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[APP] Pubtran London 0.1

Hi, I just released a London public transit journey planner app - Pubtran London. You'll find it on the Market. Can you try it and give some feedback?
FEATURES
Intelligent autocomplete with all London stops / stations
Easy to use and neat interface
...more coming later, this is the first version
This is based on my "Pubtran" app (journey planner for Czech Republic, #4 top rated on appbrain.com). I want to create versions for more cities / countries in the future, if you are a developer willing to cooperate on this, please let me know. I'm working on making it really easy for developers to add support for other public transit networks.

Hi there,
Just installed the program. I am guessing the lack of stations is because it is still in beta.
I like the interface, simple is nice.
However, I get constant FC on my Samsung Galaxy i9000. So i cannot fully test the program .

@benG1
Thanks for trying it! What stations are missing and when do you get the FCs? I know that when you enter a station that is not in the autocomplete list, it usually crashes.
I will fix that obviously but I think that users would rarely enter the whole station manually - they would select it from the autocomplete (if it's there of course).
BTW are you from London?

Oh wait my bad. All stations are there. Just only the stations beginning with a are shown in dropdown box with no input into search box which is what confused me.
Fc's when i click find journey...
And yes i am from London but in newcastle at the moment.
Hope this helps.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

The newest version from the Market should fix some crashing issues.
But there is still one bug - it crashes when you enter stop name that contains apostrophe (').
I was asking if you are from London to find out if nearest stop suggestions are working but now I know it doesn't...

Just downloaded the new one.
For some reason, even though I am in Newcastle it gave me my 2 nearest stations back home... whether or not that is because I put in my station last time.
But gave me the correct route, just some buses came up as D...what does that mean? Rail replacement?
Otherwise, gives good routes and such. Looking good, potential app for me to use at home

The stops are sorted based on several factors - previous use, time of previous use, importance (tube stations are more importnt than bus stops) and geo distance. So the 2 were suggested because you used them previously.
What is bus D - I don't know too , probably replacement.

Looking good then, just the apostrophe issue and i say good to go! Loving the simplistic theme so please dont change .

Simplicity is one of my top priorities, so you don't need to worry
But I guess it'll take some time before final release is ready - there are still some minor issues and I want to add some features (search options, add to calendar etc).

Definitely has more stations than any other existing app on the market.
The interface is very simple, which I like, but it takes time to realise what means what. I mean like how the transfers are marked, etc. Maybe you could include some help with the app or starting overview.
And the only visual bug I've noticed on my Nexus One is that if the station name is too long, it goes under delete button and looks a bit messy. I think the button should have a white background, so that it hides text under it.

@Karolis
How should I modify (or completely change) the results to be more understandable? Also please have a look here: hhttp://ui.stackexchange.com/q/2270/1565
The visual bug - it will be fixed in the final version.
Any other feedback is always welcomed!

(deleted my duplicate post)

I think the results are easy to understand imho.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

I don't think you should necessarily change anything. It's just that I was used to some other apps, and it took a good couple looks to get used to this one, but when I did, I just love the simplicity.
What I'd like to see in this app is a bit more advanced planning options, so that I could exclude some modes of transportation. So let's say I want to travel only by bus, I should exclude everything else.

@Karolis
Search options are definitely coming in the future (departure/arrival time, modes of transport - bus/tube/tram/... etc). I'll probably leave the layout unchanged for now.

Nice, but needs more functionality
I like it, but it could do with some more functionality.
Likes:
Nice clean interface
Ability to see the endpoint of transit
Could do with:
Ability to record home and bookmark other destinations
Ability to get geolocation
Transit maps
One of the other London transit apps I use is London Journey, which offers a lot more to me than something like this to be honest.

@adesweb
Ability to record home and bookmark other destinations - I don't think this is needed. The autocomplete dropdown suggests stops that you have used before.
Ability to get geolocation - This is not working for some reason, I can't test that as I'm not from London...
Transit maps - I will add that sometimes.
London Journey app - I hope my app will be better eventually

New version on the market:
* Option to choose departure or arrival time
* New icon
* Minor visual changes
* Nearest stops suggestions should work now
* Improved stops list
* Fixed crash with stops, that contain apostrophe
What should be in the next release?

