Share what you want with Toast

Toast is a new app from German outfit Giveatoast. It's available now as a free download from the App Store. Toast is designed to be a social, universal "wishlist" app that allows users to list anything they want as a "wish" and include additional details such as price, relevant website and location information. Wishes may then be shared on Facebook and Twitter (with the latter using iOS 5+'s built-in functionality) or via email/text message. Creating a new Wish is a simple matter of tapping the appropriate button in the app, then filling in the relevant information. Wishes may include a title, location, web link, price and photograph. Once posted, they may be "loved" by other users or commented on. Other users may also press a "Wish" button directly on someone else's Wish to add the item and all its information to their own wishlist. Users may remove Wishes from their wishlist at any time. When doing so, they are asked whether or not they are removing the item because the Wish was fulfilled. If the wish was fulfilled, the user is invited to post a special "Toast" message to whoever gave them the item in question. This may optionally have a photograph attached -- perhaps of the user holding their new acquisition, or a picture of the gift-giver in question. Oddly, unlike Wishes, Toasts may not be shared via social media, email or text message -- they are kept within the app. This seems like a silly omission, as this means there is no means of notifying non-Toast users that the Wish has been fulfilled. Toast's interface is clean and slick, with two small "drawers" on either side of the main screen giving access to the main parts of the app on the left, and a list of upcoming Facebook friends' birthdays on the right. The options in the left-hand drawer give access to making a new Wish, viewing the feed of the user and all the people they are following, a feed of just the user's Wishes, an activity feed showing when other users have Loved or commented on Wishes or followed the user, and a detailed profile allowing users to find more friends or view their ranking on the global "Karma" leaderboard. Toast is a nice idea but it's not quite where it should be just yet. One of the biggest issues with it is that it is a bit of a pain to switch back and forth between a web browser and Toast to list something on an online store. This could easily be resolved through the use of a Safari bookmarklet to add a link into Toast or even an in-app browser allowing users to create new link-based Wishes with the touch of a button. At present, it's a little bit clumsy. That said, some curated collections of "Wish Ideas" have been added in the latest update, making it straightforward for users to find popular items and immediately add them to their wishlist. The app could also do with some stronger social hooks. Rather than just being able to post Wishes to Twitter and Facebook, it would be beneficial to be able to post Toasts also. The latest update does also add Facebook Activity Feed functionality, which is a good addition to make others aware of the app and the user's wishlist. Essentially, Toast is a good idea that needs a bit of work on its implementation to be a truly useful "universal wishlist" tool. At present, it works well for those who are using it together, but is not as useful as it could be in broadcasting Wishes and Toasts to the wider social Web. Perhaps with a few more updates it will become a truly useful app -- for now, however, it's little more than an interesting curio. Toast does not appear to be listed on the App Store leaderboards at the time of writing. Check back shortly to follow its progress with AppData, our tracking service for mobile and social apps and developers.

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Share what you want with Toast

Pete Davison

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Pete Davison