IKEA have just launched an iPhone app for their 2010 Catalogue, so I thought we’d take a look and see it if lives up to the usual IKEA hype! The IKEA iPhone app is big, with over 375 pages and comes in at a decently large 35mb download, courtesy of the tonnes of large images on show.
You can flick through page by page like you’d expect, it’s also got a nice thumbnail browse feature, but unfortunately that’s just about where the features end .
It’s basically a JPG viewer, as the app doesn’t include any interactivity or features specific to the iPhone, something I wasn’t expecting from IKEA by any means. It’s kind of hard to use, as you constantly have to zoom in / out and the most frustrating part, is that when you find something you like you can’t actually click on it for a product focused view! Instead, you have to zoom in further and scroll the the top, left or right to find the fine print that describes the item!
Now when I say no features, I mean there is no store locator, bookmarking, weblinks, phone numbers, directory or share functionality. It’s just a direct rip of the 2010 IKEA catalogue, and nothing more!
IKEA iPhone App 2010 Catalogue: The Pros
- View the entire catalogue (375+ pages)
- Quick thumbnail view
- Full images to browse
IKEA iPhone App 2010 Catalogue: The Cons
- No interactivity
- Lack of features or value adds
- Can’t download unless you’re on wi-fi (anything over 10mb)
- No store locator
- Can’t bookmark favourite items
- Doesn’t allow sharing
I guess to wrap up, it’s great they’ve actually put it into an iPhone app, it’s fantastic they included the entire catalogue and not some cut down mobile version, but customers will be disappointed with the experience and lack of functionality for what is their entire 2010 cataglogue.
It desperately needs an individual product view so you can click on items for more info. While I think it’s critical to include share functionality, as people tend to share from their mobile like they are text messaging their loved ones! And to not have a store locator seems almost criminal to me?!
I guess it all comes down to budget, which this probably didn’t have much of, but it really feels like a massive missed opportunity and something that I wouldn’t have expected from IKEA!
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December 14th, 2009 at 7:38 am
The app also needs some kind of augmented reality functionality, so you can see what the pieces would look like in your place.
December 14th, 2009 at 8:16 am
Hmmmmm, not sure if I like this at all.
The only advantages I see is that for those people that download the app, IKEA will be in a lot of peoples pockets over the festive season.
Sharing a hardcopy catalogue is difficult/impossible unless you physically carry 375 pages around in your bag. Sharing in this instance I assume is if IKEA comes up in conversation, specific item mentioned, your mate turns to you and says have a look at the catalogue on my iphone and so the word spreads. Hardly measurable??
Is this the end of the print industry? Catalogues turning to mobile apps? Can this app be replicated for other mobile devices? Waste of money IKEA, you much better than that….
December 16th, 2009 at 8:37 am
I agree, I think this is quite disappointing. I can understand that perhaps Ikea are testing the waters. However, with a brand like Ikea’s they should also realise there’s a lot of expectation. Store locator’s etc would have been a simple edition and an easy link in with Google Maps perhaps.
The Sports Illustrated example for the Apple tablet will hopefully get a lot of brands thinking. It simply isn’t good enough to take print pdf’s and stick them online or in an app. Print does it better. Adapt the product so if fits the medium and take advantage of the benefits the medium offers.
Still, good to see them trying it out. Hopefully there won’t be too much disappointment and next season’s catalogue will come with a lot more features.
July 30th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
another ikea app concept http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuQNVYdS6Zg