GeoStrings (Location-based reminders)

[dirtygreek]

Does this somehow work in the background or only while the app is running?

[DanPLC]

Originally Posted by dirtygreek

Does this somehow work in the background or only while the app is running?

It runs periodically in the background. You don't need to keep the app running for it to work. Once it detects that you've reached one of your target locations, a popup will appear.

If you check out my second video (I posted the link earlier in this thread), you'll see the reminder comes up while the app is not running.

[dirtygreek]

That is very cool.

[gizmo21]

Great app - do you only request gps or also other location based info like celltowers...

if also non gps locations are asked, there would it be possible to automagically start services like wifi on the pre

http://forums.precentral.net/web-os-...fi-toggle.html

[DanPLC]

Originally Posted by gizmo21

Great app - do you only request gps or also other location based info like celltowers...

if also non gps locations are asked, there would it be possible to automagically start services like wifi on the pre

http://forums.precentral.net/web-os-...fi-toggle.html

The app uses the webOS location service to retrieve the current location. According to Palm's documentation it uses GPS and Google Services. It also mentions using cell tower or wifi data in the event that GPS is not available. The documentation in this regard is a bit vague.

If GPS is disabled on the device when you run GeoStrings, a warning popup is displayed advising the user that the app will not be completely functional if GPS is off.

A similar warning popup is displayed if no internet connection is detected. For instance, business searches would return 0 results if the device has no internet connection. I don't see a way to turn on wifi automatically from within an app. But even if I could, I'm not sure an app should be changing a user's device settings. I think the warning popups I display give the user enough information to make an informed decision concerning their settings.

[nyquistJack]

Dan, this is truly amazing. I have been dying for an app like this for years. I've tried an app like this on the BB and it was crap, never worked out right.

It would have been easy to half **** this app, but from the videos this looks amazingly complete. I am sitting at my desk, mouth agape with every feature you show. Its amazing the things you've anticipated a user may want to do. I don't know what you do for a living, but you should be a software engineer.

If this app works well and consistently on the Pre, it'd be very worth $10-15 for me and another for my wife.

The only 2 things that came up while watching the video were

1) The ability to add all Best Buy's within x number of miles so I don't have to keep selecting them. Or else a check box next to the results so you can check off more than one. Just a tiny usability thing, definitely not a huge deal.

2) I know the first thing my wife is going to ask me is "What if I have a task that I need reminded of when I hit a certain location?" In other words, "integrating" tasks with Geostrings. I am guessing you can't read tasks from within another app, but if you can display tasks like you do the contacts for choosing a location that'd be sweet.

I am beyond excited about this app. Cannot wait to get my hands on it!!!

[DanPLC]

Originally Posted by nyquistJack

Dan, this is truly amazing. I have been dying for an app like this for years. I've tried an app like this on the BB and it was crap, never worked out right.

It would have been easy to half **** this app, but from the videos this looks amazingly complete. I am sitting at my desk, mouth agape with every feature you show. Its amazing the things you've anticipated a user may want to do. I don't know what you do for a living, but you should be a software engineer.

I am a software engineer! I guess my school counselor got it right when he recommended it to me.

I'm the developer...but I'm also a user. The idea to do this came from the many times I've forgotten to do things even when saving a reminder for myself via a calendar, email, or to-do app. Certain tasks just don't work well being strictly time-based.

Originally Posted by nyquistJack

If this app works well and consistently on the Pre, it'd be very worth $10-15 for me and another for my wife.

Well I doubt I'll charge that much for it. It'll be in the $3 - $5 range to try to attract as many people as possible. I think people are much more willing to splurge for an app in this range. But I agree if someone else developed this, I would probably pay more for it.

Originally Posted by nyquistJack

1) The ability to add all Best Buy's within x number of miles so I don't have to keep selecting them. Or else a check box next to the results so you can check off more than one. Just a tiny usability thing, definitely not a huge deal.

Yeah I've thought of this as well. I'll probably do this.

