Sleep+ is a tiny iPhone application developed by Jingliang Chen that comes to the rescue of insomniacs. Featuring a few relaxing and sleep-inducing melodies, Sleep+ is both cool and useful.
The only question to be settled is whether it’s worth $2.99.
Overview
Despite being primarily concerned with insomniacs, Sleep+ is also useful for the stressed. In fact, Sleep+ is all about relaxation, and anyone feeling that they need to calm down can benefit from it. To achieve its purpose, Sleep+ features a number of sounds and melodies which apparently are extremely relaxing.
Sleep+ features 15 tracks. Those which come at the beginning of the playlist, are long, up to 25 minutes. The last tracks, on the other hand, are much shorter, not being longer than 6 minutes. All in all, the tracks make up for about two hours of music, which, truth be told, is indeed quite relaxing.
User Interface
There are a few other ambient applications found in the App Store, so it seems useful to compare Sleep+ to them. The UI is really attractive, as are the graphics. The app works smoothly, and the clear design does make you enjoy using it. However, it should be remembered that Sleep+ is supposed to make you fall asleep, so the visual part, appealing as it may be, doesn’t really count for much.
New Feature: Auto-Shutdown
Sleep+ comes with an auto-shut down option, which could have been only expected from an app of this kind. Moreover, repeat and shuffle options are also present – surprisingly as it may seem, some other similar apps lack them.
Without a doubt, Sleep+ has beautiful, relaxing music, but it’s really hard to claim that its playlist is much better than say a classical playlist. Actually, it’s rather difficult to make such comparisons anyway. Also, there’s not a single ambient tone or a nature sound, e.g. rain hitting the windowpanes, so it’s hard to say that the playlist is especially effective in making you fall asleep – it just contains melodious, relaxing music.
Price Justified
And now we’ve come to the price. Sleep+ was only $1.99 when it was first launched, but now it costs $2.99. The first price was a far more reasonable one considering that you pay for a playlist which, although beautiful, is not above a classical or instrumental one that you can put together yourself. The auto-shut down feature is a nice addition, but is still not enough to justify the price.
Most insomniacs who happen to own an iPhone will appreciate Sleep+. After all, it’s a well-integrated little app that’s fun to use and does what it says. However, the question of whether it’s really worth $2.99 is hard to answer.
Final Thoughts
The playlist is indeed beautiful, and the UI is smooth and pleasant to use, and the auto-shut down is a welcome addition. But none of these things are really indispensable – you can do without.
The bottom line? Sleep+ is a useful little app that does all the things it promises, but in the end it’s really up to you to decide whether or not it’s really worth buying.
Check out Sleep+ for the iPhone, iPod, and iPad from the App Store.
This guest article has been written by Calvin Scott. Calvin has an interest in Internet marketing and the new developments in the tech world. Visit his site for Glasvezel Amsterdam or Glasvezel.
