AppBox Pro

I'm pretty fond of in depth reviews... the ones where I exhaust every ounce of life out of an app before I put it anywhere near the review section of the site. I also like having the top paid app in the app store reviewed at all times, so that if anyone wants to know what the big deal is, we, as 148apps, can tell them. There comes a time though, and that time is today, that the top app in the app store is so expansive that I just don't feel right about doing a full review. AppBox Pro, to my knowledge, is the first app that attempts to destroy all (at least most) cheap utility apps in its path, and in the process, is the most expansive app I own.

Opening up AppBox Pro, you are greeted with a screen, much like a regular Apple home screen, is loaded with icons, four across and five down. Its familiarity ends though when you look at the cringe worthy bright neon, 80's looking background. It's not dreadful, but the UI looks like it belongs on a Samsung phone, or something of the sort. Past the visual experience, you'll quickly notice upon opening that you now have a new battery life meter, a cinometer, a currency calculator, a new flashlight app, a new unit converter app, a tip calculator, and so much more. It really is an app that is trying to cannibalize all other apps of its kind.

Most of the apps within AppBox Pro are pretty well made, with the unit converter app being my favorite of the bunch. The cinometer app (a level utility) is definitely my least favorite because I couldn't get it to work right, but the problem may lie in the fact that nothing around me is perfectly level. While all of these apps are useful, my big problem here is that they just aren't all that pretty, and they are all within another app, making getting to them a bit tricky.

So the big question here is... should you buy AppBox Pro for 99 cents? Yes and no. If you, like me, have had an iPhone for a few months to going on a few years, chances are you have a bunch of these apps already on your phone. I like the AppBox Pro version of the unit convert app, but chances are you probably already have Convertbot or Convert. Sure, getting them again is really no issue, but some of the other 3rd party apps, especially the two listed above, are far more polished that the app AppBox has to offer. I can basically build a page on my iPhone with a prettier interface that has all the same apps, just twice as polished. I also won't have to deal with the hassle of going into another app to see the apps.

On the other hand though is the extreme value you get from buying AppBox. Just imagine being a new user to the iPhone. Instead of having these apps already hiding in your Applications folder in iTunes, you would have to go out and buy all of them individually. You're now looking at a 99 cent purchase of AppBox vs. a potential $10-20 purchase of all the apps included. You may not wow anyone around you with your new cool apps, especially the Samsung user who will laugh at you for having the same looking apps, but each one will be quite functional. AppBox Pro seems to be expanding too, which will give you even more bang for your buck.

To me, buying AppBox Pro is like going to the dollar store. I like the dollar store, I really do, but I don't think that any of my bathroom necessities come from there. I have regular store toothpaste, soap, shampoo, and toilet paper... and I really like them all. Dollar store toilet paper is just so incredibly rough. To each his own though... and in this economy, I completely understand the dollar store purchase.