[tweetmeme] I’m gonna try for once to keep my personal feelings out of a review. By this I mean, this is an app I have zero interest in. That is by no means my way of saying it’s a bad app however. On the contrary, Voices is a superb app, design-wise. It’s beautiful and seemingly bug free. And I’d expect no less from the developer of Postman. But for me, I don’t get any use out of a voice changer. It’s the kind of toy I would’ve loved as a kid, but I can’t find value in it now. You might though. Voices has had a lot of care go into it. I was hesitant about how or if I wanted to review this app. I was included on the beta, but it went installed yet unused for quite a while. The developer was heavily invested in the project and took note of all feedback throughout the process. I have great respect for their work, but I wondered how I could review an app that I knew was well-made but ultimately had little interest in.
To add to that, the app has already been number one on the app store! I started thinking that maybe it didn’t even need coverage from me. Even if it doesn’t need it though, I feel it deserves a fair shake, and my handful of loyal readers might want to hear what I have to say about it. So here goes.
The main menu is a 3×3 grid spread out over two pages. The different effects all have distinct icons. The object icons, like the guitar and megaphone are very nice looking, but I think the character icons, like the cyborg, “Please don’t sue us, George Lucas” darkside character, are boring. And before you tell me I shouldn’t bitch about something I can’t even make myself, remember I don’t care. The execution of the menu is far better than the art design. I mean, not everyone can be Tapbots. When you select an effect, you’re treating what sounds like my war veteran-turned alcoholic uncle clearing his throat before stepping up to the mic. It seriously annoyed me. I hate sound effects most of the time in iPhone apps. I generally turn them off whenever possible.
Managing recordings is a breeze though. There’s no editing of recordings, but you can edit titles, tweet, send to Facebook, and email them. So if your mom wants to hear what you sound like as a cyborg, cause she’ll be dead before you becomes half-cybernetic lifeform, she can hear that. You can’t export your recordings over wifi sadly. But I don’t imagine anyone will use this thing as a serious voice recorder. It’s too cutesy to let anyone see you use in anything but a joking manner.
Should you buy it? If you need another “entertainment” app for your iPhone, sure. Just remember it’s a toy. A pretty toy, but still a toy. You can buy the toy for $0.99 in the App Store [Also check out videos and voice demo at TapTapTap]. If you buy it and hate it, you’re only out a buck. But if you don’t have the developer’s superb postcard app, Postman, I’d put that dollar towards buying that instead.
