Bow cam – Review

Our rating:

By: MOVIDA Inc.

Version #: 1.0

Date Released: 2008-10-18

Developer:

Price: 0.99

User Rating:

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I have to admit, I bought this application for only one reason — I did not want to label it a crApp App without actually trying it first.

It seemed like an awfully safe bet, however. I mean, come on, an application that makes a barking sound so that you can get your dog’s attention and take a picture?!

Then again, having an incredibly camera shy golden retriever myself, I figured it couldn’t hurt to try it. I also figured that the timing was right, since we are running a kennel at home this week. Instead of our small 56 pound golden retriever, we have over 150lbs of dogs running around right now since our golden’s cousin is here for the week.

So I bought the app and tried it-

The application is simply the familiar camera interface with an additional button. When you hit the button it plays the sound of a dog barking. That’s it. The idea is that you hit that button, wait a second to get your dog’s attention, and snap the picture.  Sure, you could just call your dog’s name, but that doesn’t seem to work with my dog. Oh, and I should mention that the app comes not with one or two different dog barking sounds but over 10 different ones ranging from a little bark of yappy dog (hate that one), to a big bruiser sounding dog. Now that’s value!

I hit the button and my iPhone made the sound of a dog barking, and our guest promptly… ignored me. I tried again and had the same result. Then I decided to change the sound.  I mean, after all, I did get 10 different dog barks when I bought the application. So I picked a different barking effect and tried again. Would you believe he actually turned and looked right at me. I snapped this picture.

Okay, so it worked with him. Then again, while he’s the sweetest dog in the world, he’s also not the brightest dog biscuit in the box.

Then I tried it with my dog. She is also quite sweet but at the same time she is also incredibly manipulative, sometimes bordering on cunning. I hit the button and she looked at me. I hit the button again and she looked at me. I started walking away and she started following me because she wanted to know what was in my hand making the sound.

All of this is a long-winded way of saying —

Dear developer, my apologies — as incredibly dumb as your application sounds, at least with the two dogs in my house this evening, it actually works.

Quick Take

Value:  as shocked as I am to admit —  high
Would I Buy Again:  since my dog tends to be camera shy I actually would
Learning Curve:  zero
Who is it for:  anyone is stupid enough to buy an application like this because I wanted a picture of their dog  (in other words, me)
What I like:  it actually worked
What I Don’t:  the embarrassment  I feel in having to admit that
Final Statement:  what can I say, the application actually worked with the two dogs with whom I tried it.