Don’t let anyone tell you that rich people don’t give back to us normal folks. Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is sharing with the world Fayve, his custom iPad app for managing movies and TV shows.
Developed by Allen’s Vulcan Technologies, Fayve is meant to recommend content based on “who you are and what you like.” The idea is that users would open up Fayve when they’re looking for something to watch and sift through movies to find which services carry them.
It’s synced up with iTunes, Hulu, Netflix, Redbox, YouTube Movies/Google Play and Crackle. Alternatively, Fayve can be used as a second screen by pulling up reviews or information about the actors.
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As you can see from the screenshot, it uses a rotating carousel interface to display content, sorting movies by genre or topic. You can also filter out services that you don’t want to see.
Once you tap on a movie, it’ll provide you more information about it, as well as offer recommendations of similar content. Since the app just came out, the social aspect (via Facebook integration) is a bit sparse, but it would be handy to see what my friends thought of certain movies while deciding what to watch.
According to Geek Wire, Fayve was originally designed for Allen’s personal use and has been retooled for the public. I can see why he would need an app like this, given that Vulcan Technologies VP Chris Purcell says that Allen probably has “one of the world’s largest private digital collections of movies, music and TV shows.”
Vulcan plans to monetize the app by getting a revenue share from the services that it links to. Once a user selects something to watch, Fayve will hand playback off to the respective service.
To be honest, I’m not the target market for this app, as I don’t subscribe to very many of the services listed on the app, but this should be a really convenient tool for movie buffs. It’s definitely an app to keep an eye on, as it could turn into a media powerhouse in its own right. Besides, it’s good enough for a billionaire. That’s got to count for something, right?
➤ Fayve
Image credit: Win McNamee / Getty Images
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