From truthiness to last week’s symbol-minded, Stephen Colbert has influenced the English language with “The Wørd” since the premiere of The Colbert Report four years ago. Factionistas and die-hard Colbert fans alike can now get their Wørd fix on iPhone or iPod Touch with the 99-cent The Colbert Report’s The Word application.
I’m not a regular viewer of the Comedy Central staple, but The Wørd is my favorite section of The Colbert Report so I will check out clips on occasion. The Colbert Report’s The Word is a well thought out, slick app that makes catching up a breeze.
The newest Wørd displays as the featured clip. Users can also sort through previous words by date or alphabetically, or the app will select a clip randomly. I do wish there was a dedicated search function as scrolling through the alphabet can be cumbersome. The app updates new Wørds automatically.
The Colbert Report’s The Word is relatively ad-free, except for a splash page before the video clips that says the app is presented by Stride gum. It’s not intrusive, but I’m against any sort of advertising in a paid app.
However, it should be noted that this app’s content is available—for free—on ColbertNation.com. As only a casual viewer of the program, I wouldn’t go out of my way to pay for this app, especially when it offers nothing extra when compared to the Web site. That said, the app itself is well made and worth 99 cents if having Colbert’s words in the palm of your hand would make your life better.
The app’s streaming quality is flawless over WiFi and decent over 3G, although I did experience a few video lags and sound drops while watching from my 3G network.
