New to WP7--moving from iOS 5--need "Find your Friends" alternative

[apoc527]

The subject says it all, really. I'm new to WP7, though I've been following the OS's development since it was announced over a year ago. I just pre-ordered my new Lumia 900 (which is the phone I've been waiting for to jump off the iOS ship) and I'm really excited to receive it next Friday.

I have been able to reconcile the "app differential" with most of my most-used apps from iOS, except I have NOT been able to find a way to gain "Find Your Friends" functionality in WP7. My wife hasn't decided to switch from her iPhone 4 yet, but if she does, I want to be able to use the GPS-location tracking feature in Find Your Friends, as it lets us know where the other person is and prevents worry when someone is late from work or something.

Are there any good Find Your Friends alternatives for WP7 or an OS-integrated way of doing the same thing?

THanks!

 

[Major]

It's called We're In.

 

[apoc527]

Thanks! Rather mixed reviews on the Marketplace, but it seems like it'll do.

Also, does WPCentral have any kind of "Best WP7 Apps List" or something for total newbies like myself to use to start populating our new phones with good apps? I've heard that App Flow is an essential tool for finding good apps, and plan to download it immediately upon receiving my Lumia 900, but are there any other decent lists out there or on this site?

 

[eric12341]

There's also glympse

 

[markdwaterman#WP]

There's also echoecho which is quite good.

 

[WinPhan7]

Check out 1800pocketpc. There is an extensive app and games subsection there. Are you a WinPhan yet?

Sent from WinPhan7.5! using Board Express

 

[J4rrod]

Use AppFlow to discover the best apps on the Marketplace.

 

[GMJeff]

You can add a huge amount of friends if you have them listed on Facebook, Google, Hotmail etc.

When you setup the phone, it will ask you for Windows Live Account information. That will set you up with any contacts on the service. Then you can setup Facebook, Google, Twitter, Outlook, Yahoo, AT&T address book, Linked in or other POP and IMAP accounts as need. All of these will sync contacts or other data to the device. I use mine for Hotmail, XBOX Live, a Office 365 account as well as Facebook and Twitter.

As others have mentioned, there are apps that can be used to find specific friends if needed. The platform is missing some large name apps, but they are coming. As the platform grows, so does the app list. There is supposed to be over 70,000 in the marketplace. Not as many as iOS or Android, but sometimes the quality outweighs the quantity. How many fart apps can you really use at one time anyway.

 

[steve70]

You also try WP7applist.

 

[oldpueblo]

There's also echoecho which is quite good.

I use this.

 

[dtboos]

We're in is the one from MS. haven't used echoecho yet. I expect we're in to end up being baked in to Bing maps at some point. Works well though, and ppl you send it to don't even need to have the app, it directs them to a Bing map website with the locations on it.

Sent from my {Samsung Focus} using Board Express

 

[apoc527]

So, this is still my biggest frustration with WP7. My wife and I are used to Find Your Friends, which we leave on at all times, so we know how long the other will take to get home, etc. It's useful when trying to coordinate our busy lives. All of these alternatives seem to require some kind of action or invitation to work. Find Your Friends just always works...

I'm hoping there are some more solutions available eventually. Otherwise, I love WP7 so far!

 

[btbam91]

Wow, echoecho is awesome.

 

[rezzet#CB]

So, essentially you are trying to track your wife's location at any and all time without her knowing it or giving you a consent by approving a request? stalker-ish apps are not as popular at the marketplace, but perhaps you could try AT&T's Family locator. You can get the app and I think it might do what you want it to do, as long as you pay additional fee for it.

 

[dtboos]

So, this is still my biggest frustration with WP7. My wife and I are used to Find Your Friends, which we leave on at all times, so we know how long the other will take to get home, etc. It's useful when trying to coordinate our busy lives. All of these alternatives seem to require some kind of action or invitation to work. Find Your Friends just always works...

I'm hoping there are some more solutions available eventually. Otherwise, I love WP7 so far!

We're In will likely be built into Bing maps at some point, likely Apollo (Q4 of this year). Thats my educated guess at least. The app is just to tie us over till they do something more with it.

Until then, EchoEcho is the most simple way to do these types of things. We're In is pretty good but does require a bit of action to get it started. Nice for coordinating a meetup with friends ect, but is still basic in functionality. More will be done with this in the future.

 

[oldpueblo]

So, this is still my biggest frustration with WP7. My wife and I are used to Find Your Friends, which we leave on at all times, so we know how long the other will take to get home, etc. It's useful when trying to coordinate our busy lives. All of these alternatives seem to require some kind of action or invitation to work. Find Your Friends just always works...

I'm hoping there are some more solutions available eventually. Otherwise, I love WP7 so far!

Sounds like a pointless battery drain. Echoecho takes about 5-10 seconds when you launch it to do the same thing, without running in the background.

 

[Ulairi]

So, this is still my biggest frustration with WP7. My wife and I are used to Find Your Friends, which we leave on at all times, so we know how long the other will take to get home, etc. It's useful when trying to coordinate our busy lives. All of these alternatives seem to require some kind of action or invitation to work. Find Your Friends just always works...

I'm hoping there are some more solutions available eventually. Otherwise, I love WP7 so far!

Find your Friends requires an invitation as well.