Lauren Goode

Recent Posts by Lauren Goode

Vodio, Another Social Video-Watching App, Comes to iPhone

Densa. Dejo. Showyou. Watchup. Each of these apps, and more, has been described as a “Flipboard for video.”

Vodio fits into that group, too, but aims to stand apart by offering a personalized rotation of video clips that incorporates clips from social media. After six months in the App Store and about a quarter-of-a-million downloads on the iPad, Tel Aviv-based Vodio Labs is bringing its app to iPhone in the hope that even more people will use it.

As with the iPad app, Vodio on iPhone prompts you to choose up to five categories of video that interest you the most — Sports, Tech, News, Comedy and Viral, for example — and vertically lays out a carousel of clips for you based on those topics, while also integrating videos that your friends on Facebook and Twitter are sharing.

Vodio has a great interface on both iPad and iPhone, loads and fast-forwards through videos quickly, and uses a smart algorithm to know what you like and watch to serve up more of it. If you watch a lot of Conan or clips from “The Daily Show,” comedy videos are going to show up in your main Highlight feed. If you like Shark Week clips, shark videos are going to top your Science feed and Highlight feed. Crowd favorites, like the Gotye mashup that surfaced on YouTube this week, appear in the Hot 100 list.

It still doesn’t have a search function, though, which can be frustrating. Users looking for a specific video will still have to search online or through YouTube. Certain sources of premium content are currently off-limits to Vodio — Vevo videos, for example, won’t appear in your Vodio feeds.

And, sorry, Android fans: Vodio has yet to launch an Android mobile app.

Aside from that, Vodio offers an easy, ad-free video-watching experience, one worth checking out if you’re looking for a good Web video aggregator. Or, you know, more Gotye!

Latest Video

View all videos »

Search »

Another gadget you don’t really need. Will not work once you get it home. New model out in 4 weeks. Battery life is too short to be of any use.

— From the fact sheet for a fake product entitled Useless Plasticbox 1.2 (an actual empty plastic box) placed in L.A.-area Best Buy stores by an artist called Plastic Jesus