IMDb Movies and TV – Review

Our rating:

By: IMDb

Version #: 1.2

Date Released: 2010-04-01

Developer: IMDb

Price: 0.00

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When you want to look up the details of a movie or a TV show, from the biggest stars right down to the smallest crew members attached to it, you need only turn to that mecca of visual entertainment information on the Web: the Internet Movie Database, otherwise known as IMDb. Famous for its comprehensive database of movies, television shows, cast and crew members, and what have you, the Amazon-owned Web site also has an iPhone-optimized version so users of Apple’s mobile devices can now search and browse through IMDb with relative ease.

One of the first things you’ll notice in the adaptation of the site to the iPhone’s smaller real state is that there’s considerably less clutter compared with the original Web site’s general appearance. No ads, no confusing text blocks, no obtrusive images. Just the bits of information and user interface that you need for casual searching and data-acquisition.

The home screen of the IMDb app features a search bar, three main tabs for Movies, TV and People, and an editable list of shortcuts to your most frequently accessed IMDb lists. The search bar is present app-wide, that is, you can make it appear wherever you may be within the app by simply scrolling to the top of a page. This gets rid of the need to repeatedly go back to the home screen whenever you want to do another search. The Movies tab calls up a breakdown of movie-related IMDb lists, including Top 250 Movies, Oscar Best Picture Winners, and US Box Office Results. Similarly, the TV tab contains US TV Tonight, US TV Recaps, and Popular TV, while the People tab contains STARmeter, Born Today (which shows you which celebrities are born on the current day), and Born on Day (which lets you see which celebrities are born on a user-specified date). Any of the IMDb lists in either of the three tabs can be added to your shortcut list by tapping on the plus sign on the home screen or by configuring your shortcuts in the app’s settings page.

To perform a search, simply enter the name of an actor, a movie, or practically anything or anybody that has to do with the entertainment industry. A list of exact, partial and/or approximate matches will then appear, from which you can tap on the entry that you think best matches your query. The page for your desired entry will then be loaded, containing the same blocks of information found in the corresponding page on the regular IMDb site but this time they are presented in a clean and smooth vertical scrolling and horizontal navigation system. I only wish, though, that autocomplete or suggestions would appear when I’m typing in the search bar, and that message boards were supported, since it’s always fun to read and participate in them.