Dr. House couldn't diagnose a good app if his life depended on it
Fox has released InHouse [free], an app that supposedly takes users into the world of House M.D. First off, let me say I'm a fan of the show; it's witty, funny, and keeps me entertained for forty-two minutes each week. The Dr. House app, on the other hand, is lame, boring, and has content that would be better suited to a web site.When you launch the app you have eight selections ranging from "Free Clinic" to "Media Room." All that any of these selections provide is links to photos or short video clips. There is no interactivity at all. Fox says the app allows House fans to "delve deeper inside the world of Dr. Gregory House and Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital," but it does no such thing.
The best apps offer a level of interactivity. The InHouse app has none, beyond tapping a button to get to another video. For example, one of the eight selections you're presented with is called "Music Room." The Music Room shows the user alternate music selections "considered" for each episode and allows you to buy the songs in the iTunes Music Store. Read that again: "considered for each episode." None of the songs are actually in any episode of House. This portion of the app is nothing but a shill to get House fans to buy Fox-owned songs.
Fox had a great opportunity to build a fun, interactive app. House is a world-class diagnostician. Why couldn't the app allow users to diagnose medical mysteries? I guess that would have gotten in the way of selling music not related to the series at all. This app needs a major overhaul. For now, it's DOA.
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Fox has released InHouse [free], an app that supposedly takes users into the world of House M.D. First off, let me say I'm a fan of the...
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I'd rather pay for the House MD puzzle game than get this free app.
April 15 2010 at 11:57 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyWell now I feel better about not being able to download it b/c it requires 3.1.3 which I don't have due to jailbreak.
April 15 2010 at 8:50 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyMedia Mogule develops app designed to grab trendy iPhone users' attention.
Fails miserably.
News at 11.
I agree. Awful app, but there is an iPhone game as well. "House M.D. - The Game", It's more of a logic game, but you still get to "diagnose". Not the funnest game ever, but 100 times more interesting than this cr-app.
April 15 2010 at 6:11 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyBut it is free. and updated every Monday.
And maybe you know already, but there will be a complete House MD game for the PC out later in the year, that indeed allows you to diagnose etc.
But that most definitely won't be free.
I love "House" and the idea of a fan-centric iPhone app. However the disappointment is so vast within 2 minutes of testing the app I have it deleted.
Maybe it's just me but the app felt like a badly designed "interactive" Flash interface on a website. Maybe it is ported from some Flash design! If that is the case, no wonder Apple is banning Flash compiled apps from the AppStore.
No maybe about it; It's just you.
April 15 2010 at 6:22 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply"Why could the app allow users to diagnose medical mysteries? I guess that would have gotten in the way of selling music not related to the series at all."
maybe because you'd have to be a doctor to have that type of knowledge.
frankly I never expected anything more than some behind the scenes stuff. bloopers, 'how we do it' clips, how the stories are written, perhaps some talk about the real life inspirations for some of the stores.
Fox says the app allows House fans to "delve deeper inside the world of Dr. Gregory House and Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital,"
Everybody lies.
Yup, deleted it immediately.
FWIW, House is the only show I watch on TV
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