The official AMC Theaters app for Windows Phone 7 was always a half way decent effort by the company to woo users from Fandango/Flixster to going through AMC directly. Initially, the biggest gripe we had was the lack of AMC Stubs support (their ticket rewards system) but that was evidently added back in October.
A few days ago though, AMC released a second version for Windows Phone 8 users. That’s a cool deal because it means the 7.x version can still be updated separately (most devs want to have just one app to maintain, not two). The Windows Phone 8 version though is quite fantastic for a few reasons..
- It’s faster (goes without saying as WP8 allows better programming)
- Higher resolution screen support
- Lock screen image support
- Wallet integration
The first two additions are givens with Windows Phone 8 app, so not a big deal at all (though surely awesome). Those last two though are pretty killer.
We know for a fact that lockscreen (lock screen?) integration is on the high priority list for users these days and the AMC app does an admirable job in this version. As you can see by the lead image above, about 1/3 of the screen displays an image from a new hit movie, while the bottom 2/3 is grey with the AMC logo. While not a gorgeous look, it’s actually quite practical as it allows you to see your info quite easily and it keeps the lock screen consistent and elegant looking in our opinion. It also updates quite frequently, which is awesome.
The second addition is with AMC Stubs. Not only can you login to your account to view your purchase history, buy new tickets and manage things but it now ties directly into Wallet for your “virtual card”. That means you can pin the AMC Stubs card to your Start screen and with one tap, bring up the barcode for quick scanning. This will allow you to pick up your tickets or get discounts when you make a purchase. That’s hands down a super convenient feature for frequent AMC goers.
AMC Theaters has done a great job with their Windows Phone 8 version. We’re only gushing a little about it because it goes to show you how easy it can be for companies and services to take advantage of the new OS. AMC Theaters is by no means the biggest player in mobile, but like USA Today, CNN and a few other official apps, simply hiring the right developer can make a huge impact.
So if you’re on Windows Phone 8 and frequent AMC theaters, pick up their app here in the Store (Windows Phone 7.x users can still get their version here).
