Crutchfield Catalog app review: time to get shopping

Introduction

If you need to do a little shopping for video and audio gear, then it's time to look to your mobile device to help you out. There's no need to head out to the stores and fight with the crowds when instead you can use the Crutchfield Catalog app to do all your shopping. Here you'll be able to check out the catalogs, also available offline once you download them, and find all the latest gadgets you'd love to purchase.

Find What You’re Looking For

For those who haven't heard of Crutchfield it has actually been around since 1974 when the company sent out its very first catalog. The app gives you the ability to view its catalogs in a digital form and also includes all kinds of interactive bonuses. Thanks to digital technology catalogs have now morphed into something much more immersive, engaging, and helpful. Instead of reading a traditional print catalog where you are restricted to the information on that page, with the digital version you can tap on items to get even more information, pictures of the item, and even videos that might relate to it.

The catalog can be streamed online, and if you are reading it while streaming you’ll be able to purchase items from the catalog. If you want to access the catalog offline, just be sure to download it first.

Using the App

While this app is available for all your iOS devices it was made with the iPad in mind and that's where it displays best. Of course no matter what device you use it on you'll be able to pinch to zoom to get all the details on items. Browsing through the pages are easy just swipe to turn the pages. Choose from facing or full-screen view, there is a table of contents to help you find what you're looking for, and you can set it up so that the latest and newest catalogs will automatically be pushed to your device.

As for my experience with the app I can say it is pretty smooth to use. Flipping the pages is a bit slow as they take their time to load. I like that you can pinch the screen to zoom and get a whole lot more detail. This helps in your shopping experience obviously. You can also share products by email, Twitter, Facebook, and other methods.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Very easy to use
• The ability to shop from within the app
• Pinch to zoom in on items
• Read details on items
• Share items by social media and email

Cons

• Pages are a little slow to load and turn
• While offline you can only browse the catalog you have pre-downloaded

Final Thoughts

The Crutchfield Catalog app provides you with a smooth shopping experience where you can zoom in for all the details, shop from within the app, and see the very latest in audio and visual gear and gadgets. For the best experience you’ll want to use this app with the iPad.