PREtracker

[MLJones8]

Originally Posted by kmax12

The distance is added every time the coordinate change and when the speed is above .75 mph. that means the program is measuring the around the football field and not the diagonal. This is why it is important that you have a gps connection that is refreshing frequently.

Great, That is was I assumed... can't wait till you get the bugs worked out! I've wanted a pedometer for my morning runs for a long time... but after news that the Pre would have an accelerometer and gps.. I knew it wouldn't be long until an app like this is completed.

[clerick44]

Ok, so I just went for a short ride with the Pre and my bike computer both zeroed and fresh to go. The results were much more promising then they were in the car earlier. My bike computer said 8.98 miles verses the Pre at 8.97! Awesome! However, with that number being so close I was a little surprised to see the average speed was slow by .7mph.

Kmax, it looks like a little tweaking and you're gold! Woo hoo!

[NetWhiz]

Installed and tried to use. Froze my Pre. Only after removing the app. would my Pre stop freezing after boot. Strange.

[yoe]

I just had my first run with PreTracker and I don't really get what this thing is for... In my head, what this app needs to do is, I activate it - push START, I start running, when I'm done running I push STOP, and then I get statistics on:

- How long I ran (time)
- How far I ran (miles)
- How many calories I burned (more or less, judging by age, sex, weight and height)
- Map drawing of exactly where I ran (on google maps)

That's it - that simple...

Is this thing suppose to do any of that?

[ahitz]

Originally Posted by yoe

- How long I ran (time)
- How far I ran (miles)
- How many calories I burned (more or less, judging by age, sex, weight and height)
- Map drawing of exactly where I ran (on google maps)

That's it - that simple...

Is this thing suppose to do any of that?

Obviously it's totally easy to write a program to track every step of someone moving in random directions at varying speeds with varying GPS signal strength and then calculate distance, calories, and plot every step on google maps, right?

I mean its been ALMOST A WEEK since the SDK was released and this thing doesn't do those SUPER SIMPLE tasks?!

It's almost as if this is only a very early beta and not a full release in the App Catalog. Man, I dont get it

[marktaylor]

Originally Posted by yoe

I just had my first run with PreTracker and I don't really get what this thing is for... In my head, what this app needs to do is, I activate it - push START, I start running, when I'm done running I push STOP, and then I get statistics on:

- How long I ran (time)
- How far I ran (miles)
- How many calories I burned (more or less, judging by age, sex, weight and height)
- Map drawing of exactly where I ran (on google maps)

That's it - that simple...

Is this thing suppose to do any of that?

I think that is ultimately the plan. Read the previous post and understand that it is still under development, as are most of the apps here. Comments like yours are useless - many of us are testing and providing constructive feedback on several apps here. I thank the developer for working on this.

[Shawalli]

nice quick updates

[Paladin]

Guys!!
These are not official apps and not complete! These HomeBrew apps are being done for fun and released with the knowledge that they are beta and incomplete. They are works in progress so do not b&^%$ about features, or lack of, when the guy is doing this for fun and probably still learning WebOS.

Give him time to work it out if he even feels like it. With input like that he may just say Frack it all.... Learn to appreciate what you have man. No one here is getting paid for anything you know.

[hotrock85]

Dang Kmax. I leave for 2 days and you already have 2 updates. too quick for me!
Works pretty well for me. Had one issue when testing it out. When I hit the stop button it showed a total time of 346,943 hours 32 minutes and 24 seconds. I didnt think i had the stamina to run that long :P just wanted to let you know about that. Other than that the PreTrack is coming along nicely

[kmax12]

Originally Posted by hotrock85

Dang Kmax. I leave for 2 days and you already have 2 updates. too quick for me!

my idea for the app is to release frequently and that is why some users may be unsatisfied with the current app. however, i do want to say thank you all the people who have been understanding about the shortcomings of this application and have been contributing to make it better. the posts in this thread today (and basically everyday) have really inspired me to pursue this application more. My goal would be to release it in the app store for free someday. that being said, I dunno if tonight will see an update. but fear not, I am working, I just work slow since I am new to this.

