First off, Happy St. Patrick’s Day from O’Grady’s PowerPage!
I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to tie the holiday into a post, but then I ran across iBeer Free. I’m not sure this is the type of app that gets used on a regular basis, but it can be fun to pull out as a fun way to demonstrate how the iPhone’s accelerometer works. As you can imagine, the app turns your iThing into a virtual glass of beer, or other beverages via in-app purchases. Tilting your iPhone to your mouth as you would a glass makes the simulated beer magically drain away as if you had consumed a refreshing beverage. By default, you get to choose between four simulated types of beers and some green mouthwash, which at first I thought an odd addition, but then I realized it would be perfect for St. Paddy’s Day to give the appearance of chugging some green beer. For $0.99 you can get rid of the ads (highly recommended) which also adds coffee to your list of beverages.
The simulation is quite good, with an accurate pouring sound effect followed by a fizzing sound until you “drink” the beer. Frankly, the fizz is more appropriate for sodas, which is another in-app purchase option, and it sounds a little more like static rather than carbonation. You can also swipe your finger across the iPhone’s glass giving the impression that you are wiping away condensation. Also, if you lightly shake the device, it will create additional foam on the surface of your faux beverage, but be careful not to shake too hard, but I’ll let you find out what happens yourself. 😉 There is also a belch sound effect that is triggered after you chug a beer, which you can thankfully turn off, but through yet ANOTHER in-app purchase, you can add a group of simulated celebrity comments from the likes of a fake Homer Simpson, Sean Connery, and Gordon Ramsey, just to name a few. Fortunately you can preview them before purchasing, but some are kind of amusing. Lastly, if you can believe it, there is a social component to the app that allows you to fill up someone else’s virtual glass using Game Center. You can also use two devices to make it appear as though one is pouring beer into the other. Check out the video to get a quick look at what it can do. The video’s production value is a bit over the top, but what are you going to do?
Most likely, iBeer Free will share a folder on my iPhone with the Zippo virtual lighter app that I keep around just for “emergencies”. Overall, even with the re-use factor being kind of low, I give this app a pretty good score just for the novelty of it.
As a score, I rate this 3 out of 4 “bolts”.
