So our current Android app has over 5,000 downloads and Etisalat’s named it their app of the month. We think it’s about time to change it completely. Those reviewers and users have given a lot of good feedback and we’re taking most of it. Here’s some of the changes coming up.
iOS, And More
For our first app we went native, developing for Android and iPhone separately. That was expensive and took way too much time. For 2.0 we’re switching to PhoneGap which lets us code once and change the interface for different smartphones. So the next version will be out on iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, etc, all within a month.
Faster, Whatever Your Internet
The current app doesn’t really work if you don’t have Internet. For the next version we’re downloading most of the names and numbers and metadata at once (it’s not a big file), so most app functions (including search) will work completely offline. It makes the experience a whole lot faster and happier.
Login Optional
Rather than forcing users to use the app, we’re now letting you browse everything without the bother. You only need to login if you need to login – to comment, ask questions and – in the future – use services.
Sharing
You can now share places on Facebook, email the to friends, Tweet them, etc. Pretty basic, but we hadn’t done it before.
Overall
Overall we’re happy so many people downloaded the app and we appreciate all the reviews and feedback. We’ve been working hard on the next version to make it faster, more useful and more attractive and fun. The version after this is going to offer some services you may not expect, but for now we’d appreciate your feedback on the current redesign.
The screenshots here are for the iOS version. We expect to ship that in 3-4 weeks (Apple takes a while to review). We should have Android out within two.
