March 17 saw the launch of another app for the iOS. Pixelate 2.0 runs on the iPhone, the iPad and the iPod Touch and is touted to be another step towards the future. Pixelate allows one to change the colours of one’s walls, clothes and cars on screen. It boasts of unprecedented palates and textures in order to visualise the effects of different hues in a selected area of the image. This, however, sparks off a debate on its utility. TechCrunch for example, comes out with mixed responses, some very strongly criticising the application. “The app is horrible to use, a crime on usability. Even the featured video shows just how complicated it is to do a simple thing like changing the wall colour, how many taps/clicks? Any decent iPhone dev/UX person will tell you how pathetic the UI is, almost every UI element violates Apple’s HIG. Having to display text instructions on how to achieve the primary function is another clear sign of ‘not getting’ it.”
“TC really needs reedit/ycnews style down vote because this post would be instantly buried! Seriously Alexia, after ranting over AOL/Moviefone and now posting this is just a joke,” writes a rather upset user of TechCrunch.
Back home not many are aware of the app’s release but for those who have used it, the initial reaction is always perplexed. Nikhil Nadang, a young marketing professional feels it is not meant for the Indian consumers. “I won’t use it,” he says, adding, “Who’s got the time to work on a phone with such an app? Moreover, the entire modification work can only be done by checking it out on a big screen. Plus the effects of the app are not real and just a projection of what it can look like. The texture is not the same,” he adds.
While it has the potential to be a bit hit among teens it remains to be seen how the app will fare among other Apple consumers.