I will be honest, when I read the title of this application I said to myself…Here we go, another “toy” application that probably has a bad design and a horrible user interface. However, I was pleasantly surprised from the moment I opened the application! Banner Deluxe is an application that allows you to create scrolling banners for your iPhone or iPod Touch.

The first thing I noticed about the application was that it was well designed and had quite a few nice features. As I began testing the application, I also found the user interface to be very smooth and easy to use. The application opens to the Settings Menu in which there is a lower menu bar with the options; Text, Theme, Backdrop, Font, Text Texture and Option. In the Text option, you are able to enter the message that you would like to scroll or choose from the list of previously entered messages. To enter a message, just tap on the text bar. You can also add symbols to your message by selecting the smiley icon in the upper right corner, once you have tapped in the text bar. Once you have entered your message, you can get back to the Settings Menu by selecting Return.

The Theme option allows you to choose a theme that you would like for your message. Each theme contains a Backdrop, Text Texture and Font style. There are three pages of themes to choose from. The Backdrop, Font and Text Texture options on the lower menu bar allow you to change individual aspects of a theme or to create a completely unique theme.

The Option setting on the lower menu bar allows you to change the speed in which your message scrolls. 1 through 10 will scroll the message from right to left (1 being the slowest and 10 being the fastest). -10 through -1 will scroll the message from left to right (1- being the slowest and -10 bring the fastest). You are also able to disable auto-sleep and multiple displays. If you disable auto-sleep, it will keep your iPhone from auto-locking while scrolling a message. The Multiple Display option allows you to scroll a message across more than one iPhone or iPod Touch. You are able to scroll a message across 2 to 10 devices.

Once you have chosen all your options, you can select the Play button in the upper left corner to scroll your message. While the message is scrolling you can swipe to the right to increase the scrolling speed, swipe to the left to decrease the scrolling speed, pinch-in/out to decrease/increase the text size and double-tap to get back to the Settings menu. The message will continually scroll until you double-tap on the screen. Once a message has been played, it is automatically added to the List menu in the Text option so that it can quickly be chosen later.

I did notice that the app was a little glitchy when I first installed and tested it however, after I restarted my iPhone, it was fine. The only thing I would like to see added to this application is that it would save your last message’s theme when you reopen the application. Other than that, it is nicely designed app and has a lot of features. Not only that, it was fun to use! Definitely one of the best apps of it’s kind.

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