Marathon
Marathon is an application designed primary to aid runners with their workout. It uses the phones built in GPS receiver to keep track of various statistics such as distance, speed, calories consumed and altitude change. Thanks to the voice announcement feature you'll know your progress without picking your phone out of the pocket. You can also compete against your previous recordings or setting a goal based on time and distance. Even though its primary designed for runners Marathon can be used with all kinds of outdoor activities.
Any suggestions/constructive feedback is welcome . The application is currently translated to: English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Italian and Swedish.
Key features:
• Records speed, distance, calories consumed, climb/decline, etc.
• Shows charts of speed and altitude change.
• Draws your route on a map.
• Share your results online, on your blog, Twitter or Facebook.
• Earn achievements for your training (Not related to Xbox LIVE achievements).
• Voice announcements with intervals based on either time or distance.
• Pause/resume recordings.
• Ability to cut off your results at the start or end.
• Inexpensive alternative to GPS watch.
• Ability to backup and restore all results.
• Export to kml, gpx and csv.
• Analyze parts of the result.
• Live Tracking - Let your friends follow your progress online in (almost) real time.
Screenshots:
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Download Premium ($1.49):
Download Free:
Changelog:
http://www.marathon-mobile.net/Info/Changelog
Wow, it looks really good and seems to be very fingerfriendly.
I think it fits well into the Metro style.
Only thing to criticize: The touch input to raise and lower the weight for example (Video min: 1:33) could be done a bit nicer I think.
As example you could do it the same way it's done in the OS.
Here a video (min 7:21): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSoEhHV5BFU
Just one thing: In the beginning and the end you can see that the title of your app is Marahon and not Marathon. Just a little thing to fix
Regards
Sry for my english, hope you understand what I mean.
Looking good!
Although in some places the UI is a bit confusing, such as in the video at 0.26 where you have Goals Goals as the pivot and Open Open, why is this? as its not clear from the video. You also see this again later in the video with Edit Edit and Twitter twitter etc.
Also at 2.13 it's not clear that you can swipe to the right to see Calibration settings as its not hinted in the pivot
Other than that, I think it looks very cool
Dharms
DMAND said:
Looking good!
Although in some places the UI is a bit confusing, such as in the video at 0.26 where you have Goals Goals as the pivot and Open Open, why is this? as its not clear from the video. You also see this again later in the video with Edit Edit and Twitter twitter etc.
Also at 2.13 it's not clear that you can swipe to the right to see Calibration settings as its not hinted in the pivot
Other than that, I think it looks very cool
Dharms
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I agree with the Goals Goals and Open Open thing. Perhaps the second word can be grayed out shadow in the background isntead of looking like there is more.
Other than that it looks great, definately something I can use this fall when I start walking/jogging outside.
It looks great.
I'm currently using a similar application (RunSat) on WM, which has two features you might want to add. I personally love both of the listed features, so you could consider whether adding them is worth the effort.
Exporting results to excel / a spreadsheat is something I really like (showing three columns: time, speed, average speed. Could consider adding more). If you have multiple times on the same course, you could have column 1 trough 3 for your first, 5 trough 7 for your second, etc. so it's easy to compare your performance.
Another useful feature is auto-pausing the training when you're standing still (very useful if there's a bridge on the course). Not sure if you already support manual pausing, but that obviously can be useful too.
I'm already very familiar with the app I'm currently using, but I might consider switching to your WM6 app. For WP7 I'm pretty sure I'll get yours after seeing your demo!
Good luck with further development, I'm very happy to see another dev preparing for the WP7 launch
freeriders:
The numeric input panel you linked looks really sweet. I'll keep that in mind and see if I can make something similar .
DMAND/cyclical:
Sorry about the "Goals Goals" thing, I should have mentioned that it will not be there in the final release (it's there because I'm temporary using an open source Pivot control which doesn't support single pages, Microsoft will release their own Pivot control before the release. So I'm awaiting theirs before I invest too much time in making a "single page pivot lookalike".)
cPT.cAPSLOCK:
The WM6 app supports exporting to CVS (which you can open in Excel), I would add it to the WP7 app if I knew how to give the user his file . Since there's no traditional fileesystem you can't just save it. But since the WP7 app will be compatible with the webpage (www.marathon-mobile.net) you can always use the "Share" feature to upload the result to the webpage and then save it as kml/gpx/cvs from there.
Manual pausing is already supported, I want to implement auto-pause but I haven't done it yet since I'm not sure how to handle the noice in the GPS-signal in a proper way. But I guess I have to accept that the feature will work in ALMOST all cases.
Thanks for the feedback everyone!
Cool, I thought that might be the reason , hopefully the offical controls are released soon
What's the point?
I'm not sure there's any point in porting an app like this over to WiPhone7 when it can't run in the background. If you use your phone the app will be frozen, not to mention if you get a call or check a mail. Hopefully people remember to resume it after they're done. I can't even listen to Pandora or .977 or use a navigation app (not that there is one) at the same time, which is when I'd use it.
This app would be better ported to webOS which could actually handle it.
Hello,
I'm agree with freeriders concerning the numeric panel.
What do you use to realize charts ?
Thanks
gaijin1%
I'm a .NET developer and I find the WP7 platform interesting, so I'm porting this app to WP7 . Unfortunately I dont have enough spare time to port it to yet another platform, such as WebOS. Its possible to run under lock screen and as long as you stick to the built in music player you can listen to music while you're out running, and thats enough for me. I do agree that real multitasking would be neat, but this is not the tread to debate WP7 OS design .
Roccc
I'm using Silverlight Toolkit (http://silverlight.codeplex.com/) for charting. It seems to work good, but I haven't received my real device yet, so I can't be sure the performance is OK.
Thanks for the feedback!
Ooije said:
Roccc
I'm using Silverlight Toolkit (http://silverlight.codeplex.com/) for charting. It seems to work good, but I haven't received my real device yet, so I can't be sure the performance is OK.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for the toolkit
Me too, I haven't received my real device :S
I've released another video, its available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vldm4WVguLk
Unfortunately I haven't had the time to improve the touch controls for numeric inputs (such as weight), but it's still something I want to do . I also plan to move some more buttons down to the application bar and add some more stuff to the map.
Looks great, but i guess you have to think about a good background. I also think there are to much options, so it should be nice if they will be arranged in groups
This is great.
I am planning to get rid of my desire in favour of a new WP7 phone later this month and I have been thinking about ways to track my running activity while waiting for an app to do just that. Glad to see someone is already working on it. I am very much looking forward to give it a try!
gaijin1% said:
I'm not sure there's any point in porting an app like this over to WiPhone7 when it can't run in the background. If you use your phone the app will be frozen, not to mention if you get a call or check a mail. Hopefully people remember to resume it after they're done. I can't even listen to Pandora or .977 or use a navigation app (not that there is one) at the same time, which is when I'd use it.
This app would be better ported to webOS which could actually handle it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't need to run in the background. Just Disable UserIdleDetection mode and some Tombstoning and phone calls will interrupt the app, but it will reload. I use Caliburn.Micro framework for WP7 apps, and it makes it really easy to do. Just be sure to Enable UserIdleDetectionMode when closed or tombstoned. This passes cert and is different from ApplicationIdleDetectionMode, which requires user opt-in.
As promised I've released a free version of the app, a link is available in the first post .
Nice app and get's it done in a very fluid manner. There are a lot of options to customize setup for individuals and such. One feature that would be nice to further add to the customization would be adding the ability to reorder the home screen (smaller items). Like current speed, average speed, decline, etc. For instance, I would like to be able to see (along with the most main items which you nailed..time and distance) calories and average pace when I just glance at my phone. As it is now, I have to swipe a little to see that row of information. My only suggestion is it's great as I said. And thanks a lot.
I've just released another update to the app (2.8). The biggest news is the ability to earn achievements (not xbox live) for your workout. Here's a list of the available achievements: http://www.marathon-mobile.net/Results/Achievements . Hopefully It'll help people get a little extra motivated to work out . Other news in 2.8 is FR/IT/NL/ES/SV voices as well as an auto-pause feature.
kwill: Thanks for the feedback, I've thought about letting the user re-organize the dashboard. But I haven't implemented anything like that yet.
