Purpose: The purpose of the app is to shop for items wherever you are and for them to be delivered to your home. It allows you to browse hundreds of thousands of items of different functions and uses. You can also track your deliveries and find out see when they will arrive at your home. There is a feature that allows you to sell your things on amazon such as if you find a product, there is usually an option that if you have one of those items, it allows you to sell that item.
Platforms: The app is available on android and apple devices but it is also available to access online via a internet browser. When it comes to looking for items and adding them to the cart, I don't mind whether it is on my phone or computer but when it comes to actually buying it, I prefer to use a computer as I feel they are more secure than an app. Whether this is true is up for debate.
Layout and user experience: The layout is fairly simple. It has the amazon logo at the top and a menu button beside it. Beside it is also the cart button where you can see what is in your cart and see how much it costs. Below these is a search bar where you can search for anything on amazon. Below this is adverts for amazon based products such as amazon prime. Below this is numerous sections of items that are recommended for you. This could be items you have searched for previously or items you have viewed online. These cover the rest of the page. This is so they can try and sell you stuff that you may not necessarily need. Finding the item you want is easy as if you don't know exactly what it is, everything is split up into categories such as Electronics so you can search a specific category. This is so that people can quickly and easily find what they want and it adds to the positive experience of the site/app. I have a fairly good experience as everything I want is virtually in front of me and is easy to find. The payment method is fairly simple but you need to be careful as they will try and charge you for delivery when you can get it for free.
Interactivity: The app has a few interactive features. In the search bar there is an option to say what you are looking for and amazon will take you to the suggestions from the search. There is also a picture option where you can take a picture and the app will try and find the item you're looking for. There is also a log in feature which allows you to subscribe to amazon prime (does cost) and allows you to keep what is in your cart and track your orders on multiple devices.
Benefits: It is very beneficial as if you need something quickly, then you can just go on the app, find what you want and buy it and it will arrive within a few days. It is also beneficial as if you need to find out how much something is, amazon's prices are similar to those of regular retailers so you can quickly find out how much something costs. Another benefit is being able to track your order and find out when it has been dispatched and when it will arrive. It also tells you when it has arrived so if you are out, then you know it has come.
Limitations: It can be fairly limited as you may not be allowed to sell your product as the product you wish to sell may not have to feature to sell it. There can also be an issue with the tracking as some packages are not tracked correctly. I ordered some earphones around a month ago and they arrived a week after I ordered them. The tracker says they haven't been dispatched yet.
Effectiveness and legal/ethical issues: Overall, the app is very effective its task and makes buying things really easy. The only legal issue I can pick up is that they may sell an item that the creator may not want selling so that could present some problems. A ethical issue could be that amazon is selling something like a book that is deemed offensive and the contents of it morally wrong. There was once a book on amazon called "How to be a pedophile'. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/40112145/ns/technology_and_science-digital_home/t/amazon-defends-pedophiles-guide/
2nd Media Product Social: Twitter
App
Website
Purpose: The purpose of twitter is to connect with people around the world on one platform. It allows you to post tweets that anyone can see (unless you put your account on protected mode then only your followers can see them) and you can reply to these tweets. It is a good way of expressing your opinion and promoting your company.
Platforms: This can be accessible on android and apple devices as apps but also is available on internet browsers. I prefer using it on as an app on a phone as you can easily 'tweet' about what is going on in your life.
Layout and user experience: It's design is fairly simple. There are menus at the top of the screen for the home page, trending and private messages. There is also a circle with your avatar in it and pressing it allows you to go and view and edit your profile. This is good so you don't have to go and press all these buttons just to change one part of your profile. There is also a search bar in which you can search for trending topics, other users and tweets. This is very good as it allows you to quickly find a tweet that you may have heard about but more importantly it can help with distribution of news as sometimes news can break quicker on social media than news outlets. I have a good experience using the app as it is simple to use and everything is in arms reach. It can provide a good experience as you can quickly update people on your life and privately talk with your friends however Twitter is a big place where there are lots of internet trolls and bullies so they could provide the user with a negative experience.
Benefits: There are benefits to using the app. You can post tweets on the move, being able to constantly update your followers on your day to day life. You can also, if you don't want anyone to see your tweets, put your account on protected mode which only allows your followers to view your tweets. You can also instantly take and post pictures to twitter.
Limitations: Twitter does require a stable WiFi connection as it is always updating. Using mobile data can be risky as you can post videos and this will eat your data like nothing else. It can sometimes be hard to navigate round as it has a lot of features. There can also sometimes be an issue with logging in for if you haven't been on twitter for a while, it will ask you to log in and you may have forgotten your password. This happens even if you checked the 'Keep my signed in' box.
Effectiveness and legal/ethical issues: The app is fairly effective as it allows for quick communication with your followers and allows you to privately talk to your friends. There could be legal issues as private information could be leaked onto twitter (Data Protection). There could also be cases of slander as twitter is a very public domain and rumours can easily be taken as fact and this could destroy people's career. There are some big ethical issues as someone could post a really controversial tweet but doesn't break any of twitters guidelines.
