Review: McDonalds Finder
Score:
70%
There are huge applications, sprawling labyrinths of functions, coupled with perfect form (Steve will no doubt be along with one of those later today) but right now I want to show you a fast application, in the modern "single function app" mode that is so prevalent on smartphones. And it's for fast food. Yes, welcome to Symbian, the McDonalds Finder!
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Simple in the extreme, if you want to hit the golden arches in real life, hit the golden arches icon on your phone. You can input your location or a postcode (perhaps as a recce of somewhere you are visiting?), but it's far easier to rely on the geo-location in your smartphone to work out where you are.
Tick some of the filters (for example, show me branches with free Wi-Fi and Baby Changing facilities) and hit 'search'. Up comes a list, tap on the one you like and there's a button marked 'directions'. Is this going to be a complicated solution, using Open Maps, route planning nodes, making sure that I don't walk past a Burger King?
Nope, this is an application with simplicity baked in. It opens up Nokia Maps and simply highlights the location, allowing me to choose the Drive To or Walk To options in the leading mapping software on mobile today. With hindsight, this was the obvious thing to do. It works well and keeps the user in a comfortable place (rather than trying to figure out another mapping interface on their handset).
And that's it.
There are a lot of single function applications out there, and while some of them aren't as polished as this, they have a growing impact on the ecosystem (and also drive those huge numbers of downloads and content that every app store loves). Just like the restaurants it finds, the McDonalds Finder app does what it says on the tin, gets you to a Big Mac as quickly as possible, slices some money out of your pocket, and leaves you to get on with your life.
I don't think "recommended" is the right phrase here, but it's close. How about "it just works"?
-- Ewan Spence, July 2011.
Reviewed by Ewan Spence at