Review: Glastonbury 2011
Score:
90%
Back when T.Rex played the first Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, it was easy to keep track of the eight acts that were playing what has turned out to be one of the largest open are music festivals in the world. In 2011, it's a little bit harder (the number of acts, singers, comedians, buskers and hangers on is in the thousands... plus The Wombles). Perhaps UK network Orange's mobile guide to Glastonbury 2011 will replace your paper guide, whether you are heading to the farm or watching it live on the BBC? The short answer is yes, by the way.
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Orange have form already in applications that boost their marketing efforts with their "Orange Wednesday" movie application that actually turned out to be genuinely useful, so their partnership with "Glasto" means that a Glastonbury application is a natural fit across their portfolio of smartphones - Apple and Android versions are also available, but naturally they're not using Qt. Neither do you need to be on Orange to download or use this - just grab it from the Ovi Store or Orange's Glastonbury mini-site.
So what do you get? Much like a printed programme, you have the schedule for the three days of the Festival, a map of all the stages and facilities, the latest news about the Festival, and, most importantly, a personal planner.
This works in conjunction with the schedule part of the application. Once you find a band you like (in this case "The Naked & Famous"), tap on them in the schedule to bring up a toolbar at the bottom of the screen, where you get a star icon that lets you add them to your list of bands to see, alongside a Map button so you can see where they are playing, an option to set an alarm to make sure you don't miss them, and a (post to) Facebook button so everyone can get jealous that you'll be seeing James Vincent McMurrow.
You'll also see a personal time-line at the top of the schedule with the acts that you have noted down so you can see where the clashes are, or just how quick you need to run to catch Darwin Deez. I love this part of the application, partly because it really is quick and easy to use, but also because it's so focussed on the event. It's quick to browse through, spot what you want and mark it - you can worry about your schedule and timings afterwards.
What's less appealing is that if you've never heard of Darwin Deez (which I'm guessing is 99% of the readers of this review, and maybe 40% of the Glastonbury audience) there's no way to find out any more about him. Given the app has been coded to provide as much functionality as possible while off-line, there's an argument that streaming a music track is outside the remit, but I can't see an argument to not have even basic biography data and a link back to a website that launches the web browser. A missed trick there, I think.
The sole outbound connection you can make is to share a gig time on Facebook. Which is nice, but feels more like a way to try and make the app go viral, rather than a helpful function for users.
Inbound data is a different matter. Not only is the whole schedule downloaded to your phone, but incremental updates (as the program is updated, altered or simply new acts announced) are pulled in from over the air, guaranteeing you always have the up to date time and place of every band - a huge advantage over a paper program. I love that it recommends you get to 3G or Wi-Fi for the first time you download the schedule!
You've also got a news area which will keep you up to date in the run up to the Festival and during the three day music event. It's quite quiet now, but I expect this to be rather busy as the big days approach.
The inclusion of a map is an obvious one, but there's more here than just a big image that you can scroll and zoom through, that helps you navigate around the 80 plus stages. Right now, with a week to go, it's nice to familiarise yourself with the layout, but once Glastonbury gets underway, two new features will be switched on - Mood maps and 'Now & Next'.
For individuals, the Mood map function that will let you tell the world how much you are enjoying an act by sharing your mood on Facebook, and these will be collated into a "heat map" of how happy the crowds are over Glastonbury as a whole, as well as on each individual stage. I can imaging a lot of PR people will be watching this for an instant survey of the crowd reaction as "Remember You're A Womble" starts playing.
Each stage will also receive a "Now and Next" feature, where you can simply glance at your phone and get an immediate overview of what you're missing and about to miss. All you need to do is tap a stage on the map for the details to pop up. Fast and invaluable.
This is probably one of the best mobile guides to an event that I have seen (and I've seen a few). Orange, and developers Future Platforms, have done a cracking job on this, and I'd love to see a similar app for other events I attend. The Edinburgh Fringe is crying out for something this slick.
Is this a must have? It most definitely is if you're attending the Festival itself, which is the main reason it's picked up a score of 90 here. It doesn't need a lot of power (staying offline, with cached data most of the time) but if you need a top up charge then Orange have supplied Chill and Charge tents around the Festival (check the map in the application to find them).
If you're not at the Festival, then there is one other case where it might be useful (outside of being a great case study for other developers and event organisers), and that's if you're following the music on the BBC. I've tried looking for the schedule on the BBC website and it's nowhere near as clear, simple and fun as this Glastonbury App. I'll settle down in my garden, put a telly in the shed window, have the Scottish weather rain on me, and I'll have everything you would expect from Glasto.
And the application that gives me the confidence to be guided through it.
-- Ewan Spence, June 2011.
Oh yes, links to the bands mentioned here... James Vincent McMurrow, Darwin Deez, The Naked and Famous and The Wombles. I'd also suggest you check out The Horrors and Noah and the Whale.
Reviewed by Ewan Spence at