It's funny how one of the first apps I looked for when the App Store first opened was a unit converter. It's not that I do unit conversions everyday, however when you need one you need one. So I found one that worked pretty good and I stuck with it. I mean after all, a unit converter either works or it doesn't. It's like a calculator. Back then I thought only thing that separated one from another was the various conversions available. The one I had did all the types of conversions I needed so I wasn't really shopping for a new one.
What makes one converter better than another? The Interface!
Once I really started getting into apps I could really see that although you might have a basic utility that does the job, user interface plays a very big role. For example, look at the number of tip calculators out there (by the way my favorite is BigTipper). Calculating a tip and splitting bills is pretty basic stuff. So what separates one from another is the interface and the speed at which you can use the app. This is what led me to Convertbot. Convertbot is actually FUN to use because of the user interface.
UI (user interface) matters!
After all I already had a unit converter that worked fine. So why would I go buy a new one? Because I wanted one that was easier, faster and more fun to use. When you use a unit converter the first thing you have to do is set it to the type of conversion you want to do. Convertbot gives you a nice easy to use wheel to get to any of the conversions that are in the app. One of the things that makes this app faster to use is that you can turn off conversion that you'll never use in the preferences.
You can also turn off individual items in each conversion category. For example, in the Currency converter you can turn off things like Japanese Yen if you will never need to do that conversion. That way it's one less thing in the wheel of choices when you're using the app.
Conversion Categories (over 440 different Units supported):
- Angle
- Area
- Currency (updated over the internet when you launch the app)
- Data Rate
- Data Size
- Force
- Fuel
- Illuminance
- Length
- Mass
- Power
- Pressure
- Radioactivity
- SI
- Speed
- Temperature
- Time
- Typography
- Volume
- Work
It's Fun
Each time you launch Convertbot these big metal doors open with a cool startup sound (yes you can turn off the sounds).
A surprise -- there's a calculator
I didn't notice this option right away, but there is also a built-in calculator that's actually off by default. However, I can't count the number of times I've done a conversion in my other apps and then had to launch the calculator app to continue my calculations. it's GREAT having this built-in now to one app!
The Bottom Line
Unit Conversion apps can be quite boring as an app category goes. So it's refreshing to see a developer put some energy in making an app like this fun to use with a great user interface. If you need a unit converter, this is it!
You can get Convertbot here from the App Store:
UPDATE! Just got word that 1.5 was submitted to the App Store and should be available soon. Here's the feature list of what's new in the update.
Convertbot
Convertbot is a unit converter offering several conversion categories and has a very slick user interface that is customizable.
- Convertbot
- Tapbots
- Get on App Store
- $0.99
All info was collected on 13th January, 2010 when the app was reviewed.
About Terry White
Terry is the co-author of The Best Selling "The iPhone Book" 1st, 2nd and 3rd editions. He has been active in the industry for over 25 years and is the founder and president of MacGroup-Detroit, Inc., Michigan's largest Macintosh Users Group, host of the Adobe Creative Suite Podcast and a technology writer - Terry White Tech Blog.
It is one very stylish app indeed!
Terry,
Does it do time in decimal or in actual hours:minutes?
'Cause I hate decimal when I want hr:min!
You have the option to do either
So you’re all set.