Simple Bracket review

The Simple Bracket iPhone app is a cool way to complete a bracket, win points, and develop pools with an innovative scoring system that rewards upsets. The Simple Bracket iPhone app is streamlined, efficient, and well worth the $.99 download from the iTunes App Store.

The Simple Bracket iPhone app requires a Twitter account to sign-in, but, if you do not have one, you can create one from the home screen. As you authorize the Twitter account, the basketball spins. The graphics are simple, clear, and appealing.

The navigation of the Simple Bracket iPhone app is easily accomplished by moving from one category to another with simple touches at the bottom of the screen. You can access your profile, bracket, awards, pools, and leaders.

Your profile screen is neatly organized and concise. Your profile photo and Twitter handle are at the top of the screen. Just below, you will find brief statistics like the percentage of the tournament completed, points earned, and total points available. Then, you will find a list of the rounds of the tournament with a tally of your correct picks and points earned. At the bottom of the screen, you can access a brief explanation of the scoring system.

The scoring information is based on research by Dr. Ted Gooley. He has analyzed tournaments beginning in 1985 and has developed a unique scoring system. It awards points based on each team’s seed and the likelihood of a win. For example, if you picked Florida Gulf Coast, then you got more points than Louisville’s win last weekend.

The bracket screen is neat and tidy, and it is an unexpected list. All of the first 64 pairings begin on the left side of the screen, and each region is grouped together. You make selections with simple, intuitive gestures. For each round, there is a new column. Each column is labeled with the round, so you can quickly find pairings. You can touch the search icon to zoom in and out as well.

There are other nice features and tools of the Simple Bracket iPhone app. The awards screen helps you track achievements, and the leaders icon allows you to access the most successful users of the Simple Bracket iPhone app. The pools icon is a fun pyramid graphic, and you can add or join pools of families and friends. You create a name and pin, then you invite others to join.

The Simple Bracket iPhone app is efficient, well-designed, and very functional. The only hurdle is the requirement to have a Twitter account.