BlogWriter – Review

Our rating:

By: Yongkai Lei

Version #: 2.5.1

Date Released: 2008-07-30

Developer:

Price: 9.99

User Rating:

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BlogWriter is a great concept but needs refinement.

Setting up BlogWriter was quick but only once we got the right settings. Unfortunately that took some doing since the auto-fill feature that adds your credentials didn’t seem to work properly and needed to be erased and filled in my hand. From there though it was easy but not elegant.

With BlogWriter you can write text, add an image and even geotag the image. Editing the text was a painful experience since text scrolling was rough, at best. I often found myself backing out of the post to the main screen and then returning to the post that was auto-saved. It worked but it was awkward, at best.

When I put up the post the geotag info worked but the image did not post. You can see the actual post here on JAMM.

To its benefit BlogWriter includes an RSS reader to make grabbing news items and then posting them yourself easier. It includes some pre-set sites but they are sparse. It allows you to add your own, but it is cumbersome. As an RSS reader is was tremendously lacking.

In short, while BlogWriter works it feels like a Beta or even an Alpha version of the software. And did I happen to mention is costs $9.99?

Quick Take

Value: Low
Would I Buy Again: Not in its current version but in the future, perhaps
Learning Curve: Medium to High
Who is it for: Bloggers who use multiple blog engines
What I like: Inclusion of RSS feeds is a nice feature.
What I Don’t: The UI, the limited functionality, the terrible experience of editing a post, currently no way to choose a category or add tags
Similar Apps: WordPress
Recommended: Due to WordPress’ flexibility and ease of use I would highly recommend WordPress over BlogWriter

Final Statement: BlogWriter has potential but it is far from fulfilling it. Doug over at JAMM was kind enough to get me a copy. I only wish just one of us had bought it first.