Meshbean is a game discovery app and service that aims to make it nice and easy for users to discover new games to play while also earning points to redeem prizes in the process. Meshbean features its own recommendation engine that figures out which apps and games to recommend to its users by finding out which apps they actually downloaded and used. Meshbean offers up points for referrals, certain apps and offers downloaded to be redeemed for prizes including gift cards, essentially making Meshbean another way of making a little extra cash. Of course, what really matters is whether or not Meshbean is any good as a game discovery service? To answer this question, join us as we take a closer look.
First of all, downloading Meshbean can either be done via their website, or through the Play Store, which is the method that I preferred. Signing up to Meshbean is fairly simple, and can be done through either Facebook or Google+, refreshingly.
I chose the Google+ sign-in option, and that led me to a website to approve the sign-in, which was a little disjointed, as many apps allow for this sort of thing to be done from within the app.
Once you’re fully signed in to Meshbean, you’ll be introduced into the rewards program. This was nice and all, but I was confused at the focus on the rewards, rather than how to discover new games.
When inside of the app, the interface is a little cluttered, and it almost feels like the app was ported from iOS over to Android, rather than natively developed for Android.
I was a little confused to see so many apps here, as Meshbean was supposed to be a game discovery service, but I did find a game and as you can see the description of the app didn’t quite lineup properly.
As promised however, Meshbean does indeed send you to the Play Store to download and install a game, which is nice as that means that there’s no way you’re downloading anything unsafe to your device.
As we’ve discovered, earning points is a big part of Meshbean, and finding out your referral code and inviting friends is nice and simple.
There are also offers and rewards that you can do in order to earn more coins.
Not sure why there were iOS offers here, but there are substantial offers here, it’s just a shame things aren’t a little more organised.
Mehsbean is an app that has a lot of potential, but right now that’s all it is, sadly. It’s available on both Android and iOS, which is a good thing, but there’s too much iOS in the Android app. Not only does the Android app look and feel dated, as if it were a simple port from iOS, but there are offers for iPhone and iOS users inside the Android app. Still, the app does suggest apps that other might not come across inside of the Play Store, but I have seen apps like these in other offerings similar to Meshbean and it appears to me that users might only find the apps and games that the developers can afford to advertise like this. I could be wrong of course, as too much goes through the Play Store, and to have apps like Meshbean is a good thing. Over time, and with more updates that add polish and fix a few problems here and there, we’re sure that Meshbean will be able to offer all that it promises to its users.
Ratings
- Speed (4/5) – There are no problems with performance overall here, and everything loads quickly.
- Features (3.5/5) – With too many iOS promotions, and little focus on discovering just new games, Meshbean has some work to do.
- Theme (3.5/5) – This feels like a port from iOS, rather than an Android app, and there are some problems with the overall look and feel of the app.
- Overall (3.5/5) – This is not a new concept, and the app offers itself up as a “game discovery” service, but I found more apps and offers to earn coins than I did new games I’d like to play. This is a fairly new platform however, and over time things will start to balance out.
Pros
- Offers quick and easy sign-in options with either Facebook or Google+ accounts.
- Takes users directly to the Play Store to ensure quick updates of the apps as well as peace of mind when downloading.
- Makes it nice and simple to invite new friends to gain more coins and such.
- Offers and app downloads are promoted with more coins than usual, which offer a nice incentive to try something new.
Cons
- Too many iOS promotions within the Android app, this is for Android users, not iPhone users.
- Android app itself feels a little sluggish and under-developed.
All-in-all, Meshbean is an app platform that’s just getting off of the ground, and over time we’re sure it’ll get better. To do that, Meshbean needs to get rid of the iOS offers and polish up the Android app, as well as offer more games rather than apps and offers, after all Meshbean does promise to be a “game discovery” service.
