Living in Chicago, it can be easy to take the changing weather seasons for granted. There are times in April and October where you’re likely to see a 60-degree day, followed by a rain storm rounded up with a little snow storm. But I suppose not everyone can be so lucky.
For the rest of you, Pocket Window (99 cents) gives you a virtual window into 12 different windows. Each window is a different scene, from a sunny forest to an inviting beachside to a rainy cityscape.
For an app built on such a simple foundation, the lack of customization is baffling. You’re not allowed to change the time of day or weather in any of the scenes. If you’d like to make the cityscape a little sunnier? Tough. Want to enjoy the lake view in a season other than fall? Too bad.
Similarly, users don’t get any sort of choice for their one style of window. Yes, you can open and close the window, and the sound amplifies when the window is open, which is certainly interesting, but there’s no way at all to change window styles. No vertical opens, or anything at all other than the sliding horizontal window already in place.
If you’re going to create an app that has no function outside of providing a sort of soothing calm to people who wish they had a window to the beach, shouldn’t you actually tailor it to people’s specific desires?
