Livery service Uber releases official app on Windows Phone, still needs work

For those in near some major US (and even UK) cities, you may take interest in seeing the official Uber app (www.uber.com) land today for Windows Phone, both 7.x and 8. In case you don’t know, Uber is a livery service that is gaining popularity for embracing mobile technology—specifically you pull your location on your phone, access your account and ping a driver to pick you up. It’s fast, convenient and a great use of your phone.

Previously, we have had some decent unofficial apps in the Store, like Uber Towncar. Now, the fancy taxi company has embraced Windows Phone with a version 1.0 of their app, which of course is free and ad-free. That’s the good news (and it’s always good news when we get official support). The bad news is the app is a tad rough, even for a version 1.0.

For instance, the app feels more like a port than a conscious effort to embrace the Windows Phone design language.  That said, it is very minimalist which we suppose is the Microsoft approach but not in the case of surrendering functionality, which this app appears to do. As an example, there is no way to track your driver once he is dispatched. That’s one of the top “cool” features of this service and to have it missing is a bit of a travesty. In addition, there’s no mapping ability, which just seems odd.

Overall, it’s great to see an official Uber app but we think the company needs to go back to the drawing board for a redesign with more functionality before we can endorse it. Hey Uber, maybe call Nokia for development support?

You can pick up the official Uber app for Windows Phone 7.x and 8 here in the Store.Thanks to everyone for the tips!