well could have been. Once again, I am sorry if you have a bad taste in your mouth now because of our discussions but at least I am trying to reason with you and have left the conversations up for all to see. I could have deleted them and nobody would have been the wiser. I appreciate the time you have taken to look into this because I need to be held accountable just as much as anybody else reviewing products should be. Keep in mind that I never said anything to deter anyone from using the app nor did I say don't download it. It's a well put together app with a good user interface such as I mentioned. Compare it to other location based apps that return results of interests and it is lacking, I have to result back to my original point.