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Leonard Maltin Movie Guide for iOS adds movies and features
I looked at the Leonard Maltin Movie Guide a couple of years ago, and found it complete and easy to use. Current owners of the US$1.99 app will find a free update today, with more than 300 recent movies added. Other new features are weekly automatic content updates, improved integration with IMDb, and your movie lists (favorites, recommendations, want to see, etc.) are now backed up/restored via Apple's iCloud. The app has 24,000 film reviews available, and, as before, you can connect to the iTunes Store for a purchase or add a film to your Netflix queue, either disc or instant. Trailers are attached to many of the entrees, and the app is now optimized for iOS 6 and the iPhone 5. %Gallery-176621% The only drawback to this app is that it is not universal. That means you have to enlarge it on your iPad, and it only works in portrait mode. I mentioned this weakness in my earlier review in 2010, and I am surprised it hasn't been fixed. Still, this is probably the best and most complete guide to movies you can put in the palm of your hand, especially with direct links to IMDb. You get the benefit of the incisive Maltin reviews, and all the detail IMDb collects. I use the app all the time as a reference for movies old and new. If you have the app already, grab the update. If you don't have it yet, and you love movies, you won't be disappointed. The app is a 14 MB download and requires iOS 4.3 or later.
Kaleidescape teases movie download store; brings Rotten Tomatoes, Leonard Maltin to its servers
Last year at CEDIA we were introduced to Kaleidescape's iPad control app, and this year its back and enhanced with the addition of movie ratings from Rotten Tomatoes, and content rating info from Common Sense Media. Rotten Tomatoes can help viewers tell if a particular flick in their collection is any good, while Common Sense Media is built around detailed breakdowns of what potentially objectionable content is in each title so parents can decide what their children are ready to see. Both should reach end users with the free app by the end of this year. Another tweak it's adding to its movie servers is the Leonard Maltin Recommends Collection. It's a pack of movies updated quarterly (the 17-disc Blu-ray collection is available for the low, low price of $445) that the respected film critic feels are unappreciated greats, to which he adds his own thoughts, anecdotes and behind the scenes info. A more ambitious development however, is the Kaleidescape Download Store the company was giving an "early sneak preview" of behind closed doors. While its claim to fame has always been disc servers that store user's movies, making them accessible with as little physical media interaction as possible (and antagonizing the MPAA) its next step is a full digital media distribution service, potentially tied into UltraViolet. There's not a lot in the way of specifics, but it will be interesting to see how Kaleidescape and Hollywood get along when it comes to selling downloadable content compared to the old wars of the past, whenever the new service actually arrives for its high-end customers.
