Pango Imaginary Car Review

Posted by Amy Solomon on June 24th, 2013
+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Pango Imaginary Car is an app that allows children to create cars and other vehicles by combining various parts together.

I enjoy this app. It is a concept that is not exactly unique, yet this is an app that is of very high quality and utterly appealing.

The first thing one will notice when opening this app is color. A bright, sophisticated lime-green color makes up the background of the center screen where one builds his creation, dragging vehicle elements from the tabs seen left of the page. Eight tabs are included, with details that will create the body of the car, such as the front ends of a few differently shaped cars, trucks and a train as well as basic shapes that can be used to create a larger vehicle as well.

A section of tires is included, including caterpillar tracks as well as novel, articulated feet with a fun vintage feel, adding to the overall whimsy of this application. Other robot appendages are available such as, with arms and legs that open this app to so much more than vehicles, such as accessories like a flag, siren, bell, siren and even portholes and a figurehead dragon to mount on the bow of a ship created. House wares are also included to make a vehicle more homey if one would like.

A palette of sunny yellow, pleasing blue and bright orange is used within these details - bright and colorful - adding to the richness of this app. I also admire the nod to blueprints as a grid pattern can be seen to help children line up their pieces into clean lines and 90 degree angles for the best aesthetic results.

Also note that one can use this app very open-endedly to create the vehicle of one’s dreams, but there is also a choice of templates which one can fill in to create fantasy vehicles as well - be it helicopter, Viking ship, submarine, rocket or robot, adding children's own special touches as well to make these creations one's own.

I do admire the outlines offered to users as a way of prompting their creative vehicle designs, adding an element of tangrams to this delightful app. It would be nice, however, if there were a bit of “Grab” included - an element found in some puzzle apps where the piece is slightly drawn as if my magnetism to the correct area, oftentimes with a satisfying “click” heard when the pieces are placed in their rightful places, as without it, it is difficult to lay down these pieces perfectly.

I also find that although I appreciate the use of vehicle pieces that need rotation, I do find that the rotation of these details - best accomplished by tapping and holding a car part for stability as a second finger rotates the piece - to be functional yet still cumbersome - an issue I would love to see smoothed out in a future update.

When the vehicle creation is complete, do tap the “play” triangle at the top left of the design page to be delivered to one of a few differently styled landscape pages where the created vehicle will become animated and drive about when applicable details like wheels, gears, propellers or buzz saws are tapped to engage animation and sound effects.

I really enjoy the look of these included backgrounds, each simplistic yet highly effective, be it a blue-toned cityscape or a mountain area realized using grey tones, each of these five landscapes bringing great richness to this application.

Visually, this app is quite delightful as the use of color as well as the included textured distressing seen throughout these included shapes and backdrops really speak to me. Included music is upbeat and fun as well, easily turned off if the user desires. The ability to take a snapshot of one’s completed vehicle is also an option.

Although this is not an entirely new concept, the bright and bold delivery of Pango Imaginary Car really makes it stand out for me among other apps such as this. The animated special pieces are a wonderful touch as well, making this an easy app to recommend.

iPhone Screenshots

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iPad Screenshots

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