Food Applications - Research Paper Example

Food Applications of the of the Food Applications Option 3 Eat24 Order Food Delivery & Takeout Application The Eat24 Order Food Delivery & Takeout application provides a lot of information regarding its products. This enables the customer to arrive at a very good decision regarding his meal. In addition, it provides excellent tracking information. This app can be downloaded and used immediately, without having to undertake additional steps. A customer or user who wishes to make the best use of this great app should create an account. All the necessary payment details are stored permanently, and the customer has to merely provide the mailing information for placing an order (Poeana, 2014). With a nine year history, Eat24 Order Food Delivery & Takeout has achieved considerable popularity. Alexa has ranked it as 62,339 in the world, and it has classified its services as average at 2.071 seconds (JudgeSpot, 2014). Strengths The Eat24 Order Food Delivery & Takeout App can be used for locating restaurants in the vicinity of the customer. In addition, the user can search through the different types of restaurants and examine the various dishes on offer. Moreover, the user of this app has the option of viewing only those restaurants that are open at that time (Poeana, 2014). Furthermore, it is possible to filter the options and obtain a list of restaurants that accept or offer coupons. It is also possible to categorize the search results on the basis of delivery fee, distance, order type, or cuisine. In fact, the use can search for a specific menu item or restaurant. He can also explore the ratings, exhaustive menus, and then arrive at a decision regarding the food item to order (Poeana, 2014). Another facility provided by this app is the presence of the cart mechanism. When the user comes across a menu item that is to his liking, he can add it to the cart, and after completing the selection of food items, the user can view the contents of the cart. These cart items can be removed or edited. After this, the user can place the order, make the payment online and receive the menu items. There is a robust complaint section of this app, which provides a 24/7 chat and live order status (Poeana, 2014). Some users have found this app to be of great help to them. A major advantage of this app is that it can be downloaded and immediately used for selecting a restaurant and food items. The entire process can be completed in minutes, and the tracking facility in this app enables the user to monitor the delivery of the order (EAT24, 2014). Moreover, another user of this app found it very easy to use. This user was able to locate a restaurant to which orders could be placed from this app (EAT24, 2014). On the whole, the experience proved to be delightful for this user. Weaknesses In a customer review, it was revealed that he had faced a genuine problem, while placing an order with the Eat24 Order Food Delivery & Takeout App. One customer attempted to order from a local restaurant. It proved to be impossible to add any item to the cart, during the first attempt. The process was not intuitive and quite confusing. Subsequently, on the second attempt, the cart accepted two out of the three items selected. This user was quite apprehensive about using the app for online purchases (EAT24, 2014). This review shows the defect in the Eat24 Order Food Delivery & Takeout App, while placing orders. In another review a customer faced serious problem with his order. He was provided with a food item that he had not ordered. When he demanded a refund, he had to encounter a slow and negligent response from the online staff of the Eat24 Order Food Delivery & Takeout App. These individuals informed him that they could not supersede the decision of the restaurant management, in such issues (Josh, 2014). This incident reveals the negligent, slow and ineffective communication between the personnel of the Eat24 Order Food Delivery & Takeout App and restaurants. 2. Fooducate App The grading system of Fooducate operates on the basis of the assumption that minimally processed, real foods that possess intrinsic nutrients will be more preferable for the customer, in comparison to processed foods that have very few nutrients. Users of the Fooducate App can view the grades of food items, communicate with friends, view history, search for food items by category or name, prepare a grocery list, identify healthy alternatives to food items, and participate in discussions relating to health (Baturin, 2012). This app can be used by logging in as a guest, account holder of Fooducate, or through a Facebook account. These options are quick and do not pose any problems. The Fooducate App enables the user to grade a food item. This allows the user and his family to make better food choices, and thereby promote healthy eating (Baturin, 2012). Strengths At the time of shopping for groceries, Fooducate can be of great assistance. The items to be found in a typical US grocery store can be graded with this app. A major purpose of this app is to provide the user with information regarding the unhealthy ingredients in packaged, processed, or prepared food items. Although, the