IT and Softwares

Archive for the ‘Apps’ Category

The UK’s leading price comparison website MoneySupermarket.com has launched the world’s first car insurance price comparison app for use on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Developed by awarding winning digital communications company MIG (Mobile Interactive Group); the app gives users access to a range of car insurance quotes available through over 100 of the UK’s top insurers.

Having so far achieved an average customer rating of 4 out of a possible 5 stars on iTunes; the app also won the Guardian newspaper’s ‘consumer app of the week’ award upon being launched at the end of November, with reviewer Mark King praising it for its ease of use and the range of cheap quotes it sourced out.

The MoneySupermarket car insurance comparison app is currently available for download free of charge from either the MoneySupermarket website or iTunes. Upon being downloaded, users need to first create a MoneySupermarket user account (unless they already have one). This will contain information about the user which is relevant in the calculation of car insurance premiums.  Factors such as age and occupation will all be taken into account. Once the user account has been created, this information need not be entered again; saving users both time and effort whenever they decide to retrieve car insurance quotes in the future.

Entering in information about specific vehicles has also never been easier, as users only need to take a photograph of the car registration plate. The app will do the rest of the work, accessing the DVLA vehicle database and retrieving information which is stored in association with that specific registration. This not only makes entering information about vehicles both faster and easier; but also removes the possibility of human error.

With information about both the individual and the vehicle having been entered, the app will then display quotes which are available through all of the insurers with a presence on the MoneySupermarket website. Each of these quotes will have a ‘click to call’ button located alongside them; making it easier to contact specific providers if you happen to have an enquiry about what is on offer through the app.

All of the retrieved quotes can be saved by the app for future reference, which is handy if it isn’t a convenient time to purchase or you want to compare the kind of premiums that you can anticipate having to pay for on multiple different types of vehicle.

Comparing the car insurance quotes available to you has never been more important; with the AA reporting 40% year on year. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has therefore been advising motorists to compare deals available through at least five different insurers; claiming that this will save the average motorist up to 30%. This app will therefore make this arduous task both quicker and easier; allowing users to retrieve car insurance quotes available through over 100 companies in a matter of minutes.

MoneySupermarket’s Julie Fisher boasted that the app signals the beginning of a new and exciting era for the industry. Fisher did not rule out launching a similar app for android applications in the future and predicted that other comparison companies would launch similar apps to take advantage of the developing smart phone/android market over the course of 2012.

If you are a British motorist on the look out for cheaper car insurance premiums, then download the MS car insurance app for free from iTunes.

By Katrina Robinson

If you have an Android phone, you certainly have installed a few apps here and there. Chances are, you like to read reviews about a specific app before you purchase it. The only problem is that the reviews in the Google Android Market aren’t always reliable, so you can never be totally sure of the quality of the app that you’re about to purchase. But there’s good news: There are several websites out there that have reliable, in-depth reviews about Android apps. Pull up a chair and feast your eyes on our top three:

1. Android App Review Source

The name of the site says it all: This website is the source for Android app reviews. The staff provides fair and objective evaluations of all the latest Android apps, and readers have the chance to provide their own reviews in the comments section of the site. Furthermore, Android App Review Source features Android news, interviews with Android developers, and more—but everything is strictly Android-related.

2. The Daily App Show

This website is unique and fun in that it features daily videos devoted to reviewing a particular app. The site owner is one dude with his own opinions, so you’re sure to get a very blunt and straightforward review from him each day. On the negative side, this site isn’t devoted to just Android apps—in fact, it was a purely iPhone-related podcast when it first started out. However, it’s still a worthy site with some very honest and reliable reviews.

3. Android Tapp

We’ve saved the best for last. Android Tapp appears to be the most loved of all Android app review sites, and once you jump in and explore, you’ll see why. Android Tapp truly goes the extra step. Beyond providing excellent and reliable Android app reviews it also features Android app recommendations, the latest news about Androids, interviews with app developers, and more. You can even submit an app for review.

There are our top three Android app review websites—are there any that we left off the list that you think should have been included?

Katrina Robinson is a freelance writer who covers a wide variety of subjects, from personal finance to obtaining a private student loan to student loan consolidation.