IMDb 3.0 for iPad

I’m a fan of the major update to the IMDb app for iOS released today. Hitting version 3.0, IMDb (which, for those who don’t know, is owned by Amazon) sports a completely refreshed user interface for the iPad, taking advantage of the larger screen to provide better access to a variety of sections, charts, and options for your account.

The “Home screen” of the app is now accessible  by swiping to the right (or tapping the IMDb logo) to bring up a panel on the left; this panel contains your lists and recommendations (if you’re signed in) as well as links to Featured movies and TV shows, “Coming Soon” (either to theaters or DVD/Blu-Ray), Latest (news, birthdays, etc) and Popular. There’s a lot to browse through thanks to these links collected under your account’s information. The main view itself is interesting too: at the top, there’s a Coverflow-like carousel of featured entries that, however, are actually composed of two distinct items. As you swipe, a movie will be presented with a poster (to go to the IDMb page for the item) and a trailer thumbnail, which you can tap on to start playing a trailer right away. The entire app is full of mini widgets/sections that you can swipe through to access other pages or view more content. The interface has been polished to offer a simple dark background that makes movie posters really “pop”.

For me, the best feature is improved support for Watchlist and the reorganized movie pages. Every item now has a “+” button to quickly add it to your Watchlist, which can be opened in a “top shelf” by tapping on the same button in the upper toolbar; the shelf also features an arrow button on the side to go straight to the dedicated Watchlist page (this button is used elsewhere in the app). History (every item you’ve recently viewed through the app) is available in the same section at the top. The new item pages are essentially composed of three main areas: movie information (poster, reviews, trailer, photos, and more) on the left, Cast on the right, and “You might also like” recommendations at the bottom right.

Both the iPhone and iPad app now use native iOS 6 Facebook sharing and include TV episode details in Filmographies. IMDb 3.0 is available on the App Store.