Downloaded the new version.
Not a fan of the new icon, but minor details.
Like the new journey interface, looks nice and still easy to read. Apostrophe crash sorted on my phone too.
Next release, choose bus or train, direct route/fastest route/less congested route etc? Dont go through station or dont use certain transport ^_^

Try version 1.0 from the Market. What's new:
* Advanced search options
* Route details with traffic disruptions
* New icon (again)
* Visual changes
* All National Rail stations in the UK included
* You can enter postcodes as departure / arrival
I think it's the best app for journey planning now
Any feedback is appreciated.

[APP][2.2+][Retired] ALTitude, Latitude updater with a low battery footprint

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As Google shut down Latitude I was forced to retire ALTitude as well.
I like Google Latitude for its location history and the possibility to share my location with friends. Unfortunately the price to pay in terms of battery drain is too high and that the is the reason why I started this project.
To get the benefits of ALTitude you should change the setting in Google Latitude to "manual update" and use ALTitude to update your location instead. If you want to see your friends you can still use Latitude but without the energy footprint.
Features:
- OAuth2 logon to google latitude: no username / password stored
- configurable accuracy and frequency for updating Latitude.
- start on boot (full version)
- show your friends on Latitude
How it works
Android has the concept of LocationProviders to deliver location based information to apps. There are three LocationProviders:
- Coarse location: provided by wifi / cell towers
- Fine location: GPS
- Passive: relies on the next location info requested by another app
In addition to this there are requirements to the LocationProvider in terms of "accuracy" and "frequency", e.g. "I want updates at least very 15 minutes with a precision of 1000m". The higher these requirements are the higher the battery drain will be. No only will the phone be waken up when a location change was detected but this information must then be passed o latitude using the google latitude API.
What ALTitude does is us a sensible mix of LocationProvider and accuracy/frequency to track location changes and update those to Latitude.

ALTitude is available on Google Play (https://play.google.com/details?id=com.asksven.betterlatitude) for free with with ads (fully featured).
Starting from version 0.10 ALTitude supports multiple languages. If you miss your language please feel free to contribute: http://www.getlocalization.com/altitude/
Follow me on twitter to be notified of updates and get insights in new features/developments.
New I have decided to give the new beta channel possibilities on google play a try and have created a google+ community. If you are interested in testing release candidates you can now also subscribe to that community or drop me your g+ contact so that I can invite you.
Changelog
V0.13
Same as RC4
V0.13RC4
#90: Free version is now fully features
V0.13RC3
#83: after google logon / auth an empty page is shown, suggesting an error
#84: added last updated location name to status on main screen (if geocoding enabled)
#85: lat/long were reversed in locale/tasker plugin
#86: added better precision to fix when set from locale/tasker plugin
#89: free version now has all features enabled
V0.13RC2
#77 and #78 limit the update accuracy/frequency independently from the location manager updates
ActionBar for pre-ICS devices as well as dark/light themes
Update to current locale plugin implementation
V0.13RC1 2013-01-26
#50: locale plugin to set location manually
V.12.1 on Google Play
#71: screen showing two inconsistent update times
#72: interval shown on screen on free version may be wrong
#73: fixed units for intervals
V0.12 on Google Play 2013-01-01
No change from .012RC4
V0.12RC4 2012-12-31
#70: added more logging details when latitude update fails
V0.12RC3 2012-12-29
#69: fixed QoS alarms always being triggered
Make better use of criteria to make sure "network" is used most of the times even if "gps" is on
V0.12RC2 2012-12-26
#66: add option to disable location updates on main screen
V0.12RC1 2012-12-21
#62: Quick setup at a glance
#63: Moved status info to main screen
#67: Widget to toggle quick settings
#68: Cancel button in quick settings not working when quick settings running
V0.11.0.1 2012-07-19
#61: License not recognized on JB (many thanks for superbobup for the intensive testing!)
V0.11 2012-07-15
#53: Fixed multiple FC conditions from crash reports
#57: Status dialog was always showing interval as 0s
#60: Added a QoS option to make sure that the last known location is updated at least every <interval>
Added more extensive logging
V0.10.0.1 2012-06-25
#52: Error condition at boot
V0.10.0.0 2012-06-24
#16: allow changing setting from tasker
#33: add threshold to avoid obcessing about connection errors
#35: option to update (buffered) locations when a wifi connection is available
#43 and #44: fixed multiple error conditions from google play logs
#45: notifications not shown when geo is off
#46: add german and french
#49: added passive location provider
V0.9.0 2012-02-26
#41: added release notes
#37, 38, 39, 40: fixed various FC and null pointer exceptions from market logs
#36: ALTitude stops working after a period in airplane mode
#32: FC if no location provider is present (see also #36)
#34: Redesinged status concept and display on mains screen
#30: Added intervals > 1 hour to preferences
Moved to ICS SDK / guidelines
V0.8.2 2011-11-29
Fixed FC upon opening quick action dialog when a quick action is running
Fixed notification of address not always showing
Added number of buffered location to the status dialog
V0.8.1 2011-11-29
Fixed FC on free version when opening preferences
V0.8.0 2011-11-28
#8: Added current city (geo location) to notifications
#24. Detect data connection prio to updating Latitude
#26: Added Menu option to jump from ALTitude to Latitude
#28: Added a quick action in order to change location settings (precision) for a given period of time
V0.7.0 - 2011-10-11
#19: categories to preferences
#23: Fixed bug: service was not starting on boot
#6: added nearest city to badge on map
#20: Fixed bug: default values of location manager not showing in free version
#22: reposition map when turning device from landscape t portrait
#21: show latitude connection status on main activity
Feature requests
I maintain the original list of features to be implemented and bugs here.
Known issues

