Hoccer Turns your iPhone and Android Phone Into A Frisbee!
By: @Hilzfuld
OK, I never thought I would write the words “iPhone” and “frisbee” in the same sentence and definitely not in a title, but that day has come, and it is not a joke! We have seen various apps designed to make the process of sharing information an easy one. When you are at a party or social event of any kind, the last thing you want to do is take out your phone and start typing in details every time you meet someone with whom you want to stay in touch.
There are apps that turn your iPhone camera into a business card scanner and there are apps that enable you to transfer useful information between iPhones by bumping hands with the recipient. However, Hoccer has to be the most original way to share information between iPhones and across platforms I have ever seen. So here is how it works. You open the app on your iPhone or Android device and with a few minor UI differences, you select the kind of content you want to share. I actually found the Android app to be a little more straight forward than the iPhone app.
Once you select the content, which can be music, bookmarks, contacts, pictures, or text, you simply take the phone in your hand and simulate a throw of a frisbee. You make the movement, but as the app warns you various times, hold on tight and make sure your hands are not slippery. Once you do that, the recipient takes their phone, again can be either an iPhone or an Android device, and makes a movement of catching a ball. That is all there is to it. The data you selected is transfered to the other phone.
This app is pretty revolutionary if you ask me, and it works somehow using both the phone’s accelerometer as well as GPS. That means that, at least based on my tests, it will not work well with an iPod Touch, and I am assuming indoors will affect its performance as well.
The app in both the iPhone and Android version is completely simple to use. In Android, upon launch, you are met with a map and you can simply make a catching movement assuming someone “threw” you some data. You then press on the phone’s Menu option and you can select content to “throw”, view the history of all your data transfer, read about the company who developed Hoccer, or press Help. That is the app in its entirety.
The iPhone app is a little different, but pretty much the same concept. You have the initial map screen, and an a little info button on the bottom right corner. That is the About screen as well as a short needed tutorial on how to use the app. There is an additional arrow, which when pressed brings up three options: Contacts, Photo, and Text. Simply select the data you want to send and throw it to the other phone. There are no other options in the iPhone app and the Settings screen does not even have any options for this app.
Like I said, very simple yet brilliant. I have to be honest, the app did not work flawlessly for me, but I still think the concept is cool enough to give it a good rating. I am sure it would work better under different circumstances, and friends that have tried the app confirmed that for me. The only question that remains is, if you do not feel comfortable typing away on your phone at a party, are you really going to feel so natural pretending to throw your iPhone like a frisbee? I would love to be at that party and see people’s reactions.
Our Rating: 4/5
Developer: Hoccer
