While I was playing with the Android Market I downloaded and used a little application called “Krystal 2”. Read how silly the apps description sounds: “Pet your phone, and let it return the love you show it. This furry little creature vibrates and coos. The more you pet it, the happier it gets.”
Is it that dumb? Yes it, is:
The application is simply a furry, carpet looking surface that vibrates and shakes when you pet it. Its probably one of the dumbest things I’ve seen in my life. Unfortunately, I must be dumb because I found it strangely addicting in a bizarre kind of novelty way. It just might be dumb enough to be Android’s Most Popular applications… taking after an iPhone application in a similar position.
If you don’t know what Koi Pond is, its the most popular iPhone Application… and it does virtually nothing. Its a “pond simulator” where fish swim around and you can decorate it and put fish in it, looking at it from an overhead view. Its pointless, useless and a complete waste of time that will cost you 99 cents. Here is a quick demo of Koi Pond:
The difference between Koi Pond and Krystal 2 is pretty large. Koi Pond was made with a TON of graphical expertise and its quite beautiful, to be honest. There are tons of options to customize your pond as well. Krystal 2 is just 1 screen that does 1 thing when you touch it in 1 way. But the CONCEPT is there.
If maker Steven Levis were to build Krstal 2 out to be more like a NeoPet or SimPet experience where your “Android pet” loves you the more you pet it, feed it and take care of it then it could be a HUGE hit. Compare how much your pet loves you compared to how much other people’s pets love them! Be a good samaritan and adopt someone else’s pet if they are mistreating it. Customize the look of your pet and build them a dog house or pet house or something.
So Steven Levis, heed this advice and start building up Krystal 2… not to mention give it a new, more catchy name. And other developers should get started on something like this because if it DOES have a professional level of integration such as Koi Pond, people WILL download it. And if it has a level of social integration, it very well COULD become the most popular Android Application.
So lets hear it. What do YOU think will be the most popular app… whether it exists yet or not? Remember – the most useful doesn’t usually translate to the most popular!