3rd Media Product Game: Clash Royale
App
Purpose: The purpose of this is to provide entertainment. What you do is you collect cards and use these cards to battle other players. The game allows live gameplay with your opponent and you battle to gain more trophies and move up arenas. The higher the arena, the more rewards you get and the more cards that are available.
Platforms: This is available for free on android and apple devices only. As this is app, it is not available on computers however if you get an apple or android emulator on your computer, then it is possible to use it on a computer but there is a high chance that it will be bugged and be very laggy as the game is not meant for computers.
Layout and user experience: The design is bright and colourful. There are three bars at the top of the home screen that represent your level, your gold and your gems. Under this the name of your profile and the clan you are in. Under is a picture of the arena you are in. There is a large button that says "Battle". Pressing this will put you in a live match with another player. This being on the home page makes battling people easier as you don't have to press all these buttons to do it. Under this are 4 chest slots. Pressing a chest allows you to unlock it. This is good as it isn't hard to find the chests that you earn. Sliding to the left reveals the deck you are using and the lists of cards you have. This is good as it is easy to change the deck you are using to suit a specific battle strategy. Sliding left again shows the shop where you can buy cards, gold and gems. Gems cost real money. Back to the home screen, sliding right will show the clan chat. Here you can chat with your clan mates. Sliding right again will show the challenges. These cost gems but can yield great prizes. The game provides a somewhat good experience as everything is in real time and your progress is saved via a cloud so if you were to break the device you were playing on, you can recover your game data on another device. The app can provide a negative experience too as the game takes up lots of power and data to run and the game itself can aggravate some people.
Interactivity: The whole game is interactive. The battles itself is live so you are battling a real person and not a computer. There is also the clan chat where you can talk with your clan mates, donate cards and share replays of your previous battles. There is also a social list so if you connect Clash Royale with Facebook, you will be able to see people on your friends list who have done the same.
Benefits: The benefits of the app is that its small and battles don't last longer that 5 minutes. You are also always battling real people (unless you are playing a trainer) and this makes each battle harder as both you and your opponent have different ways of playing and different cards to play with. You are always logged into your profile so you don't have to log in at all (with a few acceptions). It is also really easy to navigate your way around the app.
Limitations: There are a few limitations. There is the option to play against the trainers but these don't have any rewards for beating them. Also if you accidentally press the "Battle" button on the home screen, there is a cancel button but this doesn't work. There can also be issues with the WiFi connection as if you lose connection in the middle of a battle, then that could lose you the battle as your opponent will still be playing.
Effectiveness and legal/ethical issues: The app is effective in entertaining people as it allows quick and challenging gameplay against live opponent. I see few legal issues. There could be an issue if people's account information was leaked especially if it was Facebook account information. There could be an ethical issue in regards to what is said in the clan chat. Someone could say something morally wrong in the chat but nothing will happen if the comment doesn't break the community guidelines.
M1: Compare and contrast the use of different media platforms and formats for delivering interactive media products
On 1st Media Product Education: BBC Bitesize
Platforms: BBC Bitesize is available on regular internet browsers and on android and apple devices as an app. Both are laid out in very different ways and this can be confusing as if you were used to using the website version but then you decided to start using the app version, you wouldn't fully understand it as you are not used to the layout of the app. Also forcing you to create a BBC ID account to be able to use it can be frustrating. On the website version however, you can use all of BBC Bitesize without the need to log in with a BBC ID. There is also much more on the website such as videos, quizzes and images to help you learn about the subject that you are learning. There is also a wider range of subjects to learn on the website.
Layout and interactive features: The appearance is very different between them. On the internet browser, under the header, there are buttons that you click to show where you are being educated and what Key Stage you are in. After this there are lots of buttons for each subject taught. There may be a few missing. Clicking on a subject will show you each subject in the subject for example for biology there would be a subject in there about living organisms. On the app, the words "BBC Bitesize" briefly appears. Then it will ask you to sign in or register for BBC ID. After doing one of these, it will then ask you what subjects you take. Once you have done this you can tap the subject you want to look at and a range of activities will appear. There are big differences in colour. The website is more colourful (and seems to be more focused on the colour orange) and the app is less colourful only having a few colours such as white, black and blue. Both the website and the app supported videos on the subjects but the website had videos for every single subject whereas the app doesn't. The app does have flash cards to help learning. The flash cards have paragraphs of information and some have little quizzes on them. The website also has quizzes but does not have flash cards.
Benefits: The benefits of the website is that it holds lots more information and goes in more detail on the subjects. The app however is good for quick revision on the move. It also has the flash cards that could be very helpful to some people.
Limitations: The limitations are that the app looks fairly dull compared to the website. The app also requires you to log in or register for BBC ID in order to use it whereas the website does not require a log in. The website isn't really portable (you could use an internet browser on a phone or tablet but this is unreliable) however the app is.
Effectiveness: BBC Bitesize is effective in some areas such as it's effectiveness in quick revision and video tutorials but for me personally, I don't think it properly educates people. For me, BBC Bitesize is only useful for revisions or help during lessons.
