VelaClock Sun/Moon app for iPhone and iPad
Developer: Vela Design Group
First release : 14 Feb 2011
App size: 4.89 Mb
VelaClock is a world clock with unique features and an easily configurable user interface. VelaClocks feature set is ideal for photographers and outdoor enthusiasts. Users can quickly display the time of sunrise, sunset, dawn and dusk for three kinds of twilight (civil, nautical, astronomical), moon phase and tilt, and much more. VelaClock was the featured app at TUAW.com on 3/11/2011.
VelaClock is invaluable to users who travel or communicate with friends and colleagues around the world. VelaClock is an excellent tool for finding a good meeting time for cities in multiple time zones.
VelaClock can display the time and sun/moon information for:
- your current location (using the network or built-in GPS).
- cities around the world (over 500 cities currently available).
- user-defined locations by specifying latitude/longitude and time zone.
At a glance, VelaClock shows whether a city is currently in daylight, twilight or night. White text indicates daylight (sun is above horizon) and black text indicates night (sun is below horizon). A twilight indicator (a small colored rectangle) will appear to the right of the time when the city is in twilight.
The rows in the city list can optionally show a daylight bar that gives the user a picture of 24 hours of natural light (bright daylight, three kinds of twilight and night). The daylight bar (24 hours of light) may be centered at noon or current time. A thin white bar indicates when the moon is visible.
Tapping on a city row will transition to a new view with four horizontally scrolling pages of sun, moon and time zone information. A quick swipe of the finger will move between the four pages.
The date/time can be changed by tapping on the calendar icon in the toolbar. Incrementally move a day, an hour, a minute or a week in the future or the past. Arbitrarily jump to any date or time, years in the future or the past. Changing the date allows one to determine when a sunset or full moon will occur in the future or the past.
VelaClock does NOT require a network connection. Up to 50 cities may be added.
Latest reviews of VelaClock Sun/Moon app for iPhone and iPad
I decided to upgrade to this version over the Classic as I consider that new interface brings much more infos while respecting VelaClock legacy…
I have had VelaClock (now called VelaClock 1) since before the name was changed to MagicHour and then back to the original name--in other words, for years by now. It has been a great app for checking on daylight hours, moon phases, moon visibility, etc, and it would be a very good app if that were all it does. However, you can easily keep track of a bunch of locations all over the globe, and you can check out those data for any time or date. We regularly check months in advance to see what the daylight hours will be during our annual August trip to Vancouver, and enjoy the contrast with our paltry hours of daylight where we are. Or we check to see how soon the sun will begin to return to early morning and late afternoon in January. The shades of twilight are also very useful for planning evening activities. Its been a real favorite for me. Apparently the complainers--who tend to be the most vociferous "reviewers"--griped when that app changed to this interface, despite some extra goodies, so the developer reverted to the original interface in that app and produced this one with the new interface. I like the app well enough to spend a buck in the expectation that this will retain the benefits introduced with that earlier update, such as nicer graphics and dates of daylight savings times and a few other features. Its well worth a buck to me to get this version, even though I, in effect, already had it, so i can enjoy the (anticipated) updates.
Does its job, works great. Nice clean look.
Like a previous reviewer, I have had this apps predecessor (which is now called VelaClock1) since it was originally introduced and through all of its various name changes. It is my favorite app though, admittedly, I dont use it every day. This version is a major interface change (I would say upgrade), which allows for an increased amount of information to be presented through the use of multiple screen pages for each city. The type is also larger and easier to read. I find the interface very intuitive and easy to navigate. Those who desire everything on a single screen and dont mind less data and smaller type will want to use VelaClock1. As for me, I am grateful for the time, effort, and thought that the developer devoted to this version -- VelaClock Sun/Moon. As you can see from the screen shots above, the large photo images of the moon in its various phases are to die for. An example of the casual users use for this app is that I was curious whether I would be graced with a full moon six months from now when I will be attending an evening Polynesian Luau dinner show at Disney World. (Answer: The moon wont rise till the show is over and will be a waning crescent.) I did find that when cities are sorted by time then the cities that share a given time zone are listed in alphabetical order. I find this disorienting and feel that they should be listed by longitude, as this more closely approximates their relative time (harking back to pre standardized time zone days). This is not nearly enough of an issue to knock off a star from the ratings. I simply use the "custom" sort to list the cities in the order I like them. I highly recommend this app! Many thanks to Vela Design Group.
I like the second version much better. It takes some getting used to if your used too using the old interface. This version grew on me very fast so I must say I love it. Something is missing though but I cant put my finger on it, needs something added what I dont know but otherwise great app.