Originally Posted by nyquistJack

2) I know the first thing my wife is going to ask me is "What if I have a task that I need reminded of when I hit a certain location?" In other words, "integrating" tasks with Geostrings. I am guessing you can't read tasks from within another app, but if you can display tasks like you do the contacts for choosing a location that'd be sweet.

I don't think I have access to tasks on the device via the SDK. The way I see it, for time-based tasks (meetings, doctors appointments, etc.), people should still use their favorite time-based task manager. But for all other tasks that are best suited to be location-based, they should use GeoStrings. That's the beauty of a system like webOS. Multiple apps can be used simultaneously to issue different types of notifications.

[solarus]

This is one of those apps that when first announced I wasn't sure what use it would be but after seeing the videos I'm floored - this seems a much better method to set reminders than normal tasks.

And as for the feature sets and interface - its simply amazing, crisp clear and concise. I love the Help system - I could see this being implemented on a lot of different apps.

Great work DanpPLC.

The only thing I'd like to see extra is a time setting to the start and end date. I don't see the need for 5 minute or even 15 minute intervals but having the ability to set hours as starting or ending times could be useful.

[Joescan09]

Whats the battery life going to be like with this GPS running in the background?

[DanPLC]

Originally Posted by solarus

This is one of those apps that when first announced I wasn't sure what use it would be but after seeing the videos I'm floored - this seems a much better method to set reminders than normal tasks.

And as for the feature sets and interface - its simply amazing, crisp clear and concise. I love the Help system - I could see this being implemented on a lot of different apps.

Great work DanpPLC.

The only thing I'd like to see extra is a time setting to the start and end date. I don't see the need for 5 minute or even 15 minute intervals but having the ability to set hours as starting or ending times could be useful.

I plan on implementing the help system in all my future apps.

I originally intended on including the ability to set a start and end time, but I eventually decided it wouldn't be too useful in most situations. I may re-visit this decision in the future.

[DanPLC]

Originally Posted by Joescan09

Whats the battery life going to be like with this GPS running in the background?

That's a great question and it will be one of my major focuses during my testing phase. It's a very high priority for me to minimize battery impact; however I expect there will be some.

I'll be focusing on implementing some smart logic to reduce the impact.

[spare]

The more I think about how I could use this, the more I like it. I was thinking of repeated task for common items like milk, eggs, etc but it seems your favorites option takes care of that. Is there a way to quickly activate/inactive a bunch of item without going into each items menu?

[clerick44]

I've been wanting this for months! I'm glad to see that someone else had this idea! Can't wait.

will it have an "add current location" button to help simplify adding a location?

[DanPLC]

Originally Posted by spare

The more I think about how I could use this, the more I like it. I was thinking of repeated task for common items like milk, eggs, etc but it seems your favorites option takes care of that. Is there a way to quickly activate/inactive a bunch of item without going into each items menu?

Right now the only way to activate/deactivate a GeoString is to tap on it to bring up the details screen, and then select the "Active/Inactive" switch.

It may be a good idea to add a quick way to activate/deactivate GeoStrings right from the GeoString list.

[DanPLC]

Originally Posted by clerick44

I've been wanting this for months! I'm glad to see that someone else had this idea! Can't wait.

will it have an "add current location" button to help simplify adding a location?

Yes it has a "add current location" button. Check out the demo videos I've posted in this thread. In the first video I posted (at around 07:20) you can see this demonstrated.

The ways you can add a location are:

• Business search
• Manual address input
• Current location
• Choose a contact
• Select a saved location (or location group)

[p25o1]

Originally Posted by DanPLC

That's a great question and it will be one of my major focuses during my testing phase. It's a very high priority for me to minimize battery impact; however I expect there will be some.

I'll be focusing on implementing some smart logic to reduce the impact.

first , the app is a one of these things that just make sense, i can't wait to get it for my pre. all the best in developing it and we r all ready to test.

regarding GPS and battery life, in my opinion, from using google latitude on blackberry all day. i belive they use gsm cell based/tower location to improve the battery life = less accurate but longer battery life.

maybe you can make it an option for users to be able to select between longer battery life vs higher accuracy.

the app is a great idea, and i wish you all the best in making it happen.