Reserved for future use

Placeholder for future use

Ha!
Another Chamonix Masterpiece! Good luck with this app also (as well as #BetterBatteryStats).
Will be recommending.

nobnut said:
Ha!
Another Chamonix Masterpiece! Good luck with this app also (as well as #BetterBatteryStats).
Will be recommending.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I must fully agree. Chamonix is quite a genius with these things. I hope he keeps he's projects going on and brings even more these goodies to community.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium

thank you guys, I really appreciate.
And I am always open for new ideas too.... I got myself a tablet so I guess the next project will be about fragments and support of small and large displays.

noticed your name, then thought the features might come handy as well ;-) will definitly try it

Never noticed any battery usage with Latitude except my tablets which are offline when they're in standby. In those cases, I've seen Latitude keep the device awake (wakelock). Is that the fix here? Otherwise my phone, I've never noticed Latitude at all.

khaytsus said:
Never noticed any battery usage with Latitude except my tablets which are offline when they're in standby. In those cases, I've seen Latitude keep the device awake (wakelock). Is that the fix here? Otherwise my phone, I've never noticed Latitude at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On an average Samsungs galaxy s2 (android 2.3.X) for examples the partial wakelocks generated by latitude for location consume 20-30 mAh. This is due to bad design in terms of location accuracy and update frequency.
Altitude remedies to that.

Hi,
great utility, thanks.
Do we need to be signed into latitude if i have installed this utility?

How exactly does it work? In which way does your app behave differently than GMaps? Is it only avoiding wakelocks or does it also rely more heavily on A-GPS?
Also: How do i have to set my Google Maps app to display my Latitude mates but not update my location by itself and let your app do the trickery?
Feature request: Can you implement a setting where I can adjust how often my Latitude gets updated?
I love Latitude but I think Google's current implementation is rather poor. So: Thank you very much for your efforts. Really looking forward to follow the progress of your project.

fraencko said:
How exactly does it work? In which way does your app behave differently than GMaps? Is it only avoiding wakelocks or does it also rely more heavily on A-GPS?
Also: How do i have to set my Google Maps app to display my Latitude mates but not update my location by itself and let your app do the trickery?
Feature request: Can you implement a setting where I can adjust how often my Latitude gets updated?
I love Latitude but I think Google's current implementation is rather poor. So: Thank you very much for your efforts. Really looking forward to follow the progress of your project.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have added "how it works" to post #1: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=18062211&postcount=1
Unfortunately Latitude does not distinguish between displaying your friend's location on the map and tracking your location and there is no way to configure the LocationProvider of Latitude (in a way ALTitude does it). In order to get the benefits of ALTtitude you should log off from Latitude when you are not using it and just let ALTitude do the updating.
I would really love to provide friend's functionality in ALTitude and will try any possible way to implment it but unfortunately there is no API from Google for that so I have to explore unconventional possibilities. I anyone has a hint I'd be happy to explore that path.
About your feature request: that functionality is included and will be made available in the full version soon

netarchie said:
Hi,
great utility, thanks.
Do we need to be signed into latitude if i have installed this utility?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No you should sign out from latitude as ALTitude is a replacement for the poor logic for updating the location Latitude uses (in terms of battery usage)

Latitude used to keep my phone awake all the time, subscribing to this thread.
Hope this all solves the issue..
Thanks
Sent from my HTC Desire S

facing issues with google two factor authentication.
When I open google authenticator to get my code, the login form loads again, and the password times out.
Need to fetch the credentials from the phone.
Sent from my HTC Desire S

chamonix said:
I have added "how it works" to post #1: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=18062211&postcount=1
I would really love to provide friend's functionality in ALTitude and will try any possible way to implment it but unfortunately there is no API from Google for that so I have to explore unconventional possibilities. I anyone has a hint I'd be happy to explore that path.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, hmm.. This is my primary use case for Latitude; seeing where other people are. And I wouldn't want to sign into Latitude and sign back out every time to do that...