Here's a little preview of the upcoming release: http://www.marathon-mobile.net/Info/Development
It'll enable Marathon to upload your results "live", so friends and family can watch the progress while you are out running . The feature will be available in both the free and premium version of Marathon and I'm targeting a release in early August (The feature is done, but I'm going on a vacation soon. So I'll keep it for a while ).
Version 3.0 is now available. It's been updated to Mango, so it supports fast app switching and 32bit colors.
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feed me
feed me has been temporarily removed from the marketplace. I hope to get a new version out towards the end of the first quarter of 2012.
Details: http://www.wpcentral.com/feed-me-removed-marketplace
Full details: www.forty3degrees.com/apps/feedme
When I first got my HTC Mozart I looked for an rss reader but couldn't find one that suited. RSS Central from Adam Dawes came close, but still didn't quite have the structure I was looking for. I always like to look at my subscriptions in groups. If I am tracking two or three blogs related to the same thing then I don't want to have to look at all three seperately. I just want to look at the newest entries from all of them together. So I got to work, and feed me is the result.
Please give feedback about any missing features or possible improvements.
There is currently no video of version 1.11 as I am spending all my spare time getting a mango version up and running.
Here's a video of Version 1.11:
Here's a video tour of Version 1.9 (full details on the site as always):
Changes in Version 1.8:
Changes in Version 1.7:
Changes in version 1.6:
Supported languages:
• English
• German
Key Features:
• Live tile shows new article count1
• Add YouTube feeds 2
• Watch YouTube videos in HD
• View or listen to podcasts while browsing other articles
• Download podcasts for offline viewing (with pause/continue)
• Tweet or e-mail articles, post to facebook or send the link in a SMS
• Add articles to Instapaper or Read it Later
• Allow feed me to run under the lock screen (allowing feeds to be updated when the phone is locked)
• Supports all windows-125* and ISO-8859-* encodings
• Feed groups with optional ‘all’ and ‘unread’ views
• A Google feed search for adding new feeds
• Add new feeds from Google Reader
• Backup and restore settings to our server
• Filtering of views using the title and/or content
• Feeds are only downloaded if they have been updated3
• Optional automatic update on start-up
• Favorites for bookmarking items
The free version and the trial are ad supported. The live tile is also restricted to showing the number of new articles for four feeds only. The trial does not allow podcast downloads or viewing of YouTube videos in HD, these restrictions will be lifted in the next release.
Visit the site for more info and feel free to PM me if you have any questions
Calum you are a legend, looks great.
just a quick update...
I'm on holiday for a week and am doing the last few bits for the next update... Just got the last bits of live tiles to go, then the tests and it's done.
For the live tiles I will show the total number of new items since the last time the app was open (like the stock e-mail app). You will be able to select which feeds are used for live tiles, so certain feeds with frequent updates can be excluded.
This won't work for backdated items. For example, BBC likes to post items that are backdated to yesterday, these will not be seen as new as the publish date is older than the date of the last refresh.
Feeds included in the live tiles update will always be updated on startup.
Let me know what you think.
I have also set up a page on facebook. And you can follow progress on twitter.
So I've finished the next update... here are a few of the new features:
A live tile showing the number of new items. This is restricted to showing the total of a maximum of 5 feeds at the moment (or 1 in trial mode). I hope to increase or remove this limit but I want to see how the server handles things first. The tile can be updated in 10, 15, 30 or 60 minute intervals.
You can now add a feed from your google reader subscriptions. They are shown in a flat list similar to the feed search in the current version.
I now check the http headers for feeds before downloading. If the 'last-modified' header is present and the feed has not changed then the download is cancelled.
I added a pivot to the start page. Now you can swipe from the list of feed groups to a list of all the new items (these are grouped for easy browsing).
There is a backup and restore function for the feed settings. This backs up the settings to a SQL server so you can restore even after a factory reset. In this version an anonymous device ID is used so you don't need to log in.
I have also improved caching and done quite a bit of work on performance. The limits for the trial version have been increased to 4 groups of max. 4 feeds.
Unfortunately I have had to do away with backwards compatibility for the settings. This means that all settings in the previous version will be lost. I really didn't want this, but due to the live tile implementation, backup and cache management I had to change the storage format for the settings. The main problem is that it is impossible for me to simulate an upgrade as a developer so I couldn't event try to implement a settings upgrade. This is quite annoying and I hope microsoft will do something about it, but at the moment all I could do was add the google reader support mentioned above, and ensure this never happens again due to the new backup/restore feature.
This only really affects the few paid versions out there (unfortunately, or fortunately in this case the actual number is pretty small). Trial versions won't update so you need to uninstall it before installing the new version - this is another microsoft 'feature'.
I will post a full list of changes on the forty3degrees.com website after the update hits the market. This should be towards the end of next week. I have decided to run the final build on my phone for the weekend as there is not point in submitting tonight (nobody will start testing it until monday morning anyway), and you never know... there may just be a bug or two still lurking
V1.2 just got published... a load of improvements and new features.
Check out forty3degrees.com for all the details.
Just submitted the next version. A few bug fixes but a nice new 'tweet article' feature as well. The new version supports all the European and Middle Eastern encodings I could find (I will post the full list as soon as the app is certified)
Feed me version 1.3 has been published to the marketplace. This version has Twitter integration, improved encoding support and a few fixes. See the site for details:
http://www.forty3degrees.com/apps/feedme
Hey i've been trying out your app for a day or two now, seems to work great so far. If its something i find myself using often, I'll be sure to buy it (first time using an RSS reader, so I don't know how useful it will be for me). Also, I'll let you know if I notice anything/have any suggestions
Thanks for the feedback. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions/ideas.
Calum
Great app man! Thanks!
bdotr said:
Great app man! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you like it I'm always looking to improve things, so any constructive criticism is welcome...
Version 1.4 is out.
- Podcast support
- Instapaper/Read it later
- Run under the lockscreen
Details here
Nice looking app. With the podcasts, can they be downloaded to be listened to later or do they have to stream? I like being able to download several episodes via WiFi and then listen to them even if I have no data connection or if I have a bad connection.
Thanks
Just streaming in this version... I did think of doing a download, but it didn't make the deadline
I will add this to my todo list, and it will almost certainly make it into the next version. I just need to sort out the cache management for the downloaded media, or see if I can add them to the media library. Would you want the media to be available in the media library, or just in the app?
On a related note, I wasn't really sure if I should add the viewed media to the media player history. In the end I decided against it. Any thoughts?
Thanks for the feedback.
Calum
I don't really need it to show anywhere other than from withing the app. I have been doing podcasts through Zune right now and one thing that I don't like is that once I listen to a podcast it just sits there. It gets marked as listened to within Zune and I can delete it, but I kind of like having them just go away. This might be good as a user setting.
gerrymad said:
This might be good as a user setting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I thought that too. I prefer them to disappear as well, and this happened to be easier to implement as there are extra certification requirements if I add them to the history.
I think I'll go with the setting for V1.5 with no history as the default. Thanks again for the feedback.
Thanks a lot for the app calum. It's really fast and nice. Especially the animations and such. I haven't seen one (and I've tried them all and still use Flux) and this one gets it about perfect as for look and feel. One thing I have seen that I'm not sure you could have implemented is a tile view for articles, showing them as an image. That's the one thing I really like about flux (as you've already got the other best part..categores), is the overall look when you go into it. Don't want to make you a copycat, just that one option would be great. Or at least an "HTML view" like Feedreader has. That gives the app that last piece of visual appeal. As the rest of it is perfect. Thanks once again as for right now you make it tough for me to choose between this and Flux.
Hi,
thanks for the feedback. I did think about switching to a panorama with images for the main page, although I would add a setting to allow the current main page to be used instead. Good to know that somebody would like this sort of view
Adding images to the article lists would slow things down too much. Scrolling performance would be pretty bad with more that 50 items. (I still don't have NoDo so don't know if it's any better with that...)
