Introducing Weather+ - the most advanced weather app on WP8 (with Google Now style voice commands)

[baileystein]

I've announced my new app, Weather+. It features panels, instead of having weather on different pages. Flick gestures navigate between panels, and pinch gesture shows the ten day forecast in one view.

It also includes Google Now style voice commands. If you upgrade to pro ($1.99), you can pin a live tile, customize weather icons, and get alert toast notifications.

Weather+ will be available for free for all Windows Phone 8 users on January 10th, 2014.

You can read the full post here:
» Introducing Weather+ – the most advanced Weather app on Windows Phone - Bailey Stein

 

[DBDev]

Looks really nice! :smile:

 

[sym1a1a]

quick question, if i read your outline correctly, you have to buy the app in order to pin a live tile? this would seem to me to be a basic function of an app on a WP, its a good looking app I'll definitely give it a try, not sure what google now style voice commands are though since i dont use any google based hardware/software

 

[baileystein]

quick question, if i read your outline correctly, you have to buy the app in order to pin a live tile? this would seem to me to be a basic function of an app on a WP, its a good looking app I'll definitely give it a try, not sure what google now style voice commands are though since i dont use any google based hardware/software

Yes, it is $1.99 for a Pro license. This is because when a live tile is pinned, it needs to be updated. To update the live tile, I need to request data using an API call, which happens every thirty minutes. Unfortunately, I cannot have everyone using the live tile or the API limit will be reached. I could set the update interval to one hour, but then the radar and current data is older.

As far as I know, there are not any free weather apps in the store that use the Weather Underground API. This will be the first, and I need features to give to people who want to support my work. Many people want a live tile, and it gives most of them a reason to upgrade.

You can use the following commands:
What's the weather like?
What's the forecast for Tuesday?
Will I need an umbrella today?
Is it going to rain on Friday?
Is it going to snow tomorrow?

Responses are yes/no and then the forecast.

 

[sym1a1a]

Yes, it is $1.99 for a Pro license. This is because when a live tile is pinned, it needs to be updated. To update the live tile, I need to request data using an API call, which happens every thirty minutes. Unfortunately, I cannot have everyone using the live tile or the API limit will be reached. I could set the update interval to one hour, but then the radar and current data is older.

As far as I know, there are not any free weather apps in the store that use the Weather Underground API. This will be the first, and I need features to give to people who want to support my work. Many people want a live tile, and it gives most of them a reason to upgrade.

You can use the following commands:
What's the weather like?
What's the forecast for Tuesday?
Will I need an umbrella today?
Is it going to rain on Friday?
Is it going to snow tomorrow?

Responses are yes/no and then the forecast.

thank you for your response, i'm not a dev so i dont know how the api's differ between weather providers, i just think your gonna take a hit without a functioning live tile in the free version, contextual voice commands though ( saying anything google based on a WP forum is not necessarily a good idea LOL ) are definitely a bonus, is the free version ad supported? is there no way to get around the API limits for the live tile? i could be wrong, but i'm not aware of any app that has a live tile function being a paid feature only. look forward to trying out your app though

 

[jmerrey]

Looks good, I'll definitely check it out on the 10th. Personally, I have no problem with the $1.99. Supporting our devs seems like a good idea to me.

 

[sym1a1a]

Looks good, I'll definitely check it out on the 10th. Personally, I have no problem with the $1.99. Supporting our devs seems like a good idea to me.

oh dont get me wrong, i have no Issue with the 1.99 price tag for a well developed app, and i fully agree with you about supporting the Dev's who take the time to support our platform, and i hope the dev doesn't think i'm giving them a hard time regarding the live tile, it just sounded odd to me to charge for that particular feature

 

[baileystein]

thank you for your response, i'm not a dev so i dont know how the api's differ between weather providers, i just think your gonna take a hit without a functioning live tile in the free version, contextual voice commands though ( saying anything google based on a WP forum is not necessarily a good idea LOL ) are definitely a bonus, is the free version ad supported? is there no way to get around the API limits for the live tile? i could be wrong, but i'm not aware of any app that has a live tile function being a paid feature only. look forward to trying out your app though

Lol, I know many people here don't like Google, I am using it for reference (that goes to everyone).

