Realikety Review

What do you get when combining the words “Real” and “Like” together? Realikety, the name of an app that lets users essentially like reality. The app utilizes augmented reality to let users “Like” anything they see with their iPhone camera. While it’s an interesting and innovative concept, the app does have a few kinks in the user interface that hold it back from being superior.

Before diving into the features, users should know that this is not a Facebook instant camera. The app is integrated with Facebook to let users share what they like in realtime with their friends, but a Facebook account doesn’t have to be linked to the app in order to actually “Like” anything.

Opening the app loads the GPS coordinates to identify objects and physical locations. Users can then either adjust the compass or hit the “Like” button on their iPhone. I tested this function out and wasn’t thoroughly impressed with the response time. I’m not sure if it was because no one else had liked it or if it was due to a setting in the options menu, but I had to hold my iPhone for a around 1 to 2 minutes before it captured my realtime "Like".

Realikety works best for objects and things that other people have liked, which means users who live in metropolitan areas may have better success at liking something that others have liked as well. If by chance users do find something someone else has liked, they are able to read other people’s comments and see the total number of "Likes" in realtime. The app also features the ability to post “Likes” to Facebook, the option to save photos directly to the camera roll and even the opportunity to read Wikipedia entries for tourist attractions and famous landmarks.

When facing the iOS device toward an object and no likes or comments are seen, then the object probably hasn’t been “Liked” by anyone. This is when I had an issue with the app. While the app is free, it only allows users to have unlimited likes for things already saved in the database. Free users are limited to 1 like a day for new things. However, users can take unlimited pictures that save to the camera roll. While the IAP is only $0.99, it would be nice to know this up front before venturing off into town to “Like” whatever my heart desired.

Despite that the interface needs polishing to make the app more aesthetically pleasing and the IAP upgrade is a minor disappointment, Realikety has potential. The app is perfect for tourists and users who live in bigger cities, but it needs to provide users with more interactivity and a better UI to encourage people to continue using it. Since the app is free, it doesn't hurt to check it out for yourself to see if it's worth adding to the app collection.