You’re at the mall, and you just need a few more things and you can finish up and head home. Now, where was that mall directory? Oh yeah, it’s in your pocket on your iPhone. You’ll find that, and much more when you use “Point Inside“.
Overview
From the official App Store description:
Find hundreds of thousands of deals using Point Inside’s highly intuitive and fun interactive mapping interface. See special offers, deals and coupons available within malls and from millions of other national and local retailers. Complete directories and interactive indoor maps of over 1,250 malls across North America, over 100 airports worldwide and dozens of other attractions including theme parks and museums.
I took the app to a nearby mall to try it out. While I am familiar with the mall in question, I did try to approach it from the point of view of a first time visitor to the mall. Before entering the mall I loaded the app, and the location services built into the app showed me a map of the surrounding area. I tapped the indicator for the mall and the app loaded a map of the facility. The app can be used in portrait or landscape orientation allowing the best view for whatever facility you are viewing.
While viewing the map, I touched the green “tag” at the top of the screen, this turned on the “Deals” markers, which displayed throughout the mall. Touching a marker allows viewing of whatever special deal that store or restaurant has available. In many cases, you’ll need to show the deal screen to receive your discount or deal.
Meanwhile, a wheel at the bottom of the screen allows you to view the location of ATMs, parking, restrooms, and restaurants. You can search for a specific store or restaurant by tapping the search field at the top of the page. You can then begin entering a search term, or scroll through the list to view store and restaurant names.
Conclusion
I found the app to be useful, especially when searching for a specific store or type of store. The ability to search for ATMs and restrooms also came in handy. The app would be a great addition to your apps list for anyone who travels and spends time in unfamiliar malls or airports, and needs to make trips through such facilities easier to navigate.
Point Inside is available now as a free download through the App Store (link)
Rating: 3.5/5[rating:3.5]
Pros:
- Easy to use, great for someone who might be new to the area and not familiar with the local malls.
- The “deals” feature is a nice touch. Everyone likes to save a buck.
- The app allows you to view stores by category. Also shows nearby stores that fall into the category.
Cons:
- Doesn’t keep track of your location in the mall very well. This is to be expected when using an app like this while inside a building.
- Would be nice if it marked where you parked your car, handy in large malls with multiple entrances.
