App of the Week - Ausflugsziele der Schweiz for Windows 8

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Today I put an app under review that shows you event places for all kinds of activities all around Switzerland. "Ausflugsziele der Schweiz" is the name of the app which is your inspiration if you don't know what to do the next weekend. Supporting a nice Windows 8 style interface using semantic zoom and snap view functionality, the app is intended to show you places you might prefer in an easy and comfortable way. The app is quite new on the Windows Store and I want to get a bit deeper into detail in terms of pro's and cons in the following lines.

What I like about the app:

  • There really are a useful hand of categories and places. Places are basically ordered by categories and most of the places are directly shown on the starting page. The Windows 8 like look and feel is just right and you can see places as small tiles containing pictures of the locations.
  • Surprisingly there are not only places - There's also an 'Open Airs' category where you can browse through open air festivals. Unfortunaltey there are only 3 by now.
  • I really like the idea of the filtering function which pops out if you do a right-click. Here you can specify your preferences like the time you want to investigate to drive to the location, or how much the day should cost. If the location is dependent on opening times it will be filtered based on your specification on what day you want to get there. In addition to these features there is also an 'interest' filter how I like to call it. Here you can choose what your activity should be like. Do you prefer silence over action? Nature over technology? Or culture over fun? Your results can be specified by setting these 3 sliders. By any of those filters, all tiles will automatically filter out and sort based on your preferences.

 

What I dont' like (until now):

  • The admission prices are not correct: Until now every location is marked as "cost-free". Obviously there is a lack of data. So why not just hide the information where the information is missing?
  • Since there seems to be a lack of information I cannot tell or rather rely on the opening times of activity locations. Here I suggest you consume the website of the event location first. Unfortunately there are no links to their pages. You can easily reach the website if you pop out the app bar by a right click in the details screen
  • I'm missing more Open Airs! Especially if there will be more sometimes, I expect the opening times to be correct which, in my view is the most important information. For example, the opening time of the OpenAir St. Gallen for 2013 is currently wrong. 

Here is my final conclusion:
The app is really nice to look and to browse through. I have an instant overview over the different things I can do and where I can go. I can browse through the information in different manners - either by looking at a map, browsing through categories or even using filters. The idea of the app is great and this is the reason I have chosen it. In contrast as already mentioned, there is a lack of data and sometimes the information is incorrect. What I expect here are simply updates. If the developer gets it right, the app might really be a nice to have. I think you should all have a look at it and give it a try. As the interest rises, the support might increase

  

 Feel free to comment!

  

 Remo - MSP Bern