App it Up: iJellyfish
by at July 7, 2009 6:57 am
Sections: iPhone, iPhone OS, SDK and hacks, iPhone/iPod touch/iPad, iPod, iPod touch, Originals
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Developer: Global Net Value Co.
Requirements: iPhone OS 2.2.1 or later
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod Touch
File Size: 2.7MB
What is it?
iJellyfish gives you pretty much what you’d expect from the title; it’s a virtual aquarium populated solely by jellyfish.
How does it work?
iJellyfish is meant to relax you, and I get that. There’s something about the glow and slow-motion movement of jellyfish that always tends to calm me when I’m at that exhibit of the aquarium. It may have more to do with the dim lights and often ethereal music that aquariums play near the jellyfish exhibit, but it works. Unfortunately, that’s something iJellyfish is missing. There is no audio, aside from a harsh chime when you make your color selections. Some airy new age music could’ve really rounded out the effect of this app. You can play your own music in the background, but I don’t have much use for jellyfish music when I’m not looking at jellyfish, so there’s just nothing appropriate on my iPhone. (I do have both albums by the band Jellyfish, but I find that just doesn’t fit.)
In app, you’re left with the ability to control the color of the jellyfish, the background color, the lighting effects (tint, more or less), and the number of jellyfish. Once you’ve made your selections, the jellyfish float around the screen. That’s pretty much it. You can touch them to send them scooting towards the top. Shaking the phone generally has the same effect. If you tilt the phone, the jellyfish tilt with it.
Features
App it Up, Sum it Up
iJellyfish could’ve been really cool if the developers had put some more time into it. As it stands, it’s fun to look at for a moment or two, but fails in its claim to be a relaxation app. Most of us need to relax for more than the couple of minutes you can spend with iJellyfish before you get bored. The visuals are great and are cool to show off to people, but visuals alone don’t justify the purchase of an app.
Cost – $4.99
Worth the Money? – No, not at $4.99. But if they price is ever lowered to around $0.99, it’s worth checking out.
Availability – Now, at the iTunes App Store.
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