TNW Quick Hit
Crib View takes Google Maps with Street View, to, as the developer puts it, “the next level.”
Love It: Great potential for those selling their homes, businesses looking for a unique marketing opportunity, and those who want to show off the design of their home.
Hate It: Too invasive for my taste, and the app’s price is off-putting.
Overall: 3/5
The Details:
Crib View (free to download and share with up to three friends for free, $.99 to share with up to 15 friends, and $2.99 to share with all one’s friends) is a unique app with some very interesting potential. At the most simplistic level, Crib View allows one to capture the outside and inside of one’s home, beginning at the front door, and adding pictures of each room, showing off the interesting features of one’s abode.
To begin, log in with your Facebook account and pick the friends you want to invite to a crib you’ve created with your iPhone’s camera. Once they’ve accepted the invite they will have access to your created crib.
Then, based on the crib you’ve created, your friends can take a virtual walk around your crib.
If your friends see something they like, they can leave messages by tapping on the screen and “leave a shout.”
Shared cribs will automatically show up for your invited friends, with cribs that friends share appearing in your list of cribs you can tour.
The goal of Crib View from the app’s creators is for individuals to, “Get out there – invite and visit each other – share and discover – real places – on your device!”
There are plans for and Android App, Commercial Cribs, Widgets and more. Nice additions.
There are a few problems I find with the app. The intrusive nature of the app is first and foremost, an issue I have. The part of me concerned with privacy wants no part of this app. Showing off my home from the outside is one thing, but showing off what is contained therein is another. Only granting access to one’s crib to friends may be a way to combat this, but who knows what one’s “friends” may do with the information you invite them to view, and further, who they may show it to.
A second concern is the price. $.99 to share with up to 15 friends, and $2.99 to share with all one’s friends? The creators need to eliminate this requirement. If I wanted to share pictures of my home, inside and out, I could just as easily take photos and create an album using a free service, sharing it with those I want to share it with.
That said, there is potential for this app, which is why I gave it a 3 out of 5. I see tremendous potential for those selling their homes to provide potential buyers with a virtual tour or to get feedback on the look of one’s home that will soon hit the market, if not already on the market. Another great use for the app is for businesses looking for a unique marketing opportunity could use Crib View to showcase their business and give those unfamiliar with the establishment an inside look at what to expect.
What do you think? Will Crib View’s privacy concerns keep you from displaying your own home? What other uses for the app outside of those listed, do you feel are beneficial, if any?
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