If you're a swingin' cat who loves to make the rounds, chances are that you've used Eventbrite to register for an outdoor concert, book-club meetup, film festival, or sake tasting. Now you can do so, sans PC, using the company's revamped mobile app. The well-designed Eventbrite Android app boasts an improved design, robust event listing, and the ability to purchase tickets, but it still doesn't support multiple accounts or the ability to create your own events directly from the mobile app—for that you need a PC.
Welcome to the Party, Pal
Eventbrite for Android has three main sections: For You, Popular, and Friends. For You is where you find Eventbrite-recommended titles that are based on the interests that you select upon setting up your account. Popular lets you see the most registered events in your area. Friends? Well, that's pretty self-explanatory: You use it to view the events that your friends plan to attend. Unfortunately, it's useless to a person like me because it only taps your Facebook contacts, and I don't have an account. I would prefer additional options, such as Gmail or Twitter. I'm surprised the service doesn't have hooks into social networks that are more in favor with the younger crowd, as I'd assume that would be a important part of its potential user base.
The app taps your smartphone's GPS to display events in your area. As a New Yorker, I receive information regarding events happening in each of the five borough, as well as the occasional happening in northern New Jersey. Like Ticketmaster's Android app, Eventbrite displays shows and gatherings as easy-to-read panels that feature eye-catching images, pricing information, venues, and dates and times. In a nice touch, each event has an associated hashtag that lets you explore other related happenings. You can also apply filters if you desire more laser-focused selections. For example, I favor free music events that are held on weekends. Ticketmaster lacks many of these filters, save for the ability to search for shows by venue.
Tapping a panel, say Sneaker Con New York City 2016, opens the event listing. You can view a description, a Google Map embed that lets you see how to travel to the location from your current one, and related events. I like the information that Eventbrite provides, but would also like Yelp-like venue photos to complete the experience. Another minor complaint: Unlike the Eventbrite website, the Eventbrite app doesn't let users create events, so you can't set up a book club reading in your local park (unless you do so using your phone's browser, but that's not an ideal experience).
It's important to understand what kind of bookings you can make with the service—and what kinds you can't. Eventbrite specializes in smaller, cool events, such as tastings, music performances, conventions, and readings. Ticketmaster, on the other hand, offers tickets for high-profile shows, such as The Book of Mormon and The Lion King. This is not the sort of thing you'll find on Eventbrite.
Event Registration and Ticket Purchasing
The registration process begins once you've found an intriguing event. You simply tap the big, green Register/Get Tickets icon (the label changes depending on whether the event is free or paid), select the number of registration/tickets using the drop-down box, and bring a finger to the Register/Order Now button. This initiates the checkout process in which you must input your name, email address, and credit/debit card information (if purchasing tickets) within a 15-minute time frame. If you don't complete the purchase within the allotted time, you lose the held ticket and need to begin the process anew. You can also bookmark events to check out later, and invite Facebook friends to events by tapping the Facebook icon and selecting a homie.
Tapping the profile icon takes you to a screen on which you can view all of your event registrations and ticket purchases, past and present. To view them, simply sign in with your preexisting account credentials or the ones you created on checkout. Some events come with barcodes, so you can use your phone as a ticket instead of physically printing one out—that's very convenient. You can also add the event to your calendar or contact the organizer via email.
Sadly, Eventbrite doesn't support multiple account logins. This makes things a bit frustrating for people like me who use Eventbrite for both professional and personal reasons. The ability to switch between accounts would be a welcome addition.
Paint the Town Red
If you already use Eventbrite on a regular or semi-regular basis, downloading this app is a no-brainer. If you have no experience with the site, download the app anyway—it's a solid tool for discovering and booking cool happenings in your area. Small flaws aside, Eventbrite for Android is an app that belongs in your Android arsenal. But if it's big-name Broadway shows you're after, Ticketmaster is a better choice.
Thanx
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