Need Beta Testers - Where Are They? Always know where your loved ones are.

[WesternLights]

Hello all,

I've read this website for quite a while but never posted in the forums, so that's my first post. Hello everyone!

Anyway, I think I'm pretty close to complete my first Windows Phone app and I would like to have people test it. The app is called "Where Are They?", and its goal is that you always know where your loved ones are. With this app, phones which have the application installed and are logged in with the same Microsoft account within the app are able to see each other's positions at all times. The Microsoft account to sign in inside the app doesn't have to be the same account you are logged in on the phone.

You can see on a map where your loved ones were the last time their phone uploaded their position (every 30 secs when the app is in the foreground and about every 30 mins when it's closed - or more depending on the phone battery level and such, I assume you know how Scheduled Agents work), can get the postal address of where they are and directions to go there, can know when was the last time they sent position, and you can pin a tile per device on the home screen which displays a small map showing the location, so that you know where your loved ones are at a glance. If you need a little privacy you can disable sending your position for a while.

I hope people who freaked out when their loved ones should have came back home hours ago and are not answering their phone will see the use of this app. Being able to direct help wherever they were a short while ago can be life saving, and seeing that they're at a friend's will let you call that friend or just go back to sleep at ease. Note that it's not a spying app: you can't really have it run on someone's device without the person knowing and, as stated above, the person can disable sending their position for a while. It's more of a "safety" app I would say.

So anyway, if you'd like to beta test it, please send me a PM with your email address associated with your Microsoft account. It runs on Windows Phone 7.1 and above.

Note: I'm not really set on the pricing / trial model so suggestions are welcome. The particularity of this app is that if you have it only on one phone it's not really of any use. I'd like to make a little money but I don't really want the users to feel cheated because they had to pay the price multiple times. I thought a compromise could be to have the trial version let you upload your position but not see other people, and the full version could let you see everyone for a small amount of money, say 1$ or 2$.

Edit: screenshots here

 

[BeaverJuicer]

I could see how this would be beneficial for people with elderly relatives, or children...

Do you have plans on making it cross-OS?

 

[WesternLights]

Well, I'd like to, but that's quite a big project for me, doing it all in my spare time. We'll see. Not in the immediate future, at least. Maybe other people could be interested in writing the app for other platforms too.

 

[WesternLights]

This is now in the store. Thanks to those who tested!

 

[wmgreenjr]

Nice job and I like how you allowed an option to unencrypt to confirm the kind of data stored. Keep developing

 

[DaveR12]

I put the trial version on my & my wife's phone and it looks like a well thought out program. I'm not sure how to evaluate it since the trial version only allows each phone to only see itself, therefore I can't see my wife's phone. Can the trial version be changed to have a time limit instead of restricting the seeing of other users?

Above, you said that you're not sure of the pricing model since people will have to buy multiple copies - since everyone has to at least purchase two copies to be useful, charge 1/2 the price of a normal app. Since most apps seem to be 1.49 - 1.99, how about selling it for .75 - 1.00?

One suggestion for a future update would be to PIN protect the settings so that a child couldn't disable their phone without the parents knowledge.

Just my two cents,
Dave

 

[WesternLights]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I didn't think of a PIN to protect the settings. About the time limit i'm too fond of it. The MS docs themselves advice against it, mainly because would just have to re-download the app.

Thanks again for the ideas, much appreciated.

 

[DaveR12]

With the current trial restriction, I can only see myself on my phone and my wife can only see herself on hers, so I'm not sure how to evaluate the app to see how useful it would be. Am I missing something or is that how the trial is supposed to work?

I would prefer not to spend $3 on two apps only to find out that it doesn't update well or it kills the battery or something else. In my opinion, not being able to actually use the app for its intended purpose makes it hard to evaluate. I'm sorry if I'm sounding negative because I don't mean to be. Your app is the only one that I found for WP that does what it does, so it's definitely needed and looks like it would be pretty good.

Maybe there is some other way to do a trial mode that allows us to test out the program, but still creates incentive to purchase the full version.

--Dave

 

[WesternLights]

No problem, I understand what you mean and appreciate the feedback. I need to think about it. I didn't realize that the trial doesn't really let you have a good idea of how it performs.

Meanwhile, please note that the trial mode doesn't prevent from sending your position. Therefore, only buying one copy would let you make sure you can see someone else. The trial only limits downloading other phones' position.

 

[Jetface]

Not sure how you have things setup but for the trail could you set it up so that it can only update the positions a set number of times. You could set it up to allow three updates before they would have to buy to unlock unlimited updates.

 

[DaveR12]

If it limits downloading he other phone's position in trial mode, then how can I "trial" the app since I can only see my own phone in trial mode? Having to purchase even one copy to evaluate its use sort of defeats the purpose for a "trial".

 

[WesternLights]

Btw, I just realised. When in the settings you enable the option to see yourself the same way others would , you download it from the server. You see it just like you would see someone else, and that is allowed in the trial. So as far as "find[ing] out that it doesn't update well or it kills the battery" that should work. Maybe I should explain that better somewhere in the app and/or on the store page.

As for counting how many times was the position upadted it's pretty much like a time limit trial: you just have to reinstall.

Anyway, i still need to think about it. Any suggestion is welcome. Maybe I could have the trial mode block some features, like pinning devices on the home screen. And/or the trial could allow seeing only one other phone.

 

[WesternLights]

Hello all,

I'm submitting to the store a new version that will have a different trial mode: it will allow tracking one other device, but will not allow:

• pinning another device than your own on the home screen
• getting directions to a device
• copying a device's address to the clipboard

It should be available in a week (after the certification completes).

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[DaveR12]

Thanks for making the change. I look forward to trying it out when it become available.

 

[WesternLights]

Hola,

Version 1.0.0.2 with the new trial mode is in the store now.