Review: Ouga - Tumblr UWP
Score:
85%
Blogging has moved on aways since Tumblr started (social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have taken up much of the slack), but it's still going strong, with quirky and niche content producers pumping out text and visual content. And, although there's no official Tumblr client for Windows 10, there are two UWP clients that work really well. One is 6tum UWP, featured here, but Ouga (also UWP) is bigger and more comprehensive. Get inspired, have a browse!
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The full title is 'Ouga - Tumblr App', which seems a bit clumsy, plus there's my own convention for adding 'UWP' to denote a full Windows 10 application for all form factors. So I'll just refer to this as 'Ouga' from now on. The Store description is minimalist, so it's up to me to highlight the interface and main functionality here.
It's true that Tumblr is quite web-friendly and Edge lets you browse the blogging service fairly easily, but a proper client that can handle navigation and your preferences more easily has got to be a good thing. Enter Ouga, which is just as slick as the official Tumblr client for iOS and Android. Moreover, it's totally free, so what's not to love?
As usual with a visual medium, I'll walk you through the main areas of Ouga via screenshots and commentary:
The home view is for blogs you follow, in time order, as you'd expect, while the discover view highlights trending posts and blogs - you'll gradually build up new blogs you like. You can swipe from view to view or tap on the tabs. Or just search.
Extensive settings, including the very sensible hiding of adult content on the live tile! The live tile cycles content and can be set to update every 15 minutes if needed. There are plenty of privacy toggles and even sound effects for messaging - though no one's ever messaged me on Tumblr, so I can't vouch for them!
At any point you can add a new post to your own Tumblr (blog), with images, audio or video, plus accompanying text. You can also control the background and title of your blog from here. Microblogging indeed....
But Tumblr is mainly about browsing and reading, of course. With a heavy visual twist - love the Artwoonz guy and his 'AR' style photos! Note (right) that quite a few of the Tumblr blogs are strictly 18+ in terms of content. Most images and video that might shock are protected behind a 'tap to view' system, though. But just a heads-up that this content isn't shielded by your normal ISP 'dodgy domain' blocking.
As you browse, you can view images on their own and save them directly to your phone, albeit at only 1MP or so. Typical social network photo resolution.
The live tile has several options and can be double-wide, as here; (right) Go on, if you're a heavy Tumblr user, send the developer a few beers via the 'Donate' button...!
Terrific stuff - and yet another area of Internet life that's easily within reach of Windows 10 Mobile. Who needs an official client when third party apps can be this good?
Reviewed by Steve Litchfield at