App 1 (Educational)
Elevate-Brain Training
The first app that I chose to review was Elevate- Brain Training. Elevate was made by Elevate Labs. Their CEO, Jesse Pickard, lives in San Francisco and graduated from Syracuse University in 2006. Elevate is an educational app that focuses on “brain training”. The app includes several categories of educational games. The categories include writing, speaking, reading, math and memory. When you first download the app, the user must complete a self assessment so that the app can tailor itself to your learning goals. The app tracks your progress in each category, and provides the user with a daily “custom workout” which consists of an assortment of games based off of the users learning goals. Each game focuses on building a specific skill from each category, such as reading comprehension or memory. There is also a learning tab where short lessons are offered.
The product's target market is likely young adults. Most of the games are fairly easy to use, but could be difficult for the elderly. The sleek design is appealing to the younger demographic. The problem that the app aims to solve is to develop skills based on the categories previously mentioned. If the algorithm in the app notices a deficiency in one of the categories, the app is meant to help the user practice the skills they are deficient in. Many young adults do not have extra time or money to enroll in classes to develop those skills, so this is an alternative for that issue.
This app excels above many other apps that are similar by having a clean interface and utilizing gamification heavily. Other educational apps are more text heavy and are not fun to use. The mini games are fun to play, and there is a real sense of progression. The daily challenges only take a few minutes to complete but I found myself seeking out more games to play. The progression system includes badges and shows your progress on each game. It keeps track of how you score on each game and compares it to your previous games. The app does not compare you to others which could be discouraging for the user. It only compares you to your previous scores.
Elevate can be downloaded on either the Apple App Store or the Google Play store on Android. There is a free seven day trial, and then $4.99 for 1 month or $39.99 for a year for the pro version. There is also a free version that includes less features.
This app exceeded my expectations. I typically only use educational apps out of necessity, but this app was fun and educational. I love the progression system, and I felt like the app helped me improve in some areas that I wanted to improve in. The gamification is really well done. Using the app doesn’t feel like work at all. I would rate this app 5/5 stars.
App 2 (Lifestyle)
Posture Pal
Posture Pal is an app that tracks your head movements and provides the user with a notification when it thinks that your posture needs to be corrected. It plays an annoying noise when it notices that your head is tilted down, because it believes this to be an indication that your posture is bad. Posture Pal was made by Good Snooze, a developer who has also made a few other apps to promote accessibility.
The product's target market is people with poor posture. The app runs in the background and uses the gyroscope in some earbuds to track your head's position. The app is likely targeted towards younger people, because the app features a cartoon giraffe that mimics the movements of the user. This app is not meant to be looked at for an extended amount of time, and is best used in the background while doing other things. Even when using other apps, the noise still plays if you are looking down.
This app's main advantage over other apps is that it does not require as much effort to use. Other apps require the user to do exercises or buy external devices to hook up to yourself to monitor your posture. There are a few downsides of this app. The earbuds that are used have to have a gyro in them, so this app will not work for many people. It works only on select apple products. Another downside is that the app only tracks your head's movement, and not your spine. This means that if you look down for any reason, the app will play a noise. For example, if you have to tie your shoe, the app will think that you’re slouching and will play a noise at you until you are done.
The app is only available for Iphones on the Apple App store. There is a free version, which I would recommend over the paid version. The paid version only adds slight customization to the background of the app, which you won’t see anyway because it is meant to be used in the background. The paid version is around $4.
Finally, the reviewer offers their own perspective and opinion on the solution's usefulness, playfulness, quality and enjoyability of user experience.
It’s a great concept, but lacking in some areas. It is inaccessible for those who don’t have certain earbuds. You also have to keep your earbuds in while it monitors you, which can get annoying. The head tracking giraffe is a fun idea, but this app is best used in the background while you use other apps. The main drawback is the fact that it doesn’t always accurately monitor your posture, which is the one thing this app should do well. It also turns off if you don’t open the app after a while. If you want an app with a giraffe that nags you while you’re trying to tie your shoe then this is the app for you. I would give this app 2 out of 5 stars.
App 3 (game)
WHATTHEGOLF
What the Golf is a golfing game. Every level has different gameplay mechanics. It is made by Triband. Triband is a comedy games studio in Copenhagen, Denmark. The app is made up of a ton of levels, each with a different and unexpected gimmick.
The products target demographic is most likely children or young adults. The game's tagline is “golf for people who hate golf”. The game changes its mechanics constantly to break up the monotony of golf.
What the Golf is different from any other golfing games that I have played. As previously stated, every level has different mechanics. The constant changes in gameplay keep this game extremely fun and exciting. Other golf games have variations in courses, but after a while it gets boring.
What the Golf can be downloaded on Steam for $20, on Apple Arcade with a monthly subscription, Nintendo Switch for $20, and on Epic games for $20.
I loved this game. Each level is extremely creative and fun to play. I found myself hooked on this game because I always wanted to know what level comes next. There are a few levels that I didn’t like, and the difficulty of the levels fluctuates a lot. This is a very well made game, though. I don’t like golf, so I wasn’t expecting to like this game. I was pleasantly surprised by this game, and I would give it a 5 out of 5 stars.
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