The top five watch apps for iPhone
By The Prodigal Fool, published on 22 July 2010
You’re reading The Prodigal Guide so we’re going to take a wild guess here: you like watches and you like gadgets. Well, what about watches on your gadgets? Of course, why not right? What’s not to like!? So today, we’d like to introduce you to the top five watch apps for the iPhone.
The watch industry has been uncharacteristically nimble in producing apps to showcase their products. Almost as soon as the App Store opened up to third parties, the various high-end watch brands started to make their presence felt there.
Unfortunately, the results have been mixed at best. Too many of the resulting apps ended up being nothing more than a few photos of the brand’s current collection with minimal added value. There are a few – and we think we’ve found the five best – that deliver something more: something novel, informative or entertaining.
So here goes:
At number 5 – TAG Heuer’s Monaco V4
This nifty little app comes in last simply because it’s something of a one trick pony, focussing as it does only on the Monaco V4. But, hey, if you’re going to focus on only one model in Heuer’s portfolio, the Monaco is surely the one right?
The app has all the information you could ever want about the latest iteration of the mythical Monaco as well as various little snippets on the history of the model too.
The information is delivered in text, photos and video. It’s slick, well presented and easy to navigate.
Would we pay for it? No, but luckily there’s no need to. It’s free. Will it stay on our iPhone? Actually yes – it’s served us a couple of times already when we wanted some TAG intelligence.
At number 4 – IWC
This app caught our attention the moment we fired it up and were presented with an intro screen filled by a Big Pilot’s watch, running and showing the current time.
From there on in, it’s pretty standard stuff: photos and information about all the models in the current portfolio, access to the list of authorised retailers and a couple of obvious extras like some screensavers for your phone.
How does the app make this list then you ask? How does it distinguish itself from the crowd? Well, it has a clever little card up its sleeve. Or near yours to be precise. You see, with the help of the iPhone’s camera, it allows you to virtually try on any IWC in the current collection. Snap a photo of your wrist, and the app can then superimpose the IWC of your dreams right onto it. For normal people, like Mrs Fool, this proved profoundly unmoving but for watch geeks like us? Hours of fun.
This one’s a keeper and, like the TAG Monaco app, it’s free.
At number 3 – Panerai
Like the IWC offering, the Panerai app opens with a splash screen showing a Luminor Marina displaying the correct time. Striking. And, OK, to fools like us, ever so slightly exciting.
After that, it’s so far, so familiar. You get photos (some of which you can rotate) and short descriptions of the current portfolio, a list of the official Panerai stores worldwide (together with photos, contact details and a map for each) and a section called Highlights that showcases news and some facts about the watches. Interesting without being earth-shattering.
What earns the plucky Panerai app its proud third place is the last tab in the app: Panerai Fun. This contains a nifty little game called Panerai Memory. This is the classic memory test: 16 cards lie face down, each has a Panerai watch on the front. By turning them over one by one you have to make pairs. Novel and – unintentional no doubt – also a highlight of how closely these damn Panerais resemble each other!
The game alone makes this one a keeper and, again, it’s free so why not?
At number 2 – Jaeger-LeCoultre
We’re very close to the top spot of our list now so what does an app have to do to earn its place so high on the podium? Well, in the case of the Jaeger-LeCoultre app the answer is simple: it genuinely educated us.
While all the apps we’ve looked at so far are product catalogues in disguise – dressed up with electronic bells and video whistles – the Jaeger-LeCoultre app really does go one step beyond that.
Like the previous apps, if you want to find a current model JLC, fear not, they’re all here with photos and long descriptions. But it’s telling that the Collection is the second tab in the app. The first one is something called Lessons. Click on this and you’re presented with a choice of six video tutorials on the watch-making process. From assembly to gem-setting, through polishing and engraving, it’s all here.
The videos are very short but there’s enough there to keep you both entertained and to teach you something.
The app is free and definitely a keeper.
At number 1 – 100 Years of Rolex
This app is a watered down version of one of the more famous of the Rolex books: Guido Mondane’s 100 Years of Rolex. It contains over 500 high quality pictures, prices guides, histories and enables you to search for a particular watch by model, by production year or by reference and value.
There is a wealth of information here, cleverly categorised and cross-referenced. It is particulalry useful if you’re out and about, on the hunt for a vintage Rolex.
Our only criticism is that there is no indication that the app is being kept up-to-date. That’s a great shame because it would add immeasurably to its appeal if things like the latest sale prices and the estimated values of the models were accurate at all times. Of course, it’s not impossible that we’ll see the app updated in the future but somehow we doubt it.
Now, like everything in life, you get what you pay for. So, the app is not free; it sells for GBP 6.99. Expensive for an app? Perhaps but dirt cheap compared to the GBP 250 or so you’d pay for the book itself.
If you’d like to know more about our favourite watch app for the iPhone, check our Fratellowatches’ in-depth review.
Still here? What are you waiting for? Get yourself off to the App Store. Don’t you know that time waits for no man?
Be Prodigal
Do you agree with the way we’ve prioritised the list? Have we missed your favourite watch app for iPhone? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
The top five watch apps for iPhone
You’re reading The Prodigal Guide so we’re going to take a wild guess here: you like watches and you like gadgets. Well, what about watches on your gadgets? Of course, why not right? What’s not to like!? So today, we’d like to introduce you to the top five watch apps for the iPhone. The watch [...]
9 Responses to “The top five watch apps for iPhone”
-
-
Thanks James, I’ll check those out.
Now, when are we going to see a QP iPhone / iPad app?
-
-
Straight-Six
22 July 2010
Am intrigued by no. 2 and love no. 1, albeit with updates.
But I don’t own an iPhone and don’t intend to. So, do I like, uh, suck it up??
-
Eh, no. You own an iPod touch right? Same thing. All of these apps will work on the iPod touch and you can download them straight from the App Store.
-
Straight-Six
22 July 2010
Ssssssh! I didn’t want anyone to know that. Besides, it sits in my closet, only coming out for weather checks..
-
-
-
Alex
22 July 2010
Another nice one is the Lange & Sohne. You can magnify the movements and admire them in all their details. Quite impressive.
-
The Tailored Watch
23 July 2010
A good list, I also quite like the watchtime and uhren magazine apps. And a different kind of app, that is a bit problematic, but has great potential is watchhunter, a search aggregator of popular forum sales boards. Very handy.
-
Ilan
26 July 2010
In my opinion, the most useful watch app is MobileTerminal, because it was the only way I could set my phone to precise time (by using the Unix command). And then I noted that the phone was losing a second a day, just like a good mechanical watch.
-
ramon
19 January 2011
LEDwatchapp application has a large selection of modern ledwatches. It provides you with detailed information about the coolest ledwatches available from Tokyoflash, Storm and Seahope. Also it’s possible to buy and use ledwatches as clock for your iPhone.
iPhone App Store (FREE):
http://itunes.apple.com/app/ledwatchapp/id410279039?mt=8
james
22 July 2010
Emerald Chronometer is worthwhile – not exactly the world’s prettiest app, but the only way I’m ever going to own a QP / Equation of Time / Alarm watch.
They also do an Ipad Observatory – am expecting that Sr. Fool will have tested this by lunchtime!