By Julie Essex
Gaming App- Sonic Dash+
This app is a Sonic the Hedgehog game that features 3D environments filled with racing, running, competing against friends and boss battles. Users can also earn rewards for leaderboards and win prizes. This app was created by SEGA, who owns the copyright for Sonic the Hedgehog.
The target market is kids and rated 4+, along with adults who love Sonic the Hedgehog. The problem it aims to solve is bringing to life the Sonic worlds and creating a more interactive app for people to use. With great graphics, it makes the game more fun for users.
Some advantages would be its fun interactive gamification. The graphics are good and it includes the Sonic characters. Some of its disadvantages would be how much space it takes up on a device and how quickly it can drain your battery when playing it.
It can be downloaded for Apple and Android devices. No purchase necessary to download but there are some in app purchases.
Overall, I think this is a fun game to play, they make it easy to earn some rewards and to keep you hooked on playing. I personally am not much of a game player so I think it is an alright app. I would rate it 4/5 because it has good graphics compared to other games and it is brand new.
Education App- Immerse - AR in Education
Immerse is a science education app that invokes your audio, visual and physical senses when learning. Immerse app teaches kids about STEM topics using what must be one of the most content-packed augmented-reality (AR). It claims to be the most content-packed app out there for kid’s learning. Facts and information accompany 3D models of animals, machines, landscapes and more. It is ideal for science lessons and general reference. This app allows users to take photos and share them, true-to- life and adjustable size interactions of 3D models. I can also be accessed anywhere and anytime for more content learning.
The target market is 3-14 years of age. The problem it aims to solve is making an app that is more fun for kids to learn from while making it interactive and user friendly. It is also a newer form of learning for kids, using AR, most educational apps are not like this one and also does not have as much content within it.
Some advantages is it's a new form of learning which makes things exciting. Teachers and parents can use the app to teach kids and it seems to be very easy for kids to use. Some disadvantages is the app layout and graphics does look dated, it does not have any reviews on the Apple App Store and it takes up a lot of storage space on a device.
This app can be downloaded on Android, Website, Windows, iPad, iPhone. This app is free and has no in-app purchases.
Overall, I think it is a good app to use to teach kids and it could be fun for them to interact with the content. I personally would not continue to use the app but I am also not the target market for this app. I think it is easy to use, has playfulness and can be enjoyable for kids. Its quality in graphics could be better but when it comes to kids they probably do not think of it’s quality. I would rate it a 3.5/5. It’s a nice app but I'm not sure how long a kid would continue to use it.
Lifestyle App- Lolly: Social Video Dating
This app is a mixture of TikTok and Tinder. It claims to be “A new video dating app and is the most fun way to meet people online!” The user uploads videos of themselves and you can send crushes to match with potential connections. This app was made by college senior Marc Baghadjian, 21, and Sacha Schermerhorn, 24. The makers decided to make an app because during the pandemic most young people were spending a lot of time on TikTok and Tinder so they wanted to combine the two. Users can watch videos on their feed, match with others through the content, message their matches and create a personalized profile. Its age rating is 17+ and many people seem to enjoy this new form of dating based on the ratings in the Apple App Store. With their new version you can also tag friends profiles in your post for others to see as well. They also seem to have a lot of influencers promoting the app to get more users on it.
I believe the target market is young adults, those who are in college and frequent dating app users. The problem it aims to solve is creating a new way to date or connect with people. The app came out during the pandemic and it was trying to entertain people while they explored dating life through the weird time the world was going through. Their website also says it was built by Gen Z for Gen Z.
I would say some advantages is the ability to upload videos like you can on TikTok, it makes your profile more personalized and you get to see others is a somewhat raw form compared to a picture. It is definitely a new way of dating and makes it more fun. Some of the disadvantages would be some users might not feel comfortable uploading videos of themselves and it might be hard to use in some areas. I found that if you are in a more rural area not as many people are on it compared to if you were in a large city, plus Im not sure now many people actually know about this dating app currently.
It is a free app and it can be downloaded in App Stores for Iphone and Android.
Personally, I think this app is a great idea, I had a hard time using it because where I was located there were not many other people on it at the time. Being in Pullman, I do not think many people know about the app. I do like that it allows you to be more creative but for myself I do not have many videos of myself, I tend to have more of my friends so it made it hard for me to upload content. I do like seeing other peoples videos and it very much copies the gamification and continuous scrolling of TikTok and Tinder. I do not think I would use the app again but it was fun to try out. They continue to update the app and add new features which makes the experience more enjoyable. I would rate this app a 3/5. Compared to other dating apps, it's a nice idea but I enjoy Hinge and Tinder better than this one.
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