viewdini™

Say you’re a movie buff. You’ve probably got Netflix or mSpot Movies on your smartphone. Or, maybe you’re a Thursday-night television junkie. Then, maybe you have Hulu Plus or Verizon Video on your device.

There are plenty of video-streaming apps to choose from these days thanks to better resolutions on smartphones, faster 4G LTE networks and improvements in app technology. And that’s nice and all, but if you’re like us, you sometimes find it confusing to know which apps have the content you’re looking for.

Enter viewdini, a video-search app from Verizon Wireless that houses links to TV shows and movies in one place. It also shows you the apps, services and cable providers that offer your entertainment. Once you decide on a show or flick, viewdini will launch the app or service that’s needed, and your video will begin to play. 

You can search for content three ways within viewdini’s sleek interface (complete with starry night sky backdrops). Swipe around to view featured content in categories such as People Like This, This is New or This is Trending. You can also see featured titles in more basic categories: Movies, TV and Web.

If you want a type of show or movie to watch, you can browse titles by genre (from Comedy and Documentary to Fantasy and Kids). Lastly, if you know exactly what you want to watch, just type in the title or an actor's name into the search bar. As we mentioned, viewdini will launch your show or movie within the app or the web (if, say, you want to watch a show from the WB channel).

Viewdini is impressive not just because it aggregates a seemingly infinite amount of titles, but also because it provides ample background information about each video. Ratings, reviews, summaries, trailers, cast and crew details, related content—it’s all there, thanks to some data-organizing help from TV.com.

Like any decent app these days, viewdini offers sharing capabilities so you can tell your Facebook friends and Twitter followers about the movies and shows you’re digging. You can also bookmark titles to watch later or view your recent search history. 

One important note: You have to be a Verizon Wireless customer with a 4G LTE smartphone or tablet to reap the benefits of viewdini.

If you’re lucky enough to have a contract with the network, though, you’ll realize it pays to have friends in high places. In other words, Verizon’s partnerships with all of the bigwig apps, services and cable providers work greatly to your advantage.

Reviewed: Jun 01, 2012 | Mary Georger

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