Smartphones really have changed the way that we work, interact and play. There is literally an app for every circumstance and this has made finding information or services easier than it’s ever been before. ODEON wanted us to test their brand new Android App which allows you to search for your nearest cinema, find film show-times, view trailers and best of all, book seats completely negating the need to use automated telephone booking systems which can often be troublesome or slow.
They gave me an HTC Wildfire S (which we’re now giving away here) to play with and I went through the motions of finding my local ODEON cinema (which is Epsom for anyone wondering) to book tickets for the 6pm showing of The Muppets last Saturday and I have to say, the experience was rather pleasant and simple!
First thing to do was get the HTC hooked up to my WiFi to make the internet speed all the more rapid (although all of the booking can be done on-the-go using 3G). I should point out here that I’ve never actually properly used an Android phone before. I’m a PC man but decided to bite the bullet and move to an iPhone a year or two ago and since then haven’t looked back (although I haven’t, and probably never will buy a Mac!). Getting used to Android took me a few minutes and I have to admit that I didn’t get on hugely well with the Wildfire handset but I think this was mainly due to the fact that it is so different to that of an iPhone.
Installing the app was simple. You’ll find the free ODEON app in the Android marketplace and it’s quick and easy to install and load. On loading, you’re presented with a few options including one which asks you to detect your location or you can enter your postcode. I enabled this right from the off so that the phone would be able to pinpoint my local cinema which it did straight away. From here you can see the list of movies that are showing at that cinema. For me, I was desperate to see The Muppets after waiting so long to get the chance so selected that movie and then clicked Showtimes – Book now but there is also the option to watch the trailer for the movie.
If you have an account with ODEON, you can set it up within the phone, storing your credit card details and speeding up the process even more as it’ll know who you are as soon as you login. I didn’t have an account so went through the motions setting up my details and then moving onto the booking screen where you can actually select the seats that you’d like to sit in. It’s rather intricate but is a lovely feature and one that also means as soon as you arrive at the cinema screen, you know where to head.
After entering credit card details and receiving the confirmation email, that was me all done. The next step was to head into Epsom, meet my friend Alex (who is Muppet obsessed). Sicne it was a Saturday afternoon, there was rather large queue for tickets at the kiosks but as I’d pre-booked, I strolled into to the automatic ticket dispenser, inserted my credit card that I’d used to book and bish bash bosh, job done! All in all, a great and most importantly, simple experience.
I definitely think that the use of apps like this are the way forward but it works especially well with events like concert, theatre, cinema or any form of ticket booking system. The one downside of booking before going along to the cinema was the booking fee (or credit card handling fee) which came in at £1.50 or £0.75 per ticket. I still have no idea why these add-ons are included, especially since the only person who ‘handled’ my card was me. As a slight aside, some of these charges are going to be scrapped going forward – see this article on the BBC from December 2011 which gives more details and if we’re lucky, ODEON and other cinema chains will scrap it too.
On the brighter side, if you want convenience and speed and want to avoid queueing at your local ODEON when you arrive for tickets, then this is definitely the way to go. The app is well made, fast and easy to use packed full of movie features and got me to The Muppets without any problem at all.
To download the app or find out more information, click here and enjoy your cinema trips because as you know here on HeyUGuys, that’s what we love the most, the movie!
