There is something very satisfying about being able to control what you see on the iPad’s screen with your fingers. Whether it’s manipulating an image, or drawing a picture, it’s an entertaining and engaging feature of the device. In cloud.data ($2.99), you have the power to control a white cloud while gentle music plays in the background. While it’s not groundbreaking, if you give it a chance, it’s actually quite calming.
As soon as you open the app, the white cloud starts moving from one side of the screen to the other. The music is soft, with no real consistent tempo or beat. You can simply let the cloud dissipate and move, or you can use your fingers to control it. One finger tap will create a small puff on the screen. Dragging your finger across the screen will speed up the cloud’s motion and change its direction. Two fingers will add a different layer of music and sound to the mix. Pinching will increase or decrease the cloud’s thickness. Finally, a three-finger swipe allows you to increase or decrease the cloud’s brightness.
There isn’t much more you can do with this application. At first, it appears to be very confusing, not explaining anything about how to use it. There are absolutely no instructions. However, after a while of playing around with it, you’ll discover how calming it is to simply watch the moving cloud and listen to the repeating sounds. It’s just like staring at a fire, except you definitely shouldn’t try to use your fingers to manipulate the fire.
Even though the app succeeds in calming you, it is not without some flaws. First, the actual manipulation of the cloud isn’t completely smooth. When you try to speed up the motion or change the cloud’s direction, it does so in a slightly choppy manner. It would be much nicer if the animations were more fluid. Also, at times, the audio will skip and sound segmented. This makes it seem as though little attention was paid to detail.
Overall, cloud.data is an interesting app with some great potential. However, I’m not so sure it’s worth the price.