I am working on an update for this week, but it will not change the UI much (maybe a new transition for the main page... don't know yet). The main improvements will be podcast downloads and hopefully facebook integration (time permitting - the update needs to be submitted this week to try a fix a marketplace search bug... feed me doesn't turn up at the moment).
Thanks again for the feedback
Calum
Yep, someone does want it (tile view) as that is one thing that stands out about the rss readers on WP7. Flux has seemed to integrate it quite nicely and I believe it's achieved because it has an option to automatically load more items or not. And it only loads 6 tiles initially to keep scrolling smooth for the most part. I like the main page as it is, and having a tiled view of what's new on to the side of that would be cool also. Well, looking forward to any updates for sure and good luck with continued development.
feed me 1.5 is out.
You can now download podcasts. You can also pause the downloads and resume them later (they are paused automatically when exiting the app).
I also added some new animation for the page transitions. I'd be really interested in any feedback as to whether it still keeps the clean look... if not then you can disable them in the settings.
Hey everyone,
I've always wanted a quick time tracking app that didn't have a bunch of data pushed in my face.
I found writing down on paper was easier than these complicated apps/software. With too much to deal with, select, set, and fill out, before long I've spent a minute or more just telling it what I was about to do. So I decided to try my first attempt at an app for my Xoom -- which then extended to my phone.
I need some testers to try it out and give me some feedback. I recently added support for Android 2.2+ on top of the native support for 3.0 so it can be used on your tablets and now your phones.
All feedback appreciated!
Screenshots
As you can see I set 'Time Tracker App' as my default subject while I was working on it over the last few days; so each entry is titled for quick reference, which you can then click to view and learn more: exact times, a real-time counter, notes, ways to manage the entry, etc.
2.1.2 on my Xoom
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"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
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"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
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- Yes that's 7 hours counting in real-time... no limits on big projects
2.1.2 on my Droid X
-
-
UPDATED 5/9
- Attachment updated to newest release 2.1.2
- Added screenshots of Xoom and Phone in action
hi i downloaded your time tracker on my xoom. looks pretty good but have not put in actual use. I was actually looking for an app to do my scheduling.
For example : event | SAT - SUN | breaking down on the timing and items for the event
does that make any sense to you ?
Hey thanks for trying it out and giving some feedback!
What did you have in mind?
I see an idea here for setting up specific entries with predefined start/end times and having the timer count down to the start time. But let me know what you had in mind... you tell me the steps you'd want to take and the outcome of those steps =)
ex.
Click "Make an Event" or "Event", fill out the Subject and Start/End Time, this event is set between those dates. The timer counts down to the event start time, then counts up from there for the length of the event... etc etc!
This way you could add events/tasks/jobs AHEAD of time, rather than when you're sitting there about to start! I've already got the function in the app to do future tasks/events, I just haven't made it public. So the more feedback you can give, the better I can build it out =)
Another thought is having Events act as a group, that you can add timers to the group and then refer back to the group "Weekend Party" to see how all your timers under that group broke down.
I'm rambling... you tell me!
Great concept.
Would you be so kind as to add a couple of screenshots so we know what to expect before downloading?
willverduzco said:
Great concept.
Would you be so kind as to add a couple of screenshots so we know what to expect before downloading?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I appreciate it! I think it's a concept most people could really use -- at least I know I tried a handful of apps, but none of them did ANYTHING simply and actually ended up COMPLICATING things even further.
I put up some pics as requested! The Invoice function is a WIP where I plan on allowing you to add timers to build out invoices quick and easy. At the moment it's a data sheet for you to reference when you bill for the month, but with development going the way it has, that should be up and running relatively soon!
All feedback is welcomed... it's the only way these apps can get better. Something bugging you? Let me know as I can't test for everyone! =)
I am a contractor looking for a more robust time tracking app. I have tried several apps out there. I have not located a developer willing to work with me to get some real improvements to them.
There are several of them who have a great concept and template, just poorly implemented. The whole idea of having a tablet is to make my life easier, not to make me jump thru extra hoops and having to type in specific dates to sort out a weeks freaking work..
I will load it up on my xoom shortly and I am hoping it is a great concept and I am willing to spend the extra time to give you the input you desire
well, im testing this now since you offered it. one thing that got on my nerves was the registration/sign in. this would only be helpful if i can view all my tracks online as well, but i havent found where
the app itself works like charm and right now i didnt find anything that neees improvement. so, well done !
You're head is in the right direction -- the login is meant for keeping your Tracking per account. I'm putting together a web service where you can manage everything from your computer/laptop and not have to do anything but log in! No syncing required, it's all done for you.
So between your tablet, phone, and then computer, it could be pretty nice =) I can streamline the registration and make it a little nicer though! Any thoughts on what could make it better?
Xezuka said:
You're head is in the right direction -- the login is meant for keeping your Tracking per account. I'm putting together a web service where you can manage everything from your computer/laptop and not have to do anything but log in! No syncing required, it's all done for you.
So between your tablet, phone, and then computer, it could be pretty nice =) I can streamline the registration and make it a little nicer though! Any thoughts on what could make it better?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just an option to not use it if not needed
but by now i ust like this app...would pay some cents for using it.
Xezuka said:
Thanks I appreciate it! I think it's a concept most people could really use -- at least I know I tried a handful of apps, but none of them did ANYTHING simply and actually ended up COMPLICATING things even further.
I put up some pics as requested! The Invoice function is a WIP where I plan on allowing you to add timers to build out invoices quick and easy. At the moment it's a data sheet for you to reference when you bill for the month, but with development going the way it has, that should be up and running relatively soon!
All feedback is welcomed... it's the only way these apps can get better. Something bugging you? Let me know as I can't test for everyone! =)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for adding the screenshots. This app looks absolutely wonderful. I am going to feature this on XDA's front page in the coming days.
PS. Your use of the Fragments API is stellar.
RinTinTigger said:
just an option to not use it if not needed
but by now i ust like this app...would pay some cents for using it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll definitely take this into consideration! With 3g/wifi available nearly 100% of the time I'm using my devices, I began designing it to store the information off the device which allowed me to easily synchronization to your phone and soon a website. But for those that don't need this, it's a great idea that I'll surely look into! Thanks!
willverduzco said:
Thanks for adding the screenshots. This app looks absolutely wonderful. I am going to feature this on XDA's front page in the coming days.
PS. Your use of the Fragments API is stellar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd be honored to see it happen! Being my first Android app I've been hesitant to release it into the wild and potentially watch my baby get slaughtered by the reviews... then again, maybe not
Thanks again for the feedback and if there's anything you need let me know!
other currencies might be coool
also the counter starts at 06:00:00 it shows the right time once you completed. but the start time is weird
I'm thinking it's going to be a matter of correcting the times for outside timezones. What time zone are you in?
If you PM me your username, I can place you under testing and make sure the fixes are working before taking it 100% live =) Thanks for the heads up!
UPDATE: Made a fix for the time being... I'll determine the TimeZone automatically in the future when signing up, but for testing purposes I've included a TimeZone selector under the Settings menu. This does not yet take into account for DST (Daylight Savings Time) although when I fix it up completely it will =) This also could allow someone traveling around the world to be in whatever TimeZone you please without losing your inputted data! Try it out! All your timers should adjust themselves when you change your Offset under Settings! I tested it with someone on the other coast of the US, now I just need someone across the world to try it! =)
Great news for people who are in different time zones.
The ability to put jobs and clients in sub folders is priceless to some....
dekcufi said:
Great news for people who are in different time zones.
The ability to put jobs and clients in sub folders is priceless to some....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely agree! Do you have any ideas of how you could see this implemented while keeping the streamlined and easy to use interface?
Perhaps a separate tab with 'Folders/Groups' where you can create a 'Folder/Group' and have the ability to set your timers to a specific 'Folder/Group'? That way you could organize your timers accordingly?