[bezoris]

Great stuff, Dan, I've been waiting for something like this to come along. A definite buy for me and, for what it's worth, I've been highly selective with my purchases thus far.

To amplify nyquistJack's point a little bit, it would be very appealing to be able to set what you might call route oriented strings. That is, strings without specific locations, only specific tasks that need to be completed before reaching a particular destination.

Especially at this time of year, for example, I might be travelling in to unfamiliar territory for a holiday party. I don't really know the area, but I know that I want to pick up a bottle of wine and my girlfriend wants to get some flowers. It should be possible to poll Google Business listings en route (set Active Route) and provide alerts for upcoming possible destinations. In this case it might be nice to have some sort of last before destination alert as well, as in: this is the last liquor store before end-of-route.

I guess that then some string-weighting logic makes sense also - if you have multiple tasks (yes, there's a liquor store over here, but there's a mini-mall a little further afield that has a liquor store and a flower shop. Of course, there would have to be some sort of detour threshold or things could get hairy quickly, especially in a metropolitan area. Though being able to attach tasks to strings (or strings to routes) should mitigate the confusion in most cases.

One last point. I'd vote yes for times in scheduling. Here in Massachusetts, for instance, liquor stores cannot open before noon on Sundays and most then close around 6:00 PM. An earlier or later alert would not do me much good. Or, in another case, I want to grab Some Random Movie the next time I'm at Blockbuster... but they close at 9:00 PM.

In hindsight this seems like an overly long post, though that's really testament to how excited I am about your app. I already know that I'll get a lot of use out of it just as it is... Stick to $4.99. It's worth it.

Best, bez.

[BMIC50]

This is great stuff! My wife and I will definitely gain from this app.

I read that you mentioned that settings shouldn't/couldn't be changed from within an app...does this preclude a location-based profiler (changes ringer volume, radio status, ringtone, brightness, even wallpaper)?

[DanPLC]

Originally Posted by bezoris

To amplify nyquistJack's point a little bit, it would be very appealing to be able to set what you might call route oriented strings. That is, strings without specific locations, only specific tasks that need to be completed before reaching a particular destination.

That sounds quite intriguing. But it seems like it would fit more in a navigation app whose main purpose is to plan a route to a particular destination. GeoStrings is meant for completing tasks as you happen to be passing by a certain location, or to remind you of something you have to do when you reach a certain location. In your example, the people are specifically driving this route to get wine and flowers. So they wouldn't necessarily need something to remind them of their task.

And really it would only be beneficial if you were in a place you were not familiar with (like out of town), which is of course the main reason for having a navigation app.

Originally Posted by bezoris

One last point. I'd vote yes for times in scheduling. Here in Massachusetts, for instance, liquor stores cannot open before noon on Sundays and most then close around 6:00 PM. An earlier or later alert would not do me much good. Or, in another case, I want to grab Some Random Movie the next time I'm at Blockbuster... but they close at 9:00 PM.

That's definitely a good point. I think I'll add it back in. It'll be a good option for people to have.

Originally Posted by bezoris

In hindsight this seems like an overly long post, though that's really testament to how excited I am about your app. I already know that I'll get a lot of use out of it just as it is... Definitely $4.99 or more.

Best, bez.

Thanks for your suggestions! I'm glad there are other people excited about this type of app. To me it seems like the perfect application for a mobile device like the Palm Pre or Pixi that has an always-on internet connection as well as GPS. There really is no need to forget the little things we need (or want) to do when we have a device that could remind us.

[DanPLC]

Originally Posted by BMIC50

This is great stuff! My wife and I will definitely gain from this app.

I read that you mentioned that settings shouldn't/couldn't be changed from within an app...does this preclude a location-based profiler (changes ringer volume, radio status, ringtone, brightness, even wallpaper)?

I think if the app's main purpose was to change these settings based upon location, then that would be fine. I think it would be a great idea for an app actually. I'm not sure if it's possible with the current SDK...I haven't really looked into it.