Android App of the Day: Fancy

Posted by Amy Eichelberg

Saturday, April 21st, 2012

Remember back in the day when surfing the internet meant having to either bookmark your favorite sites or actually write the url down somewhere just so you could remember where you saw that weird but cool look egg chair from? Searching for something on the web used to be an actual experience of sorts. That’s all changed now with Google practically reading your mind and providing exactly what you are looking for in a few nano seconds. Where’s the fun in that? That’s why I fell in love with the Android app Fancy by Thingd. Fancy has recreated that lost sensation of search and discovery all wrapped up in a minimalist styled mobile app that delivers a fun experience for its users.

Pros:

Fun way to show off things you like (or wish you had)
Brings back the fun of online search and discovery
Interface is minimalist and clean, has a designer feel to it
Social integration with Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr
Connect with users from the Fancy community, option to like, tag and comment on images
Takes the best aspects of thefancy.com on the go
Provides a “where to buy” option for each image
Voyeuristic fun

Cons:

What’s up with all the wooden iPhone cases?

How it works:

The Fancy app for Android was created to accompany the original website thefancy.com, but has since taken on a life of its own. The concept is pitched by the developers to be part blog, part magazine and part bookmarking tool. Users are able to search and discover new things they “fancy” and share their collection with other users. The app allows the user to browse other people’s collected items in an intuitive interface that is easy to navigate. The app encourages you to fancy items, comment on them, and add to your own growing collection. Signing up is easy, and within minutes you are taking an informative tutorial. The app graciously provides the first time user with a selection of items to fancy, suggested users to follow, and a search function with allows you to locate and add your real-life friends.After I got acclimated with the concept, I couldn’t believe the overwhelming stunning quality of the images found throughout the app. The whole experience is perfect for the visual voyeur.

Discovering items to Fancy

Simply scroll down the New tab and you will see a feed of images that other users fancy. The images are clearly titled which helps to explain the item and the name of the user who posted it. Each image also provides an actual “where to buy” option, which makes this app extremely practical for someone wanting to discover new things and integrate the actual item into their life. Having this option was an added bonus that some of the other comparable apps don’t offer. Simply tap on the image and the following options appear:

Where to buy: links directly to the item’s website page (typically the product’s shopping cart url)

More info: additional details on the item directly from their website

Show Someone: send the image to a Fancy user with an optional message

Share: Option to instantly share your fancies via Email, Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr: social integration to share item with contacts outside of the Fancy community

Connecting with others

The Fancy app makes it extremely easy to find and connect with other like-minded people who share the same collective interests as yourself. By tapping on a user’s profile pic, you can bring up the profile page of a user. A user’s profile page contains their social contact information and a thumbnail view of all their postings. Simply tap the Follow button to stay on top all his/her updates in the future.

Conclusion

Fancy app for Android brings together the best parts of the web for anyone who is a fan of fashion, gadgets, oddities, and of course, the fancier things in life. The interface maintains a designer minimalist feel which was easy to navigate through and connect with other like-minded users. After a few weeks with the Fancy app I felt like I could window shop right from my Android and share my favorite things with a whole audience of people doing the same thing. I will warn all the Android users out there that Fancy is stuffed to the brim with Apple lovers. Brace yourself for a whole lot of wooden iPhone cases. Other than that, I absolutely love this app and fancy that you would too.