Penthouse Review
Date: November 23, 2006
Score: Full 4/5
Niche: Classic pornstar, Magazine archives (1973-Present)
Design: Classy and clean. There isn't anything spectacular about Penthouse's design, but it is all very nicely laid out and organized. What it lacks in original looks it makes up for in usability.
Pictures: It's Penthouse. You KNOW they have incredibly high quality photography that captures the very essence and beauty of their wonderful naked models. There are a lot of different options to view pictures: you can zoom in and out, download specific sizes, look at them via a slideshow, or download sets in a handy zip file. Pictures come in sizes up to 4000px. Penthouse Pets old and new all have that certain classic beauty that shows through these professional photos.
Movies: There are two types of movies: hardcore feeds and Behind the Scenes. Both are pretty self explanatory, and while they are not a big part of the site, they are a nice addition to it. You can either stream the movies or download them in several different quality levels.
Speed: Everything loads up lightning fast so I can get to all the great content quickly.
Navigation: This is a huge point in Penthouse's favor. The navigation setup they have on this site is very clean, very comprehensive, and very user friendly. You have all the major sections listed down right in the sidebar, and there is an extensive system for finding the Penthouse Pets you are looking for. I especially like the navigate by year feature, which goes all the way back to 1973.
Originality: The site concept itself obviously isn't something new, but this is a great example of how a magazine archive site SHOULD be.
Overall Ease of Use: You will be hard pressed to find a site with more options for browsing, categorizing, searching, and downloading all of their classic Penthouse pictures and movies.
Main Draws: Come for the classic retro Penthouse Pets, and stay for the user friendly experience and classic modern beauties. Their retro sections are pretty extensive, with the majority of the retro content being in the 80s. Once you're done with that, just take a look at their newest Penthouse Pets - they have a classic beauty that should appeal to retro lovers everywhere.
Updates: Unforunately you probably aren't going to see them update the older Penthouse Pet listings or content. If you enjoyed the dirty magazine back then, you'll probably love this online incarnation of it now though. The main section is normally updated daily.
Bonus Fun: You have a ton of extras here. First off, as I mentioned there are many hardcore feeds - over 100. You'll also get access to several other Penthouse sites: Penthouse Letters, Penthouse Forum, and Variations. Yet more extras include PSP and IPod versions of their videos, live webcam chat, articles, stories, and even sex advice.
Annoyances: While the site is feature packed and very user friendly, it just lacked a certain stellar spark. There wasn't anything that made me go "oooooh shiny" and want to dive right in and spend hours here.
Is It Worth it? If you had a huge collection of dirty magazines stuffed under your bed back in the day, you are going to love this. The nude photography is very high quality and they have an extensive collection of all their Pets. If you aren't into glamour magazine shoots or classic dirty magazine archives, then you will probably want to look somewhere else for your vintage magazine fix.
Price: 24.95/month, 79.80/4 months, 119.40/year
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