SI Swimsuit 2011 iPhone app leaves you wanting more

It appears that someone in SI’s app development department is familiar with the old phrase, “Why buy the cow when you get the milk for free?” because although downloading the SI Swimsuit 2011 app will cost you nothing aside from maybe a sliver of dignity, you won’t find much content until you shell out $1.99 for the upgraded version of the app.

This isn’t an instance where users have a choice at the time of download whether to go with the Lite edition or the full app. Rather, SI Swimsuit 2011 lures you, and then pushes the new price tag on you once you see everything that you’re not actually seeing.

As for the content that is here, anyone who appreciates a gorgeous model airbrushed to perfection will enjoy one picture for each of the 20 models included. There is also a small collection of free videos of the models hanging out on the beach during the photo shoot, and brief bios so you’ll have some conversation starters if you ever run into Brooklyn Decker in an elevator.

The videos and photos are high-quality, and really do look fantastic, but it’s hard not to notice everything you’re not seeing here. All of the premium videos are displayed with little tags over them so you can see just how many are available. You don’t get a peek at how many photos each model has, but the app description promises “hundreds of razor-sharp photos,” so clearly you’ll be getting a lot more than you initially receive.

I suppose if you really want an additional complement to your magazine copy of the 2011 SI Swimsuit issue, then the $1.99 price tag doesn’t qualify as a robbery, but the bait and switch seems unseemly enough to advise against an investment of any kind in this app.

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