Yap TV has recently updated its iOS app, which mixes TV with mobile social media, to produce a program where fans can find their favorite shows and talk about them. The app is free for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad and at its core features a robust TV guide covering all the latest programs from nearly every network. The app is different in that instead of scrolling through long lists of text, you can scan around visually, seeing what is on with images of your shows.
You can click to set any show as a favorite and then track automatically when they will be showing next. You can choose your cable or satellite provider, and the app populates exactly all the channels showing in your area. You can swap around and rearrange your TV lineup as well as hide and show channels. Say you wanted to only focus on new fall shows on CBS, NBC and ABC. The app makes it a snap to organize and see only what you want. You can surf by categories and do keyword searches to find what you are looking for. The app includes access to thousands of images for shows and movies, as well as thousands of TV stars in its database.
Each show has a dashboard, where you can get all the information about the cast, when the show airs and full color imagery. This is where the social element begins to kick in. Each show also has a live chat, tweets and polls. You can see what friends have to say about the show and even vote on different elements. If you don’t like the included polls, you can quickly create your own. You can follow the stars of the show on Twitter, as well as send tweets out, reply and retweet.
Live chat for each show is available so when the show is airing, everyone can jump into the room and give their opinions. Everything happens in real-time; you can see instantly what your other friends are watching and invite them to your show, or join them in theirs.
The app has a lot of unique features, including being optimized for the smaller iPhone screen, signing in on multiple devices, and auto-syncing your favorite shows and channel lineups. Yap.TV is one of a new breed of apps that makes TV social and portable, with friends watching and interacting via mobile. The app is a free download in Apple’s iTunes Store.
