iTunes: Pump the jam

When quitting the iTunes desktop application it remembers the location of the volume slider. If the volume is currently turned all the way down when a user quits, then when the application launches this window appears:

The message: 'The iTunes volume is currently is turned all the way down. To change the volume, drag the slider at the top of the iTunes window.' 

Where do I drag it?

Angry Birds, Go Karts and Car Insurance

Angry Birds has deployed another addicting game, Angry Birds Go! They are very strategic about getting me to come back for my daily hit - I mean reward. 

Soon, the app included sponsored boosts from State Farm. During a race, as my kart was damaged, the State Farm performs a medic type action and revitalizes the kart. 

 

It is a pretty handy feature and it aligns with the brand message of fixing my car when broken.

The typical flow of choosing a race is a loading screen with a promo banner. Usually it is a Rovio ad of some kind. This time it was an interactive promo banner appears.

I could change the paint job of the illustration (note: it doesn't change your actual kart) and the caption reads:  "Round the curves in a custom ride! At State Farm®, 

we provide drivers with coverage as unique as they are."

I knew from previous experience with the app that the orange button in the lower right corner would take me to the race. So, I tapped the 'Learn More' in the lower right of the banner. This is what appeared:

Usability, all good. 

As a marketer, I was let down. The landing page was not a themed. At the very least the message should have been consistent with the call to action from the promo banner. 

Contact Sheet Fail

I was using Adobe Bridge to generate a 4x5 Contact Sheet of 160 images. This message appeared. 

Apparently it processed the contact sheet successfully with image that ARE supported. Yet I am left to wonder which images WERE NOT supported. Some. Since it did not indicate which files were not supported, nor which file types are supported, I had to manually reconcile the output.

Please indicate, of the selected files, which were not supported image files.

GasBuddy iOS app - User Interface Tour

The instructional overlay appears every time I open the app. Fortunately it closes by tapping anywhere on the screen. I wonder why they used a bracket to call out the function of two buttons. 

The 'By Price' feature is slightly confusing. At first I thought perhaps a drop-up window would appear. Rather it caused the list to change order so my first assumption was that it sorted the list from least to most expensive. That theory was upended when I noticed the label changed to 'By Distance.'

At this point I was annoyed. I couldn't determine if the label represented the list or that it indicated the list I would see if tapped. Since then I noticed the list is now titled to clear up the confusion of the toggle. 

No critical usability errors here, and in the end you can scope out how much you're about to pay and how cheap gas is on the other side of town. Get your GasBuddy app here: http://www.gasbuddy.com/GasBuddyMobileApps.aspx