Updating My Rating System for Apps

I started this blog for a few reasons. The first was while being stuck using the internet on a phone due to my internet being interrupted for several weeks, and still a problem at times, I came to appreciate any sites that were mobile friendly. Yes, sites might well re-size themselves for mobile devices, but sometimes it feels like the entire desktop site is trying to squeeze itself into that small screen.

Long articles became a particular annoyance. I am certainly guilty of getting carried away with getting every word in that I can, but until you try to read your own stuff on a small screen the expression "get to the point" evades you.

Making a more mobile friendly site was primary, but also turning that into a learning experience and sharing that with others became a driving cause as well. So reviewing apps that I have tried is something I have added to this blog.

As with anything you can form an opinion about, the more experience you have with it the more you can put it into context. My original rating system was an upstart with me basing it on what apps I would put on my phone's home screen as my go to app and what I would put in my app folder that I'd like to have around. Plus cautionary ratings too.

One app recently had me questioning my newbie rating system. It's a news reader and has certainly become a home screen app and one of my most used apps. It has everything, with the exception of one critical feature that would make it perfect. Well it certainly is a home screen app, but I can't give it my highest rating due to the lack of that one feature, and being my rating system doesn't take that into account, I need to change the system.

For my new rating system I am going from 4 ratings to 5, and am going with the standard school grading system most of us are familiar with.

A - It's on my home screen and has everything it needs.

B - Very useful. A home screen app that could be better.

C - Handy to have in an app folder but not a go to app.

D - Lacking in features or offers useful features but has drawbacks.

F - This is crapware. Not a review but a warning.

I reserve the option to add a + or - to the above ratings if I feel it fits. I do not recommend or review apps with advertising unless it is the only app of its kind and it will not be rated above a D.

As I've said in an editorial before, this is not a mentoring but a journey. I am not an expert on Android or mobile devices but someone finding their way and just telling you about my experiences.