TAPP review [iPhone]

Not so long ago, the challenge developers faced when coming up with a new social network was giving people a consistant and reliable way to connect with each other. A bit of text, no subscription fees and a reasonably simple way to communicate, and to put your thoughts and feelings out into cyberspace. That's all a social network needed, but these days it's quite different.

Socialising on the iPhone requires a specific hook to make people join in. There's no point taking on Facebook, Twitter and G+ directly. WhatsApp and iMessages have the IM market sewn shut, so trying to make headway in that respect is no easier. And while it's unfair to say TAPP relies on a gimmick, that's actually just what a new social entertainment app like this needs.

The concept is built around the notion of writing a message on a pretend piece of paper, folding it into a virtual paper airplane and casting it upon the wind. As it sails past another TAPP user, they can grab it, add their own message and throw it out again in which ever direction they like.

This throw is quite literal, too. A glance at the map overview (provided by Gmaps, so it all looks nice) shows all the current paper airplanes flying within your grasp. Each user has a certain radius from the current location, and any planes within that circle are up for grabs. What's nice about this is that your physical location has a significant impact on the messages you can receive, and it's also fascinating to see just how far some planes have travelled before crossing your path.

A purpose can be given to a plane, such as trying to get it around the world in 80 days, and you can also add photos and videos when you throw it back out onto the wind. The slideshow that builds itself around some of the travels are therefore very interesting, and any plane you've interacted with remains on your personal radar as long as it's in flight.

So the gimmick that TAPP is built around is undeniably solid, and very entertaining. But as a social network, it's hard to imagine how well it could work. Sending planes (and therefore messages) to someone specific is a matter of luck, as much as design, although it's not impossible.

But TAPP does encourage as much participation as possible, rewarding you with an increased catchment area and other goodies the more planes you push along and release of your own accord. This appears to be building clusters of pseudo-aviation communities, which is rather nice.

It's not going to meet your communication needs, but TAPP is great for connecting with new people in a very unique way.