Update
ALTitude was updated to support a license model. You can buy the license from Android Market here: https://market.android.com/search?q=com.asksven.betterlatitude_license
and the the full set of features (seet also post #2)

It is so good I managed to buy it twice
I think everyone should buy it at least once

I will start decompiling Latitude this week end to see if I find any way to access the friends data. I really would like to provide the complete set of features and then regret I decided not to stick to the "better" brand

[APP][2.2+] Impel - easily and automatically do things

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Impel is an automation and task creation utility for your phone or your tablet running Android 2.1 through 4.0.
Unlike other utilities, Impel is designed to be simple to use, easy to maintain, very low on memory consumption and polite to system resources (runs as a service or as an app - you choose). Root features are available but it runs just fine without root (su features will be hidden). It is worth noting that on Galaxy Nexus devices there is a force close issue if you use the lock screen camera button. We know about this issue and are working on a fix for this now.
Give Impel a try and see if you like it, then let us know. We're a small developer with some great talent and fast feedback response times, we're just looking for more customers and feedback. There are two versions of the app available in two different storefronts:
Free version with in-app Plus upgrade (no ads) :
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.phase2i.impel
Plus version only :
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mas/dl/android?p=com.phase2i.impel
Full details and features list :
http://impel.phase2i.com/
Product Video :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4dosbj1F8M

Release Version (Android Market customers only):
Impel free and Plus version 1.1.1 [ Updated 1/23/2012 @ 8:00PM PST ]
Release Notes

I like it. The U.I is much friendlier when compared to a "Similar " app.
May have to upgrade now. I like it.
Thanks and regards

Tested and upgraded, takes 34mb of ram, Tasker takes 5,4mb for exacly the same tasks... :/ so for now..
Will wait a little before reinstall it !
But, really good job, very easier ! Will retry later !
-------------------------
GT-I9000 | SauRom JVZ DEODEXED | Semaphore Kernel Powered

Hmm, interesting feedback on the memory usage. Is that 34MB while in use and the UI isn't being shown? I think there is something odd happening there.
I would be curious to know your device, OS and task setup. By comparison my heavily loaded Impel with 11 tasks using all types of receivers is only 6.9MB while running in app mode. The most I've ever seen Impel use in recent versions is 11MB. My goto, daily device is a Galaxy Nexus running 4.0.2 with Impel 1.1.0 on it.

mstroud said:
Hmm, interesting feedback on the memory usage. Is that 34MB while in use and the UI isn't being shown? I think there is something odd happening there.
I would be curious to know your device, OS and task setup. By comparison my heavily loaded Impel with 11 tasks using all types of receivers is only 6.9MB while running in app mode. The most I've ever seen Impel use in recent versions is 11MB. My goto, daily device is a Galaxy Nexus running 4.0.2 with Impel 1.1.0 on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got a SGS i9000 with a stock modded (themed and lmk tweaked) JVZ 2.3.6, i haven't got any oyher memory issue and i use very few apps to limit services.
Impel set up as "Quiet", UI closed with sgs task manager (so really closed).
My tasks are :
2 tasks to set media volume with headset plug in or out.
2 tasks to set autosync on/off when power is plugged in/out !
Edit : just retried, 25mo in memory for the processus !
-------------------------
GT-I9000 | SauRom JVZ DEODEXED | Semaphore Kernel Powered

Very odd. How are you determining the memory in use by Impel on your device?
One other thing to check against is to set Impel to disable the tasks and see what is reported then. From within Impel, press Menu, Settings, and check Disable all tasks and exit to the launcher. In this state Impel will have shutdown all services and removed everything from a running state. In essence, it should not be around in memory at all when you reach the home screen.
If your phone still reports Impel as using memory at this point, the memory usage issue lies outside of our control.

