Combining two of our favorite addictions, theTVaddict.com has begun periodically turning off the TV in order to review TV-related iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch Apps.
In need of yet another way to procrastinate from doing actual work? Love the likes of KIDNAPPED, NEWSRADIO and SEINFELD? Well, then you’re definitely going to want to check out Sony’s Pictures Entertainment’s just released Crackle App available as a universal download for your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
What Works: As advertised, Crackle takes the Crackle.com viewing experience and puts it in the palm of your hands, giving iDevice owners the opportunity to enjoy a handful of TV Addict favorites completely free of charge via 3G or Wi-Fi. What’s more, the device will remember where you left off should your viewing experience be interrupted by a pesky phone call, tedious text message or disappointing alert notifying you that your nemesis (Yes, you know who you are) in “Words with Friends” just racked up a massive triple word score (D’oh). Oh, and did we mention that, unlike Hulu Plus, Crackle doesn’t cost a thing?!
What Doesn’t: Well, aside from the fact that having free episodes of NEWSRADIO at our fingertips is pretty much the last thing those of us plagued with a ridiculously short attention span need, we can’t help but feel somewhat disappointed by the selection. Despite a handful of obvious gems (Note to movie addicts, the App also features full-length films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Karate Kid and a Few Good Men, to name a few) Crackle is a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television. Translation: Entertainment options are limited to the studios’ library. Also limited, depending on where you live of course, is the content. Which is to say, “No SEINFELD for you” if you happen to be situated, like us, outside of the good ol’ US of A. And while we’re on the subject of limitations, Airplay functionality — which gives users the opportunity to stream videos on their big screen TV via Apple TV — would have been nice.
Bottom Line: Minor quibbles aside, do you really think we’d have anything negative to about one of thew Apps on iTunes that delivers high quality Hollywood content at absolutely no cost to the user?
CRACKLE is available as a free download on iTunes. 