Absolutely no ads in the free version. The apps that do use Weather Underground are all paid, so technically you have to pay for the live tile.

And no, not taking it that way, I fully understand why you would bring that up.

 

[sym1a1a]

Lol, I know many people here don't like Google, I am using it for reference (that goes to everyone).

Absolutely no ads in the free version. The apps that do use Weather Underground are all paid, so technically you have to pay for the live tile.

And no, not taking it that way, I fully understand why you would bring that up.

I am aware of a couple of weather apps that are paid only so I see your point there as well as a possible advantage for you, I wish you the best of luck and success for your app and definitely will give it a shot

 

[geekaren]

Based on these screenshots, it looks great! Is it in the U.S. store, and if so, can you provide a link? All I'm finding when I search is a 2012 app with a similar name. (For some reason, your blog link isn't working for me either... I'm a mess today ;-)

 

[baileystein]

Based on these screenshots, it looks great! Is it in the U.S. store, and if so, can you provide a link? All I'm finding when I search is a 2012 app with a similar name. (For some reason, your blog link isn't working for me either... I'm a mess today ;-)

UPDATE: Link is working again.

Anyways, it is going to be released on January 10th, 2014. You can follow me on twitter (@BaileyStein1) or check my blog on the 10th (assuming it will be working by then).

 

[TruPlaya187]

Website not working. Please provide link.

 

[geekaren]

No worries, Bluehost actually went down today and everyone's websites are non-functioning. The one day of the year I launch my app...my luck!

Anyways, it is going to be released on January 10th, 2014. You can follow me on twitter (@BaileyStein1) or check my blog on the 10th (assuming it will be working by then).

Ah, got it!! Thanks so much for this clarification. I'll add you on twitter to watch for its release.

 

[MJThib]

Looks pretty nice, but the pages looks like more of an Android style than I prefer on a Windows Phone device. The style looks like it would be a better fit on my HTC One than on my Lumia 1020. I'll check it out when released and see how it plays out then. Either way keep up the work.

 

[baileystein]

Looks pretty nice, but the pages looks like more of an Android style than I prefer on a Windows Phone device. The style looks like it would be a better fit on my HTC One than on my Lumia 1020. I'll check it out when released and see how it plays out then. Either way keep up the work.

The app is text heavy, but it uses the Segoe WP font, which is font in nearly everything WP. The background color can also be switched to black.

 

[baileystein]

@Ratkutti also did a sneak peak video of Weather+:

 

[MJThib]

The main aspect that looks more of an Android style is the page indicator, but that is just me being picky. Like said it really does look nice and sound like a very well made app.

 

[sp8y]

Looks to be a smart weather app & I'll give it a try when it's released as there's a Wunderground weather station not far from me so the data should be pretty accurate.

Just a few things:
Over here in the UK we use a mixture of imperial & metric units for instance, MPH for wind, degrees "C" for temperature & MM for rainfall level - would you be able to support these.

Do you have any further information & screenshots of the live tiles - how customisable are they, flippable with data on the back etc.

Keep up the good work as it looks like a promising app.

 

[baileystein]

Looks to be a smart weather app & I'll give it a try when it's released as there's a Wunderground weather station not far from me so the data should be pretty accurate.

Just a few things:
Over here in the UK we use a mixture of imperial & metric units for instance, MPH for wind, degrees "C" for temperature & MM for rainfall level - would you be able to support these.

Do you have any further information & screenshots of the live tiles - how customisable are they, flippable with data on the back etc.

Keep up the good work as it looks like a promising app.

Yes, you can change temperature units between Fahrenheit and Celsius, and Imperial and Metric for measurement. You can mix them too (like Fahrenheit and Metric).

All of the information I have released can be found here: » Introducing Weather+ – the most advanced Weather app on Windows Phone - Bailey Stein

Live Tile flips between current and radar. You can turn the radar off, but then the tile won't flip. I will release an update within the coming weeks that gives more live tile customization.

 

[sp8y]

Thanks for the reply.

Tiles look good in your link.

The only minor thing I can see is that there's no way to mix metric & imperial units eg to use both MPH for wind & MM for rainfall or have I missed that option.