Support language Polish please
Sent from my Htc Desire Runnymede AIO

linar10,
We haven't yet provided localized versions for any language, but I will add your request to the list. I would imagine that there would be other languages in the queue ahead of Polish due to the distribution of the app, however. I just want to set expectations appropriately.
As a more general question to the XDA forum, how do most apps from small developers handle localization? It is quite costly to do this work for apps that haven't made much money (that includes Impel at this point) and it seems that most apps are English or developer-native-language only that we see on the Android Market. Are there well known ways to get translations for less that actually are useful?

This looks promising. Will try later tonight if I have time.
As for localization, I've done many translations of software from English to French on different platforms free of charge (or nearly).
I've seen others do the same, I think you'd be surprised to see how many people are ready to translate software, given that you provide them with an easy to use solution/way of translating strings and seeing the changes made.
I've done games and apps translations in the past and I've been rewarded with the software itself for free (plus credits for translation) or a small monetary compensation in the form of a cheque or gift card. Good enough incentives in my opinion, I absolutely HATE when a developer uses google translate or any other automatic translation tool for their software.

An example how is terminated that competition http://muzikant-android.blogspot.com/2011/07/translateit-automateit-with-your.html (sorry my bad english)

OK, thanks for the feedback on the translation work. We will have to look into this for Impel at some point in the future. We don't yet have a way to give away Plus versions of the app, or comp someone who buys it, but that may be possible in the future.
Getting folks to do translations for free, and not put nonsense or bad words into those translations, is certainly a big concern. Not sure how everyone else handles those cases but it is something I worry about.

mstroud said:
OK, thanks for the feedback on the translation work. We will have to look into this for Impel at some point in the future. We don't yet have a way to give away Plus versions of the app, or comp someone who buys it, but that may be possible in the future.
Getting folks to do translations for free, and not put nonsense or bad words into those translations, is certainly a big concern. Not sure how everyone else handles those cases but it is something I worry about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Makes sense, I imagine you can counter verify by having more than one translator working on one language.
I don't think this issue has ever popped up in the past though, as unlikely as it seems. Some people simply have nice intentions.

polobunny, thanks for the input. Perhaps we'll call on you to help us with French at some point in the future, then

Hello again from the Impel HQ.
For those folks who would like to help test and provide feedback on an updated version of Impel, we have a release candidate for you to take a look at. A couple of fixes and additions have made it into this version, but no major features. Here's what's inside:
Fixed a crash when using the "camera swipe unlock" feature on Galaxy Nexus Android 4.x devices
Fixed a crash with the "network only" location provider service (not using GPS)
Fixed the color picker for very high dpi (Galaxy Nexus, Tablets) devices
Added a new setting: Location Services - restrict Impel to just GPS, just Network, or both
Added detailed location logging into the logcat stream
This build is an install-over-the-top version for Android Market customers only. Sorry about that, Amazon Appstore customers, but there is no way to do beta releases for your version at this time.
If you have Impel Plus, DO NOT uninstall Impel prior to installing this version or you WILL LOSE Plus functions. If you are a free customer this app works the same as your existing Impel does.
For people who want to see what Impel sees when it asks for locations, use your favorite logcat reader (ours is Catlog) and filter for Impel. You will see what Impel is seeing when it asks for a location from your device. The location data works like this:
Ask the device for all location services that are available: GPS and Network (WiFi and cell towers)
Device responds with all services and their accuracy level. The lower the number, the more accurate the service
Impel automatically chooses the most accurate service and gets the location data. This data is provided in Lat/Long format. This data can be dropped right into Google Maps to show exactly where the device thinks it is currently
Please give this a test and tell us what you think. We look forward to your feedback. Thanks!

Hello again. We've taken some more feedback in and have made some additional fixes and updates based on customer input:
* Fixed a crash when using the "camera swipe unlock" feature on Galaxy Nexus Android 4.x devices
* Fixed a crash with the "network only" location provider service (not using GPS)
* Fixed the color picker for very high dpi (Galaxy Nexus, Tablets) devices
* Fixed a WiFi receiver crash in location services
* Added a new setting: Location Services - restrict Impel to just GPS, just Network, or both
* Added detailed location logging into the logcat stream
* Added in-app logging of tasks in chronological order
* Added an additional boot-start permission to fix cases where Impel doesn't always auto-start
Grab a copy of the APK from post #2 and let us know how it works for you. Note: this version is meant to be installed on top of an existing Impel setup from the Android Market only. Amazon Appstore customers cannot use the betas, sorry.

