Labbaik Dua Guidance
Frustratingly, the default language was not English. So I had to wander around till eventually, I found the correct language setting.
Opening the app, it launches automatically with the talbiyah (the prayer Muslims say during hajj, which begins with the phrase, “Here I am, my Lord, here I am”)
The app is riddled with navigational bugs e.g. clicking on Hajj, it opens the next menu, and before you can select the next option it automatically opens the next menu.
It is a useful tool that displays Arabic for prayer, followed by the English translation. Then, it plays an audio reading of the text. In theory, this is pretty good, but when you click the back button, it keeps playing the audio.
My rating: 5/10 being a good idea, and if you can get to the content you seek, it is good, but it has poor usability which becomes frustrating very quickly
Labbaik VR
Labbaik VR
Presented as a virtual reality experience of hajj, their website has several demos and YouTube tutorials which show some of the features.
The app is pitched as a complete 2D-version of the pilgrimage with tracking and location features, all of which sounds fantastic.
However, I was unable to find the app in the app store, and like many who do not install apps from external sources, so the tool, no matter how potentially beneficial it is, has failed its first hurdle by not being visible and downloadable in the app store
My rating: 4/10 – because being unable to find the app in the app store is a major flaw, but the digital rendition of the VR experience via the YouTube video gives a glimpse of a promising solution, even though the over-laid writing is very congested and difficult to read.
Apps for the future
Between the three apps, once you experience the richness and flow of Muslim 3D, you know what is possible. While Labbaik VR and Labbaik Dua Guidance include good information and data, their lesser designed User Interfaces and User Experience show the bridge between where we are today and where we need to be in the future.
Before this article, I hadn’t really thought about a virtual hajj experience via phone and the direction a complete tool can deliver.
And while we hope that Hajj 2021 will go ahead after finding a vaccine to allow people an in-person spiritual experience, over a billion Muslims worldwide would directly benefit from creating a full-bodied mobile app that delivers a virtual hajj experience.
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