Gwen Shlam's Blog: IMDb Android app update brings major redesign, trailers, global showtimes, and more

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

IMDb Android app update brings major redesign, trailers, global showtimes, and more

The official IMDb app for Android just got a big update, and it does not disappoint. Along with a complete design-overhaul, the app has been stuffed full of IMDb goodness to the point that it's now more enjoyable to use than the actual website itself.

The redesign is very sleek. They've basically taken the original palette and layout, expanded it all, and turned up the sexy. As nice as it looks though, the biggest thing I noticed was that everything about the app is blazingly fast. It's so fast that it's a bit off-putting, because using IMDb.com has always felt to me like an exercise in extreme patience.

Movie trailers now take center stage, literally, which makes sense since they're one of the big reasons that people like going to IMDb in the first place. The fully revamped app makes trailers, and other media, a priority now with the very first screen you see a springboard for viewing trailers of upcoming and top new movies. The trailers themselves play better than I had anticipated, and like the rest of the app, they load quickly.

Between the design and the new features, including international movie showtimes, the app is extremely functional. I was able to sprint through several movies, TV shows, actors, and news stories in seconds -- which is far more than I can say for trying to load the website in a mobile browser.

Gallery: IMDb for Android - Updated February 2011