Tested the latest build, i can now select a time zone, but still, the counter starts with 06:00:00
weird :/
RinTinTigger said:
Tested the latest build, i can now select a time zone, but still, the counter starts with 06:00:00
weird :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is certainly interesting and something I've been using Memento to do - many things that particular application is used for can become viable applications / packages in their own right.
One question though - why not create a Google spreadsheet within the users account to track data? Admittedly, you will be hosting a fascinating collection of data (not that you would use it like that, although I confess that I would be tempted) and you would rapidly gain a great understanding of application usage amongst your user base (that's a valid thing to do and one many developers would be evnvious of).
I look forward to trying the app on my HD2 Nandroid CM7 and shall report back.
Good luck!
Thank you!
A Great and easy to use app!
Could be usefull for me too.
The design is very nice, but there are a few design bugs. Maybe you should use another set of icons. The menu icons for example seems to be white on white, which makes them hard to understand. When there is no focus on "LogOut" it is just a sheared grey square, only when there is a focus you can see that is shall be an open door.
RinTinTigger said:
Tested the latest build, i can now select a time zone, but still, the counter starts with 06:00:00
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have got the same problem. But it is just the counter. When you complete the timer the time span is calculated correctly.
I also found a little bug with currency. If you just registered and do not change the currency settings (default was Euro at me) then there are dollars shown in the app. And when I changed the setting to euro, pound or yen the currency symbol is not shown correctly.
Countdown Timer
I have fixes in the works! The timer should now be fixed and count accordingly! Please let me know if this is not the case =)
Currency Bug
The currency bug is known and will be fixed within a few hours! You may see it all go away, then return, this is planned!
Thanks for all the feedback guys I appreciate it -- these are all great!
Still needed: a way to start and use the app without singing in, cuz i dont have internet sometimes at the tab and a customer
Hi all,
I am a long time lurker, first time poster. This forum was a wonderful inspiration to me. I would like to showcase my app - Komik. It is a CBR/CBZ reader that is designed from the ground up for tablets. First some background, I was disappointed with the quality of comic book readers on the market. The Xoom, with its aspect ratio, is THE perfect comic book reader (honestly, the aspect ratio lends to almost zero unused space), and the lack of polish in many of the other apps is sorely apparent. I wanted a reader that did a better job of showcasing my collection. This spurred me to build my own application, and thus began Komik. I would love to hear what you guys think. Any comments would be well appreciated.
Here is the market listing: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.komik.free
It would be very much appreciated if you could rate the application on the market as well Thanks! and I hope you all enjoy it.
Komik is the first comic/manga viewer and collection manager designed specifically for Android tablets. We are currently rapidly developing Komik and would love to hear any suggestions from you.
* CBR, CBZ, and image directory comic support
* Comic collection browser with thumbnails
* Quickly zoom in locally on a section of a page
* Page thumbnails to quickly scan through comics
* Continuous bookmarking for all comics
* Gracefully handles dual-spread pages
* Easy collection management from the library
* Easily zoom into pages
WHATS NEW IN VERSION 1.20:
*Magnifying glass. Place two fingers together on the screen. A magnification window will appear. Move fingers to pan.
*Improved picture quality while zooming
*Ability to set any folder on the device as the comic folder - EXPERIMENTAL
*Night and day mode quick toggle for screen brightness while reading
*Click-to-page turn is now available as an option
*Advanced reading settings
*Mark-as-read now marks all files in a folder as read as well
*Bottom notification bar is now hidden while reading
*Fixed a bug where pages would not load when going to the next or pervious issue in a series
*Additional memory improvements while handling CBRs
*Checkboxes will be selected or deselected when clicking on the cover image
*Additional help information
WHATS COMING IN THE NEXT RELEASE:
* local zoom improvements
* stability fixes
EDIT: PDF support is much much more involved than I thought. All the open source solutions are unsatisfactory. I am going to have to port over a library myself. That is by itself a couple month project. I think I am going to table PDF support as a priority until I get the rest of the application into a state that I am more happy with. I will get back to it after a couple of releases.
STAY TUNED FOR:
* More prebuffering for CBRs to improve speed
* Dual page mode
* Quick links from the reader
* Night time mode
* Search across your entire collection
* Collection browser filtering to find the comics you want faster
* A homescreen widget to quickly jump to your comics
- kaycha
Like ed the free version well enough to buy the $1.99 app. About as close to ComicFlow on the iPad as I've seen so far. Feels lighter than DROID Comic Viewer.
Thanks! That's great to hear. Anything specific that you would like to call out that I can improve or features that you would like to add? I will be monitoring this thread. I am pushing an upgrade out in the next couple of weeks with some more features. Hopefully I can get them in for you.
EDIT: Fixed some stability issues. An update should appear on the market shortly.
I have yet to encounter a double page layout, but when I do, that will be a good measure of how your app reacts.
So far, I like. Seems like it does get a tad bit memory heavy after a while - the CBR was 141mb though.
Holy. That is a large CBR. Just a heads up, CBZs will preform better for every reader out there because the decompression of the ZIP file is handled natively, and all libraries for RAR extraction are really really bad. I recommend converting everything the CBZs if possible for better performance. There are some tools out there that do it for you - I rolled my own script though.
I auto rotate all dual-spread pages to whatever can result in the largest use of the screen. You can then zoom in to see the detail (I am in the process of improving quality of the zoom feature eta next weekish). If the dual-spread page is split between two pages you can drag your figure like you are changing pages to read through both pages.
I fixed a couple force close issues that were reported. An update should be up whenever the market decides it wants to show it.
- kaycha
I really like what you're doing here. I just set my root directory as my dropbox folder and now I kind of want to load a bunch of comics in there just to scroll through the collection. I'm sure you'll iron out any bugs or fcs eventually, but for a 1.0 I'm impressed, and I love any app that feels like it belongs in honeycomb.
I dont even know if its possible, but a suggestion would be if you could do like windows does with its thumbnails and show a cover page on a folder (like, page 1 of the first listed file). I like to keep my stuff organized, but the collection view looks too good to be blanded up by a bunch of blank folders.
also "Could not open the file-did something happen to it?" made me smile. I tried to open an .xls
edit: ok confused myself, maybe you should limit the file extensions that it sees in case someone uses a folder with unrelated stuff in it
I am glad you like it! I was thinking about that. I do show covers for the directory directly above. I will make it so that the directories above that also show some covers. Here is another option. What if I made it display the image of a file called "cover.jpg" or something like that? That would give you better organization ability.
Its strange. I wonder how that xls got in there. I will look into it. It might be some weirdness with dropbox. I am glad that functions.
EDIT: Ah. I found the issue. Thanks! It will go out with the next release.
hello, I am a huge comics fan and read a lot on my xoom, If I could I would advise you to add followings things :
- read pdf file with the same interface
- read jpg file
I have a lot of comics with pdf or jpeg extension
- edit the display of a folder with a jpg or perhaps a pdf
Gl for your apps
Duely noted! I am in the process of getting an jpg comic book to work properly. I dont know how easy a pdf file is though. It cant be that hard! I will see if I can get that support out by the next release. Thanks for the suggestions.
it's not bad but I'm going to stic with perfect viewer for the time being
Perfect viewer loads pages much faster and I like the quick tap feature to go to the next comic or back to my library. It loads the thumbnails faster too. If you haven't tried it yet you may want to now. Its totally free and there is an optional 3 dollar donation, I donatd because of how amazing the app is.
I do like the tap to preview other pages though. It just loads the thumbnails kinda slow.
I have used perfect viewer and didnt particularly like its organizational features. It is strange that you find it so much faster - were you testing the same files? CBRs universally suck for pretty much every app that I have tried because of the sorry state of the unRAR library. I think I will try doing much more prebuffering when dealing with CBRs. That should solve much of the speed problem.
You can also jump back to the library or next by tapping on the screen when you are reading and hitting the buttons in the action bar. How does perfect viewer do it?
As far as loading comic thumbnails are concerned, it is done once and cached. I try to only load them when the user has stopped scrolling because the scrolling experience is extremely hampered by continuously trying to fetch the comics. Basically what I am saying is only the first time that a directory is visited has really slow thumbnail loading.
