You know how sometimes you get all excited about a new app
because it looks like so much fun, but when you start using it, it’s so annoying
it makes you want to hiss? That sums up our experience with Cat Bomb.
The basics
Cat Bomb is an app that lets you “photobomb with cats for
IG, FB, Snapchat.” In other words, it adds cats to your photos. This is a noble
goal, we think, because what photo wouldn’t benefit from the addition of a cat
or two? You can even replace people’s heads with cats’ heads for that “cat in a
business suit” or “cat in overalls” effect. At least, supposedly you can.
When you open the app on your iPhone, you have the option of
opening an existing photo on your device or taking a new one. Then you click the
plus sign to go to the menu of available cats. All well and good, and you
select a cat from the 15 that are available in the free pack. You select, say, the handsome tuxedo cat in the bottom row. But oh no ... you then find out that you can’t have that one—not
until you give the app a five-star review! An app you haven’t even used yet, and
it wants a five-star review already!
Everyone say it with me, “Hiss!”
Here, Real Cat Paisley is photobombed by the paltry three cats that are actually free in Cat Bomb. |
Turns out the only cats you can use without doing a review
are the first three. The others in the “free” pack require a review—of five stars.
Just to clarify, if you are required to give something in exchange for
something else, technically it isn’t free.
Beyond the “free” cats, the app also includes six packs of cat
photos, available for 99 cents each. There’s a Fat Pack (fat cats), a Kittens
Pack, and a Cat Heads Pack (which has those neat heads you can add to people’s
bodies or whatever). We didn’t try any of these because we were so annoyed by
the free pack, but in principle we don’t object to paying for extras in an app
or for the full version of a “lite” app we enjoy. We do understand that
app developers have to pay their rent and stock their fridges like the rest of
us. And I will say that the actual cat photos available are really cute, so we
can see having a lot of fun with them.
Our verdict
We love the concept of Cat Bomb—it sounds like a lot of fun,
and the cat photos are cute. However, we really think the developers (Visual Playground
Apps) should rethink their restriction on the “free” pack. At the very least,
they should make it clear when you open the pack that only the first three cats
are free. Currently, you don’t find that out until you click on one of the
non-free cats. This, wethinks, is deceptive. And asking for a five-star review
right off the bat is just too much. We don’t give five-star reviews on apps
that demand them. What we do with those apps is delete them and give them
For the record, Cat Bomb is available for iOS
devices. We played on an iPhone 7.
A
note on the "Paws Up" system: Miss C gives either one or two paws up.
One paw is for a good app; two paws is for a great app. She never gives three
or four paws because that would require her to lie on her back...and Miss C does not do that!
Hmm, we always want anything to do with cats to work 100%, so it's so disappointing that this app is too weird. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the honest review. It sure sounds like a cute app, too bad there are downsides :(
ReplyDeleteIt sounded good in theory, but I would be annoyed by the deception too. Sometimes I think that those that create some of this stuff are out of touch with what consumers really want.
ReplyDeleteIt would be improved if you were one of the cats :)
ReplyDeleteHmph ... we think the Cat Bomb people should use Paisley's picture! These other kitties don't hold a candle to her gorgeous tortie-ness!
ReplyDelete