Review: Britain's Got Talent
Score:
70%
In the depths of winter, ITV subject the United Kingdom to The X Factor, a rowdy show where people cast votes so that judges can decide which of the two unpopular candidates they will save each week because they'll probably sell more MP3s come Christmas time. And in the summer months, they do exactly the same, except jugglers can be involved, and it's called Britian's Got Talent.
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Freemantle Media has now provided Symbian users with a way to keep up to date with what's happening on the show with their "Britain's Got Talent" Qt based application. But here's the question. Is it any better than their attempt at The X-Factor application from last year?
It's a no from me.
Being honest, the BGT application is faster and more responsive, but there's a simple answer to why this is the case. Symbian^3 is far better at running Qt applications that the Symbian S60v5 handsets. So at least the user experience is improved and shouldn't scare people away with an sluggish pile of code.
What users do get (assuming they're on one of the later Symbian devices) is "the web as an application", providing them the latest news from the contest, and a bundle of pictures taken especially for the application. It's all very nice, and in a previous ife would happily live on a website or micro-site. Now, of course, the mantra is go where the readers are, and in the modern world, that means app stores.
But it's not just old fashioned articles, there's interactivity on offer here as well, with your own version of the famous judges' buzzer - while you're watching the live show you can press the "X" buzzer at home, your phone plays the appropriate sound effect, and the tally of people online who have voted the current act off is shown on screen - you can even share your negative thoughts on Twitter and Facebook. This is a nice touch, but because of numerous SMS and phone voting poll issues in the last few years it's nothing more than a cute feature - in a utopian society this would have some impact on the show, even if it's just an on-screen "dislike" gauge.
This is not the perfect app, it feels quick and dirty, coded on a tight budget and a fast deadline. But, on the positive side, it does work, it delivers on the promise of the blurb in the store (always vital, that one), and for fans of the show, it's a quick and easy way to stay in touch with events.
And while it's utterly disposable after this weekend, while it's going to be avoided by the majority of the downloading public, for people who need to know absolutely everything there is to know about the fifth edition of BGT, it's a must have application. Take that as a recommendation or an avoid, the choice is yours.
-- Ewan Spence, May 2011.
Reviewed by Ewan Spence at