As always, thanks for the suggestions! I will be working on getting parity with Perfect Viewer.
EDIT: Okay. These ads are causing way too many force closes. I will be removing it. The free version is now ad free. The update will be on the market shortly.
Awesome app! Totally replaced perfect viewer for me! just waiting for the pdf views
Congrats dude!
Sent from my Xoom.
MagicMicky said:
Awesome app! Totally replaced perfect viewer for me! just waiting for the pdf views
Congrats dude!
Sent from my Xoom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is coming my friend Researching as we speak!
very nice app indeed!
Just buyed this app last night after trying the free version... very nice indeed and fast (is it using renderscript?).
Just waiting for double page view in landscape mode, manga mode view (right to left) and night mode for B&W comics/mangas... =]
Sweet thanks for the feedback! That's actually an interesting suggestion for double page view in landscape mode. Would it show the current page and the next page side by side? I think I got some ideas for it. Manga mode is definitely coming. I didnt think about night mode. That is an awesome suggestion. Does it just it just invert the colors to white on black?
As always thanks for the excellent feedback! I will be updating my first post with things that I will be adding into the next release.
Perfect viewer's bookshelf
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"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
reading in PV
double page mode in PV
perfect viewer's quick controls (customizable)
I cant decide just yet who's bookshelf I like better, yours or PV. PV handles the covers better though (with some of my files your app shows the wrong image). I'll buy your app as a thank you, and as encouragement to one up perfect viewer's dominance over android comic apps.
PS - Mango is the app I use for reading manga because it has many sources and pulls manga from the internet, all you need is the app itself.
Interesting ideas... I definitely can grab covers better I think. The problem is there is no standardization on how files are named - there is definitely some improvements I can make by looking through the zip for something that seems like "front cover" or something like that. Right now I simply show the first image in the file.
The quick links are interesting. I definitely will be looking into something like that. Buttons easily placed in the page thumbnails overlay or something like that.
The dual page thing i am definitely going to do. That is a super cool feature that I am surprised I missed.
As always, thanks for the support and the suggestions!
The "quick links" thing shows briefly on startup and then remains hidden. I went through the options to bring it up for the snapshot.
I see. Into the pipeline it goes!
Bought the paid version, even though you took the ads out of free. Not that you seem to need much encouragement! Thanks again
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
This is a discussion thread for Birthdays Diary, one of my Windows Phone apps. I hope you'll like it.
Screenshots:
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"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Demo video: here
Official Facebook Page: here
Description:
Birthdays Diary is a great free app for browsing and managing your friends' birthdays.
You can easily see birthdays coming soon or find the birthday of a particular friend.
Birthdays Diary features a nice, customizable live tile, allowing you to peek at coming birthdays from your home screen.
Other features include:
browse birthdays by month, week or day
see additional data, like age and zodiac sign
hide birthdays you are not interested in
greet your friends from within the app
Facebook integration
User reactions.
Currently the app reads birthdays from Facebook and from the phone. It is not possible to add custom birthdays in the app. This will be available in the next version.
Version history:
Version 1.1
[Improved] User interface improvements
[Fixed] Birthdays displayed one day earlier in certain time zones
Discussions.
I welcome any feature requests, bug reports or just random thoughts.
Thank you and take care.
Free download:
I do like this app, but there are currently two issues that stop me from getting it.
a) Duplicate entries. In the case where a local contact is also on FB, it creates two entries. I know there is an option to hide one of these, but this also means you lose half of the contact details. It should be possible to merge these, no?
But more importantly
b) Ads and I'm not talking about the banner ads (although would prefer an ad-free version - paid for, of course). The issue is the added icons linking back to your other apps. Fair enough if these were in the about page or something, but remove them from the menus. It just ruins the clean look of an otherwise excellent app.
If you made a fully ad-free version and found a way to deal with linked contacts, I'd be more than happy to pay for this app.
First of all, thank you for the feedback.
About A, the duplicate entries. I think it is currently not possible for third party apps to get the linked contacts in Windows Phone. Even if you linked two or more contacts there is no way for a developer to find out they are linked. Please someone correct me if I am wrong here(I hope I am).
About B, the color icons in the app bar. I am sorry they annoy you. I believe this is a less annoying way to promote my other apps. It is just an icon. But you are correct, they should be limited somehow, not showing so much and maybe only in certain screens. Point taken.
Once the app becomes mature I will release a paid version without ads.
Nice app, duplicate contacts can be hidden, its fantastic.
But - stupid adds on bottom page, some strange buttons.
I'd rather pay some money than annoying adds...
So, now its unusable for me.
ldokov said:
About A, the duplicate entries. I think it is currently not possible for third party apps to get the linked contacts in Windows Phone. Even if you linked two or more contacts there is no way for a developer to find out they are linked. Please someone correct me if I am wrong here(I hope I am).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've seen some apps that pull data from Facebook and Windows Live; merging it into one contact. However, I believe this is done by comparing the name and probably depends on it being exactly the same. Having thought about it a bit more, I think your solution of being able to hide one is actually quite a nice way of dealing with it; plus it has the added advantage of being able to hide those birthdays you're not necessarily interested in.
It would be great if you released a paid version. Keep us posted if you do, as I really like the app and would definitely buy an ad-free release.
Keep up the good work!
Petulinek said:
Nice app, duplicate contacts can be hidden, its fantastic.
But - stupid adds on bottom page, some strange buttons.
I'd rather pay some money than annoying adds...
So, now its unusable for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry you see it that way. But that's how life is - free apps come with ads. I tried to make ads unobtrusive and looking nice, but it is only possible to some extent.
About the color icons in the menu: they were not color at first, but then they looked similar to the other icons and you expect them to do something related to the current screen, which I think is worse. I decided to make them color - they look nice, different and you always know what they do. This is for the black theme. If you are using white theme, they look the same as other icons (black). There is nothing I can do about that.
As I wrote, once the app matures I will release a paid version. I just want it to be perfect if I am going to take people's money for it, this is why I am waiting a bit. Also, I will make the color ad icons in the app bar appear less often and in fewer places, as I promised Gorki247.
Thank you for understanding.
Gorki247 said:
I've seen some apps that pull data from Facebook and Windows Live; merging it into one contact. However, I believe this is done by comparing the name and probably depends on it being exactly the same. Having thought about it a bit more, I think your solution of being able to hide one is actually quite a nice way of dealing with it; plus it has the added advantage of being able to hide those birthdays you're not necessarily interested in.
It would be great if you released a paid version. Keep us posted if you do, as I really like the app and would definitely buy an ad-free release.
Keep up the good work!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it is possible to merge contacts by comparing the name, However, I think the name is rarely exactly the same in Facebook and in the phone(Windows Live). The main reason is that in Facebook your friend normally writes his real name while in the phone you write whatever name you know him by (maybe a nickname or just the first name).
I have an idea on how it might be possible to merge contacts but I am not sure it will work. I will try it for one of the next versions and will let you know if it works or not.
Thank you for the feedback and for understanding the problem, it's always good to have a constructive discussion. This really helps me make Birthdays Diary a better app.
I will definitely announce it here when I release a paid version.
New version released!
The next version of Birthdays Diary is now available in the marketplace! I hope you'll like it! You can download it from here.
The update adds several new features and also fixes some known issues. Here is the complete changelog:
Version 1.2 changes
[New] Ability to add custom anniversaries
[New] Ability to show days left in live tile
[New] Compatibility with low-memory devices
[Improved] Birth date is now visible in search
[Improved] Advertizing menu icon is now showing much more rarely
[Improved] Default live tile settings adjusted
[Fixed] Facebook synchronization problems
[Fixed] Posting on friend's wall did succeed but progress was not hiding
[Fixed] Age was sometimes not showing in live tile even if turned on
[Fixed] "Show zero count" setting for live tile not working for "Single birthday" mode
The inbuilt windows phone calendar does a great job in syncing and reminding all the birthdays of your windows live,fb contacts. But this a nice app as well.
