BEST BUY

Overview: This is a handsome, fast, user friendly app. Go to the Home page and the major categories are right up front. Adding items to the cart and viewing the cart couldn’t be easier. The checkout process is easy and as slick as the rest of the app. The “Weekly Deals,” which break out featured items from the rest of the store, is also a fine addition. When it comes to scrolling through items in general, sometimes the system can be too sensitive, suddenly opening a product page when the intention is to keep scrolling. There are a lot of products for sale and it is good that new items can be added, but those new items should not replace the old. Instead, the list should keep on growing (a la the App Store). Best Buy’s store locator works fast, but be careful not to tap on the store itself or the app will make a phone call. A tap on the map graphic will close the app and launch Google Maps with the directions to the store displayed. Under the “Tools” area there is a loyalty club, of which more shoppers should take advantage. In the “Setting” area you can increase the number of products displayed per page, which is recommended.

Nicest Touch:  Drop down sort. Organize catalog items alphabetically, by ratings, price, etc.

Biggest Problem: Search+ (under Tools). While this is “Search+” and not plain old Search, the display itself is confusing. There’s also no way to exit the text field without first inputting something into keypad, even if it’s gibberish. Most everything in the app is easy to use, but this was the exception.

Overall Grade: A (Recipient of the “AlKal Seal of Approval”)