Website
App
2nd Media Product Journalism: BBC News
Platforms: BBC News is available on regular internet browsers and is also available in app form on android and apple devices. Both are laid out fairly similarly but there are a few differences between them however unlike BBC Bitesize, the app does not require you to log in with a BBC ID. The website has much more space to lay things out so the stories have more space around them and are not presented like one list going down like the app. On the website you can search for a specific story which you cannot do (as far as I am aware) on the app. Both the app and the website have all the stories put into categories and the categories are the same for both platforms but on the website there is more space on the screen allowing more stories to be shown on the front page before you have to scroll down to see more.
Layout and interactive features: Comparing both the app and the website have are laid out fairly differently. On both, there is the top story that takes up a large portion of the page. The app however has all the stories laid down as one list but on the website, the stories are laid out in a grid. Both support the red banner at the top of the screen with the word "NEWS" but the website has a log in feature whereas the app does not. The app has video stories shown in a black box with white text and the length of the video. The website on the other hand only has a small play icon in the corner of the stories thumbnail. Interactive features of the app is that you can swipe across the screen to view a new category of stories. There are some stories that are interactive and there are also slideshows where you swipe across the screen to view a new picture. There is also a search bar at the top that allows you to search for the story or category you want. There is also the option to watch BBC News live. The website has a button that if you click will find news local to your area. There is also a search bar and log in features. You do not have to log in to use BBC News. There is also buttons for the top story (which currently is the Paris Shooting on 20th April 2017) that has a video, slideshow and witness accounts.
Benefits: The benefits for the app is that it is portable and that it will send you notifications when something big has happened. Another benefit might be that everything is small and compact so you everything is within arms reach. Benefits of the website is that everything is bigger and can be seen more clearly. It also has the option to find local news which to most people will be good as they can find out about things local to them. It also has the option to change the language which for some people will be really beneficial if they don't fully understand English.
Limitations: Limitations are that the website has an option to immediately find local news whereas the app you have to search for the specific topic for wherever you are such as for me it would be "Cambridgeshire". Another limitation could be that this requires an internet connection so you can't get news everywhere.
Effectiveness: I think both the website and the app are effective at giving out the news and informing the public on current events. The website also has good ways of allowing people to search up stories and topics they may want to read however the app can give you updates while on the move so you are up to date on the news. I do believe the app is better as you can look at the news while on the move and the app sends you notifications when something big happens for example, when the London Bridge attack was happening, I received notifications on my phone from BBC News telling me about the attack.
Website
App
3rd Media Product Entertainment: BBC iPlayer
Platform: BBC iPlayer is available on a regular internet browser or in app form on android and apple devices. The overall appearance of both the app and the website are laid out fairly the same. You can log in with a BBC ID to save shows that you are watching and this can be useful for watching things on different devices. Both the website and the app allow you to download shows BUT if you are using the website, it will ask you to download a program that allows you to watch your downloaded shows. This can prove annoying. On the app, the show downloads without any other apps being needed and they run smoothly. Both the app and the website allow for HD video but if the video buffers, the quality can diminish dramatically for a time. There is also no way to change the quality of the video on the app or the website.
Layout and interactive features: Both have the most popular shows on iPlayer listed at the top and both have a search bar. Both also have a menu but these are presented in different ways. On the app, there is a menu button that if you press will reveal 4 options: Home, TV guide, My Programmes and Downloads. On the website, these are listed at the top of the page however some are reworded and there are a few additions. There are a few interactive features. Both have a search bar so you can search for the show you want but only the website has a A-Z feature that allows you to look through every TV show currently on all of the BBC's channels. There are sign in features on both and these allow you to save programs you like and be able to quickly view them, without having to search for them, on multiple devices. There is also a TV guide on both which allows you to scroll through shows with the times of when they will be on or when they were on.
Benefits: Benefits for the website and the app is that you can quickly and easily find the shows that you want to watch. Another benefit is that you can download episodes of shows that you want to watch say if you are going somewhere where there will be no WiFi, If you have downloaded a show you can watch it there. This is however not available on the website version. Another benefit is the A-Z shows list. This allows people to quickly find their favourite shows if they don't know how to spell it in the search bar. This is only on the website. Another benefit is that the videos themselves have subtitles on them so you can read what they are saying as well as hearing what they're saying. It is especially good for people who are deaf as they can still watch and enjoy shows.
Limitations: Limitations could be that the app version sometimes requires a plug in for you to watch the shows (BBC Media Player) but for the computers it shouldn't need an extra plug in. Another limitation is that shows don't stay on the site forever and and the downloads only last for a fortnight (2 days after you start watching it).
Effectiveness: Both the website and the app are very effective at their purpose. They both allow you to watch shows on demand and allow you to easily search the show you want. The app allows you to download episodes of shows you want to watch so you can watch them say on the plane or on the train. On both the videos play smoothly and allow you good control of the sound and timecode. They also include subtitles that allow people who are deaf can watch the shows and have an idea of what is going on.