Hi, this is my review of the Utopia Desktop App, First of all, I use the MacOS version so my experience maybe different to other people's experience who are using different OS. I wouldn't make points of the pros and cons, instead I will focused on the things that matters, at least in my opinion. And I wouldn't make the step-by-step to install and start the application because there are already others who made that.
At First GlanceThe installation of Utopia was very seamless no problem at all, and they really do a good job in introducing the features in the opening pop windows. I could grasp all the surface of every features on there, so even though it's a little overwhelming it's not confusing at all, every details on the Welcome pop up is on point. I like the Dark Theme especially the color tone, compared to the dark theme of most of other app, because it's not totally black/black, more of a dark blue, so even with the extreme low light condition the overall text and images are still highly visible, so I don't need to increase the brightness of my screen.
My only complaint is the sound effect, that I think it's too much, but it can be muted and there is a single button to instantly mute all the sound effect. So not a big deal.
About the UI / UXMany people on other reviews said that the Utopia Desktop App UI is a little bit overwhelming and I tend to agree with that, the more younger generation who are used to the more simplistic and very minimalist design might need more time to adapt. But for people who grew up with software UI in the early 2000 and 2010 this design bring a nostalgia. Especially with the Channel chat feature, really bring me back to the era of Yahoo Messenger and mIRC. And I really like the choice to use Tab Bar to navigate through different section of the app, make it easier and faster to navigate between the section, instead of using Sidebar.
With all that good thing, I found some weird interaction in the app, I am from Indonesia and surprisingly Utopia App is available in Indonesian Language, so I try that but there is something that make me confused, It's hard for me to find the 'Preference' or the setting menu when the first time I set the app to Indonesian Language.
So, when the app is in English the 'Preference' menu is located in the main 'utopia' menu. like the image below.
but when I switch to Indonesian Language, the setting or 'Pengaturan' in Indonesian, is located under the Tools or 'Alat' as shown below
I don't know the reason behind this decision, could be a good reasoning like more Indonesian are more familiar with the setting section under the Tools menu, but for me I find it quite confusing.
Other awkward interaction I found is that when I try to attach an image on email feature and then try to view the attachment, it’s opened in full tab screen in new tab but my email draft window brought to the back, I can't see it because it covered by the main app windows. And to open it again, I need to click on the ‘Show all windows’ on the utopia dock icon, or drag the main app window to find my email draft window.
Really Appreciate the Indonesian TranslationI really apprecite the Indonesian version of the app, because not many project consider making Indonesian translation of their App. And the translation is thorough and accurate, it's not just direct translation with automated translation that most of the time choose the word and phrase recklessly. All that being said, I still found some part that are not yet translated into Indonesian, and it's still in english like two sections below. 'Treasury Data' and 'Mining' sections
Finally, I think the team is heading on the right direction with this project, I wish more people will use this app and the community is growing, I really like to try to play the Texas Holdem Poker on the App, but there are just not many people want to play. I really recommend Utopia for people who are looking for a decentralized community app, especially for people who grew up with Yahoo Messenger or mIRC and miss those time.