"Download the LEGO Hobby iPhone App and win € 500 ($650) worth of LEGO"

 

  • "Download the LEGO Hobby iPhone App and win € 500 ($650) worth of LEGO"

    Posted by Huw, 08 Oct 2010 13:41. Filed under Software/Games.

    Hardly a week goes by without me writing about one LEGO-related mobile application or another. Today we received a press release for a new iPhone/iPod Touch app called 'LEGO Hobby'. Here's what it said:

    "To mark the worldwide launch of the LEGO Hobby iPhone App, anyone who downloads the LEGO Hobby App from the App Store before 31 December stands to win $650 worth of LEGO.

    "The LEGO Hobby App contains every set of instructions for building any LEGO set which the user can possibly imagine. The LEGO Hobby App has a slick and intuitive interface with tabs at the bottom for the various functions. The user can search the App by number, year and theme, from Star Wars to Indiana Jones, from Trains to Batman. Want to put your own collection together, look something technical up about LEGO or DUPLO, find news about LEGO activities, or share instructions with your friends? The LEGO Hobby App allows you to do all this.

    "Are you up to the challenge? The LEGO Hobby App can be downloaded via the App Store for just $1.99."

    Sounds good, eh? Well, as you probably recall I don't have an iPhone but I do have an iPad, so I thought I'd burn a couple of dollars (or £1.19 in my case) and check it out. Now, as wth most iPhone apps, it looks very polished and follows all the usual UI conventions of the platform, so is easy to use. It comes with a database of sets, which seems to be comprehensive, and which are indexed by theme, years and set numbers. Each set has a somewhat grainy thumbnail to aid identification.

    Once you've found the set you're interested in you can mark it as a favourite, or view instructions which it then downloads via whatever data link you have available. The instructions have not been made specially for the app: those for later sets are the PDFs available from LEGO customer services (which we link to here), and those for older sets are scans that have probably originated from http://www.brickfactory.info/: I'm guessing that because that site, and this app. originate in Holland.

    So it's all very well and good, but is there any point to it? The iPhone has a relatively small screen so any reproduction of instructions on it are going to be tiny and really not much use if you're planning on reconstructing the set.

    However, although it is not an iPad app, it will run on it and then it becomes more useful. Although the iPad scales up iPhone apps and generally they look pretty awful (this is no exception) the actual instructions are shown at whatever resolution they are available in, so are much more usable and I can imagine having the instructions on the iPad on my building table alongside a pile of bricks and actually being able to build from them.

    To conclude then, this has a nice little app and if you don't have an iPad there's no reason not to buy it for a couple of dollars, if just out of curiosity. But if you do, I'd hold off buying it until a native iPad version becomes available when it will suddenly become much more interesting and usable.

    Update: I've heard from the author that an iPad version will be released in November and it'll be a free upgrade. So, I guess there really is no reason not to buy it now if you have an iPad.


    19 comments, latest one posted 31 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)
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Comments

Posted by LobsterWarrior in United States, 08 Oct 2010 14:10

Cool! What a chance for people with iPhones and iPads!

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 08 Oct 2010 14:15

...how far does the database of this "LEGO Hobby" stretch back? 1980s? 1970s? 1960s?

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 08 Oct 2010 14:17

^ 1958

Posted by Doctor Leg O'Brick in United Kingdom, 08 Oct 2010 14:32

@Huw, thats a good number.

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 08 Oct 2010 14:33

@Huw: Ahem, even further than Brickset! But does it include EVERY set of Brickset?

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 08 Oct 2010 14:44

New page: http://www.brickset.com/buy/uk/more/ Guess what it is... :) A list of places where you can buy LEGO and help keep Brickset running!

Posted by Doctor Leg O'Brick in United Kingdom, 08 Oct 2010 14:55

@Alemas, no it's not a joke. Now that is cool!! A place were you can find the right shop. Warning to those people who don't never know about the entertainer,DON'T go there!!! They charge way over the RRP (e.g agents gold hunt £40). There like Toys'Rus cool sets, big price tag. Go to a smyths toy super store insted....

Posted by atkinsar in United Kingdom, 08 Oct 2010 15:26

Just downloaded, it's pretty good actually. To improve it, it would need better (and more) set images and more set information. The range of sets in the database is impressive and the links to the instructions actually works really well on the iPhone, certainly usable, especially on the smaller sets. A good effort by the developer.

Posted by Mr. Football in United States, 08 Oct 2010 16:43

I downloaded it. It's an outstanding App for any Lego fan. Very handy, easy to use and works surprisingly well on the iPhone. Thanks for the heads up!

Posted by finger2314 in United Kingdom, 08 Oct 2010 17:13

Very good, but some sets missing? no harry potter new 2010 sets, couldn't find fire brigade, and i don't understand the theme "exclusive and treasures". Help plz?

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 08 Oct 2010 18:04

@finger: "exclusive and treasures" should mean the "LEGO Exclusives", like THESE: http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Leaf.aspx?cn=245&d=100

Posted by DrDaveWatford in United Kingdom, 09 Oct 2010 04:20

I really can't see the point of this - the likelihood of me wanting to build a set on the go, and losing the instructions as well, is pretty remote ! That having been said I'm intrigued to check it out, and at little more that a quid it's a no-brainer.

Posted by Ulli in Germany, 09 Oct 2010 06:08

Are there any App´s in the world, related to LEGO, and working on a Windows Mobile Phone?
I even don´t found a working scanner for the Minifigs, yet! To sad...

Posted by Noworrys in Germany, 09 Oct 2010 15:09

Where's the android version? Nowhere? Next...

Posted by eddy847 in United States, 09 Oct 2010 15:31

Must download this app for my iPhone if not for the instructions, then for the chance of getting $650. :-)
speaking of $650, will you be adding LEGO Universe to the set database (nice segway, eh?)?

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 09 Oct 2010 16:05

@eddy: Already added: http://www.brickset.com/detail/?set=2855133-1 Even the LU astronaut: http://www.brickset.com/detail/?set=LUASMF-1

Posted by eddy847 in United States, 09 Oct 2010 16:30

@ Alemas: oh wow, I don't know how I could have missed that, thanks.

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 09 Oct 2010 16:45

@eddy: No problem! :)

Posted by Simpel in Netherlands, 14 Oct 2010 15:14

Well I don't see the value. The screens is always too little. There are a lot more websites about this http://www.worldbricks.com for example. Here you can download the pdf and print this immediately.

Commenting has ended on this article.