With the economy the way it is, many folks are choosing not to travel. The great thing about the world in which we live, the Internet can bridge the gap between one’s desire to travel and the reality of not being able to. From Google Earth to Wikipedia you can cruise the world from the comfort of your bathrobe in your mothers basement. And now with ‘What Country’, you now have the ability to travel the world in the palm of your hand. Well sort of. The idea has potential. You can view the world country by country through a series of pictures and entertaining facts. The problem with this app lies with the execution. I found the app to be boring, cliche and lazy.

I say the map is a cartoonish, they say the map is interactive (po-tay-toe/pa-ta-toe). The map contains an icon for the countries that you can view. Upon selecting an icon, you get a series of words that I guess describes the country in cliche and stereotypical way. For example, the descriptive words for Ireland are pubs, red hair, drinkers, shamrocks and Leprechauns. The only words missing are hot tempers and potatoes.

Once ‘exploring’ a country you get about 6 images of the country that you can view in a slide show. You can review the associated fact by touching the information button. Some of the facts don’t exactly make sense with the associated picture.

What exactly does this have to do with Nosey (or Nosy) Parker?

Case in point. Not to pick on the drunk, potato eatin’, red headed lads in the UK, but allegedly the term Nosey Parker originated in Ireland. Being the inquisitive guy that I am, I decided to ask my friend, Google (smartest guy I know). To summarize his thoughts on the matter, there are many versions of the story, almost all originating in Britain. Many of the stories talk about a gentleman with the last name of Parker who had a rather large nose. Others described the origin of Nosy Parker as individuals who were overly inquisitive. The best part? Every single one of those stories started off the same way, “No one really knows for sure, but…” Ahh…the Internet at its finest. Speaking of which, Ireland-10-fun-and-interesting-facts describes word for word how the Nosey Parker “factoid” is described here in What Country.

hey, if it's on the internet it MUST be true, right?

Coincidence… hmmmm… I think not. This pretty much tells you all you need to know about this app right there. If you are going to claim to be ‘your personal pocket encyclopedia’… here’s a thought… do a little research, or at the very least cite your sources!

In case you are still interested, you can rate the images, mark them as a favorite or share them with friends via email. Oh, there is some potential. You can upload your very own images. While they say the pictures will post in 48 hours, don’t hold your breath. I submitted a couple of pictures over two weeks ago and have yet to see them appear in the image collection for Canada. I was not even asked where the picture was taken or an interesting fact about said picture. That’s the thing about potential. It can be easily squandered. Just ask Ryan Leaf. I am even perplexed by the name of the app, What Country. Are you asking me or telling me? Maybe it’s the answer to a Jeopardy question.

I’ll take lame apps for 99 cents, Alex.

Question: Don’t Bother

Answer: What is “What Country”?

Questions or have an app that you want reviewed? Send an email to: omiwebdesigninfo@gmail.com. You can also follow me on Twitter @matt_briseno