Sent from my Lumia 710 using Board Express
Very nice app!
it's the most fluid birthdays app I tryed.
I just miss the possibility of notifications like reminders.
Apart from that it's very good.
eltonada said:
Very nice app!
it's the most fluid birthdays app I tryed.
I just miss the possibility of notifications like reminders.
Apart from that it's very good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi eltonada,
I am glad you like the app!
Reminders are definitely coming in one of the next versions. I am currently thinking on the best way to implement them.
Thank you for the feedback!
Here is our detailed review we did for our Readers http://www.wpxbox.com/birthdays-diary-facebook/
It includes a video and suggestions for the app. Thanks for making such a brilliant app for Windows Phone.
wpxbox said:
Here is our detailed review we did for our Readers http://www.wpxbox.com/birthdays-diary-facebook/
It includes a video and suggestions for the app. Thanks for making such a brilliant app for Windows Phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great review, thank you!
Also, I really appreciate the suggestions, they definitely make sense. Since this is the official forum thread, I will write a few comments:
Suggestion 1: improving responsiveness.
I am trying to improve responsiveness all the time, but there is always more to be desired. Also, it is different on different phones. For example, it works great on Lumia 800 with its 1.4 GHz processor. It works fine on the Omnia 7, but not as fast as on the Nokia. I guess it would be worse on the Lumia 610, but I do not have such a phone yet.
Suggestion 2: pin individual user as live tile.
This is definitely doable, but you can also pin a user from contacts. You can also post on his wall from there. I am not sure what can I do to make it better. Please let me know if you have something in mind.
Suggestion 3: integrate Facebook Contacts with Contacts on the phone.
I am already working on this. This was an idea since the first version but I never had the time to do it. It is not very easy, you can read my earlier posts in this thread for more info on that topic.
Suggestion 4: Pull in last status update for the Facebook contact.
This is also doable. I am also thinking about other ways to integrate Facebook. For example, maybe it would be nice to see who else wrote on your friend's wall for his birthday.
Let me know if you have other suggestions or anything else you want to share about the app. I will be happy to discuss it.
Looks fascinating, I like the GUI, will try it out.
Hello everyone,
Version 1.3 is now available worldwide. It is mostly a bugfix release, here are the changes:
[New] Introduced a setting to disable category-based background color for the live tile
[Improved] Spell check is now enabled for Name and Description fields (when adding custom anniversary)
[Fixed] Minor Facebook integration issues were fixed
[Fixed] "Single birthday" mode for the live tile now works correctly
Another update is coming soon, it will include support for three new languages: Portuguese(Portugal), Portuguese(Brazil) and Dutch.
I would appreciate your help with translating the app to other languages as well. If you want to help, just let me know and I will send you the files. It should take no more than 2-3 hours if you are fluent with the language.
Thank you, I hope you like the new version.
Paid version released
A paid, ad-free version of Birthdays Diary is now available. You can get it from here: http://bit.ly/Krfrvr
The paid version is exactly the same as the free version, except it does not show ads at the bottom of the screen.
Please note, that the paid version uses different storage than the free version. This means you will lose any settings or custom anniversaries you have entered. This is a limitation of Windows Phone, one app cannot access the storage of another. I am planning to introduce SkyDrive integration and the ability to back up and synchronize data there, but this is not yet available.
Thanks ldokov. I noticed the paid version today and bought it immediately based on my experience with the free version. This is the best Birthday app out there, IMHO. Works really well on my Lumia 800. Great job!
Personally, I also love the fact that we can add other anniversaries and set the live tile to use the relevant colour. It's a really useful feature.
Edit: Just noticed that with adding a custom birthday, the 'year is unknown/does not matter' option doesn't seem to do anything; i.e. the entry will still show a birth year even if this box has been ticked (unless I'm missing something).
Thanks
Gorki247 said:
Edit: Just noticed that with adding a custom birthday, the 'year is unknown/does not matter' option doesn't seem to do anything; i.e. the entry will still show a birth year even if this box has been ticked (unless I'm missing something).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Gorki247,
I am glad you like the app!
Indeed, I just tested it and it is a bug. Even if you check that the year is unknown, it still shows you the selected year. This will be fixed in the next update. Thanks for reporting it. :good:
Hi everyone,
I would like to announce that version 1.4 is now available!
The most significant in it is the support for four new languages: Dutch, Czech, Portuguese (Portugal) and Portuguese (Brazil).
Here is the full list of changes:
[New] Four new languages are now available: Portuguese (Portugal), Portuguese (Brazil), Dutch and Czech
[Improved] Live tile: if contact picture is unavailable, contact name is always displayed
[Fixed] The app was crashing sometimes when selecting main or related contact for custom anniversary
[Fixed] Filtering by category was not working properly
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"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
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"lightbox_share": "Share",
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Note: This version of the app has hit its token limit, for more info on my plans and its future, check out this post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=56228193&postcount=553
Hello guys! From the creators of Sliding Messaging Pro, I would like to announce one of our new projects: Talon for Twitter!
This one, along with klinkdawg's EvolveSMS are the two brand new apps that we have been creating the past few months. They are full of polish, features, and beautiful design and KitKat style! Both of these apps are availible on the Google Play store today, but lets get to know Talon a little first
Talon for Twitter - Google Play Store
-----------------------------------------------------
Play Store Description:
Get fully immersed in your Twitter with this beautiful, feature PACKED Twitter client with a design that actually makes sense!
Created with Android 4.4 (KitKat) in mind. Includes full screen layouts, stunning animations and more! Of course that doesn't mean earlier versions of android get left out! The only thing that wasn't able to be recreated in Android 4.3 and below was the transparent navigation and status bars... Sorry! It just isn't possible
Beautiful, up-to-date layouts, designs, and neat animations isn't the only thing Talon has going for it though! The list of features is enormous as well, doing everything you could ever want from a Twitter app right off the bat. Even though it is new, I have added every single major and minor Twitter feature that I think is absolutely essential plus a ton that most people wouldn't even think of. Here is a pretty comprehensive list of its features:
Twitter features:
- Live streaming support
- Support for 2 accounts
- View your timelines (main, mentions, direct messages, links, and pictures)
- View retweets, favorites, Local and world trending, user profiles, Twitter lists, and more
- Favorite users
- Search Twitter
- Delete, favorite, retweet, quote, and reply to statuses
- view replies to statuses
- Update your profile picture, banner, location, and user description
- block, follow, and add users to lists
- search for your friends to tweet at
- Attach pictures to your tweets
- Attach locations to your tweets
- And the list goes on
Customization features:
- Extremely powerful developer theme engine (Read the second post )
- Choose between either "Talon" or "Hangouts" layouts
- Choose from 3 beautiful base themes (light, dark, and pitch black)
- Custom text sizes
- Night mode
- Auto-Refresh options
- Custom notification settings
- And many other goodies in there as well!
App Features:
- "Talon Pull" to be always listening for interactions (mentions, retweets, favorites, new followers, and direct messages)
- Expandable, actionable, and dynamic notification system
- Full app popup
- Full emoji support
- View in-line Twitter and Instagram pictures
- View in-line YouTube thumbnails
- Native YouTube player
- In-app browser
- Complete landscape and tablet modes
- Advance to new pages in a "windowed" viewing mode
- Never leave your timeline with in-line replies, favorites, and retweets
- Actionable toast bar so you always know where you are and can jump to the top
- Hiding action bar
- "Do not disturb" mode
- Widget for main timeline
- DashClock Extension
- Draft system for unsent/failed tweets
- Google style pull to refresh for quick refreshing
- Save tweet pictures
- Share content with other apps, to and from Talon
You will never go back to your old Twitter client again!
Enjoy Talon and don't hesitate to contact me with questions, requests, or bugs!
Thanks!
Contact me (Luke Klinker):
Email: [email protected]
My Twitter: @lukeklinker
Talon's Twitter: @TalonAndroid
Google+ Beta Page
Emojis
Here are two different emoji plugins for you to choose from, choose whichever suits you best, install it and never worry about it again!