ingredients and their nutritional content are prominently displayed on the packaging of food items, many customers do not have the knowledge to determine the unhealthy substances in the food item and the presence of excessive amounts of such substances in the food item. Moreover, the Fooducate App scans the barcode on packages and recognizes the ingredients. For the process to be completed rapidly, the camera of the iPhone containing the app has to maintain the correct aperture and focus. In addition, the iPhone has to be connected to the Internet, as this app retrieves the data from the Fooducate servers. Weaknesses The Fooducate App requires an iOS device that has a camera, if it is to provide information rapidly. In the absence of a camera on the iOS device, the barcode numbers have to be entered manually, and this delays the functioning of the app. In addition, the device has to be connected to the Internet. Therefore, the device containing this app has to be proximate to a free Wi-Fi source.In addition, the database available on the Fooducate servers tends to be incomplete. There are several food items that have to be recognized or analyzed. This is especially true of imported food items (Truong, 2011). Incomplete information on servers leads to confusion in the consumer, since he has to analyze the available information on imported foods. This shows the insufficiency of databases, of the Fooducate App, regarding information about foods. 3. Wild Edibles App The Wild Edibles App is an easy to use and intuitive interface. It facilitates the identification of wild edible plants, and provides information regarding their use. This app is based upon the publications and knowledge of Steve Brill. This authority on wild edible plants is readily accessible and he provides detailed information about the wild edible plants. Every plant entry on this app, provides uses, recipes, and warnings regarding that plant (WinterRoot LLC, 2014). Strengths This app has been regarded as being an accurate, user friendly, and comprehensive guide for wild edible plants. A large number of photos and detailed descriptions of wild edible plants have been provided. This makes it quite easy to identify wild edible plants and to obtain information regarding their medical and nutritional benefits. Moreover, a number of delicious recipes using these plants have been made available (WinterRoot LLC, 2014). Weaknesses Reviews by some customers, revealed the weaknesses of Wild Edibles App. For instance, some users had expressed dissatisfaction with this app. Their complaint was that its various versions were not deployable across different hardware devices. For instance, one user stated that the lite version of this app had worked excellently with his Kindle fire (WinterRootLLC, 2013). However, the full paid version had not been made for Kindle fire. This review showed that there were problems with Wild Edibles App, with regard to certain specific software programs. Another user declared that navigation in this app was time consuming. Every time the user had to look up some other feature of a plant, he was compelled to return to the menu to select the appropriate section. In fact, many users had stated that the only redeeming feature of the app was the photos of the wild edible plants. In the absence of these photos, the digital book was proposed by these users as being a better option (WinterRootLLC, 2013). This review shows that it is difficult to navigate the Wild Edibles App. In addition, many consumers have felt that a digital book is a better option, in the absence of photos in the app. This discloses customer dissatisfaction with the overall features of the Wild Edibles App. References Baturin, M. (2012, April 9). Fooducate for iPhone Review. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from http://www.everythingicafe.com/fooducate-for-iphone-review/ EAT24. (2014). EAT24 Order Food Delivery & Takeout. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/eat24-order-food-delivery/id517729226?mt=8 Josh. (2014, August 2). Customer Review. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from amazon: http://www.amazon.com/review/R37Q0IU64OYTYB/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R37Q0IU64OYTYB JudgeSpot. (2014). About Eat24hours.com. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from http://judgespot.com/review/eat24hours.com Poeana, M. (2014). Place Your Order With Eat24 Order Food Delivery & Takeout - See more at: http://www.appbite.com/eat24-order-food-delivery-takeout-iphone-app-review/#sthash.QMr6yCYR.dpuf. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from http://www.appbite.com/eat24-order-food-delivery-takeout-iphone-app-review/ Truong, T. (2011, January 24). iPhone App of the Week: Fooducate 1.12. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/technology/iphone-app-of-the-week-fooducate-112-49895.html WinterRoot LLC. (2014). Wild Edibles Full. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from iTunes Preview: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wild-edibles-full/id431504588?mt=8 WinterRootLLC. (2013, May 27). Wild Edibles. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.winterroot.wildedibles.full Read More