Review: 24 Christmas Days for iPhone

24 Christmas Days from Gourmet Pixel is an advent calendar which can be used year after year, and makes use of several of the iPhone's features to create an interactive, fun, and festive application.

One of the features of the software is that you can't open a particular window on the virtual calendar until at least that date. Fortunately, I've managed to take a sneak peek behind the scenes to bring you this review.

Look & Feel

Before December 1st arrives, a snow-filled screen appears introducing the application and telling you how many days there are left until you can open the first window.

Once at the calendar screen, 24 windows (arranged as a four-by-six grid) appear. Tapping on a window before the date arrives greets you with a message that you're too early.

Otherwise, you'll be greeted with a range of seasonal fare, including "cracker" jokes and fun facts, music, wallpaper, and a special little surprise once you get to the 24th December.

How it runs

I won't spoil the surprise by telling you all the little touches that have been built in, but the application runs solidly and reliably, and does exactly what it should.

Being a bit picky, it would have been nice if some of the riddles and other text-based windows had opened up something more decorative, rather than just using the iPhone's default dialogue boxes, but that's OK. Expect the jokes to be suitably corny -- that's the law at Christmas anyway, isn't it?

The music sounds like it's based on MIDI files and is generally good, though my ear noticed a few bum notes. Everything else is nice and festive.

It's worth noting that this only works on the iPhone and second-generation iPod touch with at least firmware 2.0, so don't buy it if you have a first-generation iPod touch.

Conclusion

This is a simple but integrated application available for a low price. One could always expect more to have been built in, but actually it does exactly what it's supposed to, is family-friendly, and adds just a touch of Christmas spirit to your iPhone on the run up to the big day. I wonder if there'll be an update for it in mid-November 2009?

If you're hankering for chocolate, buy a real advent calendar too, but for £1.19 it's a worthy addition to your iPhone.

24 Christmas Days (iTunes Store link)

Review of Advent08 and comparison with 24 Christmas Days

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