Sliding Emoji Keyboard - Android
Sliding Emoji Keyboard - iOS
Permissions Explained:
- Write to Storage: Saves pictures to your SD card and writes them into the cache.
- Read from Storage: Used when backing up settings.
- Location: Used for trends and attaching locations to tweets.
- Network Communication: Obviously have to be able to interact with Twitter
- Network State: Used so the user can toggle background sync to only over WiFi.
- Run at Startup: Re-schedules the background refreshes.
- Keep Awake: Used for background refreshes and waking the screen.
- Vibrate: Used for the notifications.
Credits:
- Jacob Klinker: to many things to list! Tons of ideas, support, and inspiration
- Aaron Klinker: Icon Design
- Other open-source libraries and resources used can be found under the 'Get Help' section in settings.
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Screenshots:
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Closing Comments:
I have worked really hard to bring you guys a great experience right from the start this time and it really shows, from the login screen to the timelines, you will be fully satisfied with the design, execution and finesse that Talon brings to your phone. It isn't going to take months to get up to speed like Sliding Messaging did. I have designed this to be efficient, fast, and just work, right from the start. I learned a ton from that app and Talon goes to show just how much.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I do, sound off in the comments with question, concerns, suggestion, or whatever else you feel like saying about the app!
One more thing to say before I leave you here, please remember that this is XDA, and you are all expected to be a little bit different Android users, if you are having a force close or something, I would like you to be able to post a logcat of it. If you are wondering about why I did something the way I did, then I will probably explain it to you in a programming sense instead of how I would to a normal user on the Google+ beta page or something, because that makes much more sense to me, is easier on me, and you should be able to understand it a little bit better... Just keep that in mind and stay on topic please
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
1.) Push Notifications
I am just going to say this now, before anyone asks: Push notifications will not be coming to Talon unless something changes with the Twitter APIs. I have created "Talon Pull" with is simply an always on, listening/streaming service that will receive new tweets from Twitter whenever your Twitter handle is included. To read more about this option, look at the "Talon Pull" section below the "Reasons" section.
Reasons
This will be the more technical part of this post, if you don't want to read and understand it, then you will have to just accept my answer from above. If you don't accept that I know what I am talking about... Then by all means, read on, I will try to keep it as simple as possible.
To access Twitter, they have provided us with the REST APIs (currently version 1.1). These APIs allow developers to communicate with Twitter in real time by just submitting requests to get data from the network. They make it relatively simple - if you know what your doing - to obtain the data that they allow you to get and store, but there are plenty of limitations to these APIs, which make sense: Twitter is a completely free service and make their money off of advertisements. They want people to use their official Twitter products (such as the web or their own Android app) to access their services because they are able to place advertisements in them and that is the only way they make money. So they just aren't going to make some things available for 3rd party developers.
One of those things is their push notification system. As I said before, they allow us to access their services with these REST APIs, but they also have a Streaming API available so that a 3rd party service, such as this one, could be "always connected". Sounds great right? Maybe, maybe not. More testing probably needs to go into it, because it is very new in Talon. For the past few weeks though, I can say that it doesn't seem to take up much more battery than sycning on an intervol does. So try it and let me know. I have done the best I can to optimize this service, but if you want to know more about it, read below in the "Talon Pull" section
What these streaming APIs should be used for is a server side interaction that would then connect to GCM (Google Cloud Messaging) and send push notifications from there. I would love to say I am working on something like this, but it isn't possible for a developer like me. I don't have the time, resources, or knowledge to set up a complex server like this. The knowledge I could get, but I am a 20 year old kid, working off of this 1 MB/sec internet connection while being a full time college student at the University of Iowa. I wouldn't be able to handle the upkeep of the system like this or the traffic. I just don't have the backend necessary for this type of thing, and there aren't many developers who do. So push notifications from the server side? Way out of the question.
That leaves only one thing to do: wait. Maybe Twitter will open up some kind of push notification service to it's developers, but I wouldn't count on that. The ideal thing for them to do would be to set up their own GCM server for us to communicate with, but I don't see that as being likely at all because of the advertising. That would take away one of the main draws for their app, leaving it with almost nothing that 3rd party developers can't do. For now though, "Talon Pull" seems to be working well and I would encourage you all to try it out. Battery seems to be fine, the one drawback is that you must be connected to a datasource right when the interaction happens or it won't be saved or shown.
Talon Pull - My solution/workaround
As I said before, this is NOT push notifications. Push notifications are sent to your device to notify you from some kind of server. They aren't always on, and only turn on when your device receives the info from the web service.
Talon Pull on the other hand, uses Twitter's Streaming API to just create an "always on" service to be constantly listening for and streaming tweets that contain your Twitter Handle. The way this works is that you are signed in with your API keys after you turn on the option to enable Talon Pull. I then just create this "listener" that Twitter's servers will send new tweets to. Luckily, they will take care of most of the filtering of those tweets on their end, to reduce the load as much as possible on your device (because before the filtering, it literally will receive every single public tweet that is happening. It was amazing when I first flipped and saw the tweets flowing over my log haha). So we filter it down to as few of tweets actually reaching your device as possible, then I start broadcasting the notifications when you receive the new ones.
Overall, it is a relatively simple process, the problem with it though, you have probably already realized, you have to be constantly connected with a data service or the app won't know when to receive the new tweets. Obviously that is the part that is going to end up taking the battery (if it does), not "bloated" or "un-optimized" code as some of you I sure believed. So far though, through my testing, it doesn't seem to have a very big impact on battery overall, but I suppose that it potentially could if you are using Twitter that much more than I do.
If there was a better way, I wish I could find it. I think that this is the method that most 3rd party services use to send you those fake "push notifications". So there ya have it, hope you learned something. It works well and it is the only way to get a lot of information like who favorited or retweeted your statuses
Conclusion
Thanks for the read, if you made it all the way, hope that gives you an idea as to why push notifications just aren't even an option at this point and what my solution to that problem has been, even if it is not ideal. It works, and it seems to be working quite well for me.
So just know: "Talon Pull" isn't quite the same as push notifications, but it is as close as you are going to get and is working better for me than I would have ever imagined. Enjoy!
2.) Translucency
Why aren’t my status bar and navigation bar translucent like in all of the screenshots?!?
This is an Android 4.4 KitKat feature only. Get a new phone/ROM if you want it.
3.) Theming Support and Limitations
We have created a pretty powerful theme engine for Talon and EvolveSMS this time around, but it isn't without its limitations.
The main app color will always be orange. Don't ask to change it. That isn't something I can theme dynamically or read from an add on package, themers can change the orange glow on the in-line buttons (favorite, retweet, and send), but that is as much as your are going to get with that one.
4.) Viewing users who "retweet" and "favorite" your statuses
This is another thing that isn't going to happen at this point. It isn't possible to get the user ID's or their names with the current version of the API's.
Maybe Twitter will open this up in the future, but I wouldn't get your hopes up.For now, the best you will get is the numbers on them
The only way to get this information is through the use of "Talon Pull" and the Streaming API's. When you get a retweet or favorite, it will be put in the interactions drawer on the right side of any activities with drawers.The only way to get this information is through the use of "Talon Pull" and the Streaming API's. When you get a retweet or favorite, it will be put in the interactions drawer on the right side of any activities with drawers.
5.) Clearing the Cache
If you know much about caching in Android, then you may wonder why in the world I would want to clear it every time you switch themes.
The answer is pretty simple: to vastly improve the performance and the smooth scrolling in the app, I save the profile pictures according to the current theme's style, whether that is circle (like the "Talon" layout) or square (like the "Hangouts" layout). This preference is also available to themers in the add-on themes.
By caching them directly as circles, it alleviates the need to do it on the fly which could consume quite a bit of processing power on older phones and would just be a complete waste to render them like that every time.
You may think it is a hassle, but you would be thanking me if you knew the difference it makes.
You can also view the current cache size and clear it manually from "Advanced Settings".
