Virtual Zippo for iPhone: Totally Useless and Completely Awesome

By: Hillel Fuld

Out of the 100,000 apps in the Apple App Store (can you say that ten times fast?), there are those apps that will warn you about police traps, there are those that will enable you to stay connected at all times, there are those that will give you weather reports, and then there are those like the one we are reviewing today. The Virtual Zippo Lighter app has no use, it will not make your life any easier, and I dare you to come up with a scenario in which this app provides value. Yet it was literally one of the first apps I installed on my iPod Touch, and it is on my very first home screen till today. In fact, I will go as far as to say, it is in the top 5 apps I use most on my iPod.

So, you are probably asking yourself “What is this guy, nuts?” Well I might be, but then so are millions of the other people who downloaded this app enough to make it among the App Store’s most popular apps. So what is this app and why are people downloading it if it is in fact completely useless? The answer? It is pure awesome. Let’s be honest, the iPhone/iPod Touch is an amazing device that revolutionized the mobile industry. Whether or not you are a fan of Apple’s rejection policy, or if you prefer a BlackBerry or an Android device, if you do not admit that the iPhone’s UI is revolutionary, you are kidding yourself.

So what is the point of such an awesome interface if you are not going to show it off? Find me one iPhone owner who NEVER showed off an app to their friends. This is the app for that. What does it do? The app gives you a choice of 10 or so Zippo lighters to choose from, then lets you flick it open with your finger or  by using the device’s built in accelerometer, at which point, you get a completely real life experience of a Zippo lighter including a tilting flame based on the angle of the device.

The newest version supports the ability to engrave your lighter with your choice of text, which is cool, but I think it is missing the ability to blow the flame out when blowing on the iPhone’s speaker, it has been done before, why not add that here? The flame looks completely real and believable. If you want to show your friends or family how awesome the graphics of iPhone apps can be, you can use a fancy racing game, or you can just light up the Zippo app.

Again, this app  has no practical benefits I can think of besides a good ice breaker or conversation piece. There is of course the option to show it to your mother, tell her not to touch the flame because it is hot, and enjoy a good laugh when she buys it. True story, I can’t make this stuff up!

Our Rating: 5/5 (just because I cannot give a 6 out of 5)

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Developer: Moderati

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Hillel Fuld

Hillel is a tech blogger at TechNmarketing.com as well as an active Twitter personality @hilzfuld. He writes for many other sites including Mashable.com, Bitrebels.com, and works as the Content Manager of Dailyforex.com.