Fandango - Iphone App Review

Fandango (Free)

REVIEW- Buying tickets on your computer is so last year!

There are so many free apps that show you what movies are playing in theatres and where and when you can go to see them in your town. But what about apps that let you buy your tickets before you go? That's right, with this entry into the app store, Fandango puts the ability to buy movie tickets in the palm of your hand, wherever you go.

When you open up Fandango for iPhone, you are greeted with an interface that is probably at least somewhat familiar if you have used one of the many apps for keeping up on movie times and places. At the bottom of the screen are three buttons: Movies, Theaters and My Account. You start on the Movies page. On this page you see all of the movies that are currently playing in theaters. At the top of the screen is a toggle button to switch between that screen and the Coming Soon screen, where you can preview Movies that are on their way to theaters. Clicking on a movie title brings up information on that movie, showtimes, and gives you the option of playing a trailer for that movie.

The next option from the bottom menu is the Theaters button. From here you can see what movies are playing, and at what times for a specific theater. At the top of the screen you will see a toggle switch for All Theaters or Favorites. This allows you to show all of the theaters in your area, or to show a list of your favorite theaters. Adding your own custom favorites is extremely simple. All you have to do is choose a theater by clicking on it, and then click the heart shaped button in the upper right corner. This is an excellent feature that is not found in most programs like this one.

All of those things are cool, but if you're like me, they're just icing on the cake. I was looking at this app as a way to purchase movie tickets directly for my iPhone. I am happy to be able to tell you that the interface for purchasing tickets is incredibly easy and intuitive. There is even an option to save your credit card onto your iPhone so you can skip that step when you go to buy tickets. I would not recommend it though, because if someone were to steal your phone, they might just decide to take a trip to the movies on you! Thankfully there is no way to retrieve the information out of the app at least, so they wouldn't be able to use your credit card for anything else.

The last button doesn't have too much to it. The My Account settings just allows you to set up the current zip code that the app looks for movies in, your credit card information and your Fandango.com account if you have one. It also tracks your purchase history if you have any on another page accessed by touching the toggle switch that appears at the top of the screen.

In summary, this app really offers reduced functionality compared to the features of most apps in this genre, with the exception of ticket purchasing. Unfortunately, because there are relatively few theaters that actually support this feature (only 1 in the Oklahoma City Area) this feature is relatively useless. I love the interface, and it gives you basic, simple information you need to decide on a movie, but the deal-breaker (at least for me) is the fact that the only theater I can buy tickets for is over a 30 minute drive from my house. And so, as much as I want to recommend this app, I cannot until they get a larger movie theater support base.

- David H.
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