FlipIt.im Review

Remember as a kid putting together flip books, thereby creating animations? In my case, they were stickmen walking around but it still seemed pretty cool at the time. FlipIt.im captures that essence, allowing you to do a very similar thing through an iOS app. It's pretty rough around the edges but it is a neat idea.

Interface wise, FlipIt.im offers up a wooden backdrop before taking users to a white screen to start drawing. It's not quite as clearly laid out as you'd hope, mostly due to some obtrusive adverts and some overlap with the iPhone's clock and battery details at the top of the screen. The adverts can be removed by upgrading to the full version of the app, but you're stuck with the annoying overlap at the top of the screen.

That overlap also affects how easily you can get to some of the most useful tools of the app. While the bottom half of the screen offers up controls relating to switching between layers or adding new ones, the top right button affects color, erasing lines, changing the brush used, and so forth. It's possible to hit the button but you have to touch it at just the right angle, which isn't so practical.

Other issues arise with the fact that FlipIt.im isn't very good at explaining what each button does, so a certain amount of trial and error, as well as remembering things from other apps, goes a long way here. That's unfortunate as FlipIt.im is actually pretty simple once you figure it out. Drawing is dictated by your ability, but it's simple enough to put something together before choosing to adjust the playback speed for your needs.

It's possible to share your finished creations to YouTube as well as to your camera roll, meaning you then have the flexibility to share mostly anywhere imaginable.

It's a shame that the interface behind FlipIt.im isn't as clearly laid out as it could be as the requisite tools for creating and sharing simple animations are there. Given it's free, it's still worth checking out to mess around with but be aware that its a bit rough to deal with.