Works pretty well for me. Had one issue when testing it out. When I hit the stop button it showed a total time of 346,943 hours 32 minutes and 24 seconds. I didnt think i had the stamina to run that long :P just wanted to let you know about that. Other than that the PreTrack is coming along nicely

did you change the date or time zone or really any time setting? if so, that would explain it since the timer compares the original system to the current system time.

[richardhkirkando]

Thanks! Just tried it out today, seems very useful and accurate.

I'm not sure if this is possible or easy, but do you know if there's an easy way to save .gpx files to memory? I've used a Windows Mobile app that does this in the past - after I run, I upload the .gpx files to a web server, and then I have a script that reads them and overlays the route on google maps.

[kmax12]

Originally Posted by richardhkirkando

Thanks! Just tried it out today, seems very useful and accurate.

I'm not sure if this is possible or easy, but do you know if there's an easy way to save .gpx files to memory? I've used a Windows Mobile app that does this in the past - after I run, I upload the .gpx files to a web server, and then I have a script that reads them and overlays the route on google maps.

I am looking into gpx files right now. This might be what I use to get tracks to overlay with google maps.

[lasercomp]

Hi, for starters, great app. I drove in my car today and matched the speed and it was dead on. How do I reset the data if I want to start the stats over? Do I have to restart the app? Keep the updates coming.. Thank you very much for your contribution.

[intron]

I actually like this icon - did you make that? Its spiffy.

Originally Posted by kmax12

what do people think about this icon? i think that it encompasses the idea of the application.

[as4life]

hi,

With this update is the gps still running when screen turns off?

[intron]

Originally Posted by kmax12

me too! can't wait to hear back. It would be nice if you could report back about average speed vs. instantaneous speed and which seems more accurate (since htey are being calculated using to different methods)


Yeah. I am trying to figure out how to use the built in google maps but can't figure out how to. The other option is to use the google maps api and import it in to my app but then the program becomes customizing it for the mobile (ie multitouch, larger buttons, etc)

Any input/thoughts from the community would be nice.

Just as a thought - from my perspective the most important thing would be the ability to export the files in either KML format , GPX format or CSV format. Then I can play around with it in Google earth, google maps or whatever other program I want.

Having it put my track on a map on the Palm has relatively little use to me. (Of course I am just one, other people surely have different wants/needs.)

[jskuyper]

I just went for a walk using v0.4.0. My results I walked 38 minutes, according to google maps the distance is 1.8 miles, pre said 3.09, pace was usually around 18-25 minutes per mile.

Also stop button did not step the timer.

Thought I would share my results, seems like a bit more tweeking needed. Love the idea of this!

[richardhkirkando]

Originally Posted by intron

Having it put my track on a map on the Palm has relatively little use to me. (Of course I am just one, other people surely have different wants/needs.)

Yep, I would agree with this. I'd prefer to have the gpx files (and a function to auto FTP them somewhere would be amazing), so I could review them later.

[Shane112358]

kmax - awesome app. you rock. i used it yesterday for about half an hour and do have some comments.

-I think that an AVERAGE PACE is required. So, if I have a target of running 7 minute miles, I can see what I've done so far and adjust accordingly. The instantaneous pace is good too, but doesn't give you the big picture.

-I wonder if there is a way to fit everything on one page that doesn't require that you scroll down?

-My old SonyEricsson w580i, which did something similar but used a pedometer, would save each day's data (distance traveled, primarily). This is especially good for those days you are walking around all over the place and you want to go look at the previous day's data.

-I suppose kcal would be good and easy to calculate based on weight/gender but it's not really a dealbreaker for me.

-Would there be a way to make a second app, or a module to this app, that can be minimized (no card) but will track your distance traveled that day in the background?

-Can we get to the accelerometer API to use it as a pedometer as a fall-back when GPS is not available (inside buildings, etc).?

Again, nice work.

[brewewa]

Hey kmax, I'm really enjoying this app, and since I am learning to write my own apps, would love to learn from yours. Any chance of you sharing the code?

Keep up the great work!