6.) Battery Consumption
If you use Talon a lot throughout the day, it is going to take up battery, simple as that. I find that on a 30 min refresh intervol for the different timelines and manually going in and browsing/updating throughout the day, it takes about 4-5% of my battery. I would say this is pretty normal because there are days that Google+ takes up to 10% with just casual browsing.
If that isn't acceptable for you though, then there are a few things you can do to reduce battery consumption:
1.) Turn down the refresh interval on the timelines. This is the big one. It is those background services that are going to drain your battery.
2.) Turn off "Refresh on Startup".
3.) Turn off "Talon Pull" and "Live Streaming"
4.) Don't have it sync the second account's mentions
And if all else fails... Get off Twitter and do something productive for awhile =D haha any app that accesses the internet and refreshes as much as a Twitter client is inherently going to use more battery in the background. There are ways to reduce it, but not always ways around it!
7.) Custom ROMs Immersive Mode
My custom ROM has "Immersive Mode" and Talon doesn't seem to play nice with it! What's up with that?!
The way that immersive mode works in your ROMs currently isn't so hot unfortunately. There is a reason Google didn't put it into the whole system because app developers would have problems implementing the "translucency" with conflicting system stuff.
Not to fret to much though, I was able to get things working smoothly with it in Talon. The problem was that my ListView's are expanded through the different system bars. This can be a big problem if you try to switch to "Immersive" in the middle of doing something in the app. You will notice the margins get all wanky on the top and the bottom of your lists.
It can be easily solve though by just restarting the app by swiping it out of your recent apps screen. Sorry, but that is the best I am going to be able to do here, Translucent bars an "Immersive Mode" just weren't meant to work together.
Theming in Talon
Theming in Talon for Twitter
Real quick, before you get to far into the content, I want to let all you developers know about one of, if not the standout feature of Talon and EvolveSMS: one incredibly powerful theme engine.
Along with these apps, me and Jacob have completely redesigned and rethought our old "Theme Engine" from Sliding Messaging! Although the Sliding Messaging one was cool and great for the average user to customize, it was slow, cluttered, limited, and just bad design from a developer perspective. This won't be an issue with these apps though. We remade everything about it to bring you the ultimate themeing and customization experience, without the bloat and slowdowns. You won't be disappointed when you see what it can do!
All this theme engine takes is a little bit of knowledge about layouts and resources in Android, along with the Android SDK to compile and distribute your package as an APK, then you can make both of these apps into literally ANYTHING you want. We are able to read the layouts, drawables, and some of the colors directly from your compiled package and place them in our apps! Sweet huh, you thought this kind of design your own thing was only for homescreens
And the best part: it is completely free and you can easily share these themes with anyone when you are done by just sending the APK or putting it on the Google Play Store!
For more info on these and to start making Talon really your own, check out these links:
1.) Talon Theming Example/Walkthrough on GitHub
2.) Google+ Community Theming Section - A great place to share so anyone can see and use your themes, not just XDA users
3.) Google+ Theming Post
gonna try it out soon
Amazing Twitter app, absolutely loving it so far. It is just stunning, and kudos to going with transparent navbar instead of immersive, it looks fantastic and doesn't require a gesutre to get to.
Yeah, I completely agree that transparent is the way to go over immersive on something like this, it takes more work, but definitely with it!
Why do you only support for 2 accounts? It's just a question!
Pac-Man said:
Why do you only support for 2 accounts? It's just a question!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, a little embarrassing, but because the logic behind coding more than that gets way complex... haha
klinkdawg24 said:
Well, a little embarrassing, but because the logic behind coding more than that gets way complex... haha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't worry! But I hope you'll add multiaccount. There're a lot of people that love it
Anyway it's a good app with a perfect design. My sincerelly congratulations!
Enviado desde mi Nexus 4 mediante Tapatalk
Will love to try it, I paid for falcon and then it got free
Hoping for xda version
Maybe I'm just stupid.. How do you pull up replies to others tweets? Beautiful app btw... Love it...
wow this app looks beautiful, would love to try it, unfortunately, i dont have a credit card and can't purchase from google play. Will there be a free or xda version coming soon? if not is there any way for me to try this out? signed up for the beta as well
I got the app a couple of hours ago and it's amazing.
Just a few things..
Where did the Talon Pull notifications go when they are received? I have to manually to update the timeline anyway.
You have to pull down for too long in order to update. You should adjust it
You should definitely implement threaded DMs, that would be pretty cool
Great app btw,
donwhall70 said:
Maybe I'm just stupid.. How do you pull up replies to others tweets? Beautiful app btw... Love it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
right now, you can only look backwards at tweets, looking forward will come when i figure it out haha
alkspo said:
wow this app looks beautiful, would love to try it, unfortunately, i dont have a credit card and can't purchase from google play. Will there be a free or xda version coming soon? if not is there any way for me to try this out? signed up for the beta as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, because of the token limit, this app is going to be paid, I thought about an XDA version with different tokens, but that would just go against Twitters rules still
Kage0x said:
I got the app a couple of hours ago and it's amazing.
Just a few things..
Where did the Talon Pull notifications go when they are received? I have to manually to update the timeline anyway.
You have to pull down for too long in order to update. You should adjust it
You should definitely implement threaded DMs, that would be pretty cool
Great app btw,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1.) They go to the interactions drawer on the right, make sure you are on the newest version and it will work better (1.01)
2.) i changed it for the version im releasing now
3.) yeah the dm's have a lot of work i know!
Version 1.05
(up in ~2 hours)
Well, day one is coming to a close and i have added some nice stuff for all of you
There was an update earlier that solved some issues with the Talon Pull service not working and tweets being saved twice in some places. That was version 1.01.
Changelog for 1.05:
Correctly mute retweets
- Higher quality images on timeline
- Dismiss all on interactions drawer
- In-app browser is now optional
- Lowered swipe length for Pull to Refresh
- Option to display both screenname and name on timeline tweets
- Open app from clicking icon on widget
- Finished German translation
- Fixed contact images on layout change
- Attempted fixes for Play Store crash reports
I hopefully got the force closes that were reported today taken care of. Although there weren't many, which makes me happy
Let me know how this version works for all of you!
hi mate
the last update is wonderful
it fix almost every complain ppl have.... BUT.....
PLEASE and i repeat PLEASE don't use the same way of plume to manage DM
the DM must be in threaded conversations, with the ability to delete entire threads, just like a normal "sms" application does, and just like tweetbot does.
please fix the dm section and this could be the real deal for android users.
faremoney said:
hi mate
the last update is wonderful
it fix almost every complain ppl have.... BUT.....
PLEASE and i repeat PLEASE don't use the same way of plume to manage DM
the DM must be in threaded conversations, with the ability to delete entire threads, just like a normal "sms" application does, and just like tweetbot does.
please fix the dm section and this could be the real deal for android users.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DMs will get a big rewrite, but I have a few other things I need to do first
klinkdawg24 said:
DMs will get a big rewrite, but I have a few other things I need to do first
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very nice app. I only have two "issues" Local Trends is displaying trendings from another country. The same happened to me with Falcon Pro so, I guess you both use same location service. It would be nice to have an option to select trends manually for people who is living in another country and wanna know what is happenning in their "home"
The other issue I found is that I think data loading is faster in other Twitter clients especially with timeline refresh
OK, this gets better and better.
The pull to refresh is better than before, but it still needs some improvement. Take a look at how the one from the gmail app behaves. That one is perfect. But this is just a minor issue, so it's not a big deal
Regarding the DM issue, could you at least change the order in which they are displayed, or at least give us the opportunity to do so? It's kinda weird to have the old ones first. But it really depends on long will it take to rewrite the whole thing, if you're going to do it
Also, I really think mentions notifications from the Talon Pull should go directly into the mentions tab instead of the additional drawer, but maybe that's just me
awesome. perhaps the only competitor falсon. you can do that display images if given a direct link to it? (everywhere)
view who retweet/favorite. display real-time, I mean like 20:14, but not 14 minutes ago. thx, man.