We just released, posted and are starting to see the first bits of version 1.1.1 trickling out into the Android Market. Amazon Appstore folks will have to wait a bit longer for the approval process to see the new bits.
Our thanks goes out to those of you who tried the beta and gave us feedback. It was invaluable and you will find your fixes made it into this release version.
For all the details take a quick look over at our release notes post on our web site. The highlights are below for your perusal:
New setting: Location Services - restrict Impel to use GPS, Network or both
Added detailed location logging into the logcat stream
New stats: Task history shows a chronological list of when tasks were last run
New permission: additional boot-start permission to fix cases where Impel won't always auto-start
Fixed a crash when using the "camera swipe unlock" feature on Galaxy Nexus Android 4.x devices
Fixed "add widget" text to be correct for Android 4.x devices
Fixed a crash with the "network only" location provider service (not using GPS)
Fixed the color picker for very high dpi (Galaxy Nexus, Tablets) devices
Fixed a WiFi receiver crash in location services
General Fixes - some little issues were found and improved upon
Let us know what you think of it, we do hope you'll like it.

We've had quite a few people ask us "what is Impel" and "what can it do?"
So we put together a short, 30 second video with some highlights to explain it. Take a look and see for yourself what Impel can do.
Watch what can Impel do? on YouTube.

Hello there folks. We have had some customers periodically contact us, saying that Impel will lose all of their tasks at some interval (e.g. every week, every few days, etc.). We have researched this issue but have so far been unable to determine the cause and we have not seen this issue on any of our test devices.
We don't know if this issue impacts only a few people (since we've gotten just a handful of emails) or many. So, if you have this issue please contact us! It is very important that we capture all of the details of your device, your tasks, and the exact situations where this task loss occurs. Without your assistance we will continue to look for the issue, but it will be a much slower and more painful fixing process.
Thanks for your help and patience.

widgets
Are there any plans to introduce App Icons for task widgets?
Would like to set up a widget activated task to turn on WiFi then launch. Play store but using the play store icon.
Tasker does this but I don't like the app, UI is too complicated.

[APP] TubeRun: the all-inclusive London transport app

Hi all,
I just finished writing the first version of TubeRun for Android. TubeRun is a London transport app that aims to present the most important data that TfL offers in a single app. My motivation for writing it was the low quality of similar apps found in the market. Typically they offer only a single important feature (eg a journey planner, a good map, bus departures) but they omit the others forcing you to install multiple apps which seldom work in a straightforward manner. In TubeRun, expect to find everything that matters so that you won't have to have 4 different similar apps installed. Features include:
-A Journey Planner that uses the TfL API for up-to-date travel plans
-Live Bus, Underground, Overground, DLR and Rail Departures
-Nearby Tube lines, Bus routes, Cycle Hire stations (with live bike/dock availability data), Rail stations, Oyster ticket shops
-Oyster Balance
-Underground Refund Claims
-The real Tube Map
-Favorites
-Current and Weekend Status Updates
-Fast ICS-inspired interface that doesn't rediscover the wheel
New: The source code of the app is available on GitHub.
I plan to add more features, and I am posting this to request your feedback on what I should add/improve next.
TubeRun is by no means perfect, however I think that it works really well already. Please, let me know your thoughts on it so that I am able to effectively improve it. My current list of TODOs for the future is as follows:
Improve the UI of the main screen (icons are the way to go). (v1.2)
Add a station chooser that uses auto complete and the current user location to void scrolling. (v1.2)
Add the ability to deactivate the backgrounds (my photography skills are not up to the task) (v1.2)
Suggest National Rail stations in the Journey Planner. (v1.2.2)
Add support for oyster accounts with multiple cards enabled. (v1.2.2)
Add tube stations status. (v.1.2.4)
In the nearby tube stations map, add the ability to show departures when clicking a station.(v.1.2.6)
Show nearby oyster ticket shops.(v.1.2.6)
Show nearby rail stations(v.1.2.6)
Fix the title for manually-entered bus stops in departures.(v.1.2.7)
Migrate to the official TfL API for tube departures.(v.1.2.7)
Add national rail departure data.(v.1.2.7)
Overhaul the departures station selector(v.1.2.7)
Add the option to download the tube map that also depicts rail services.(v.1.2.8)
Migrate to the new Google Maps v2 API.(v.1.3.0)
Make favourites sorted by current distance.(v.1.3.1)
Add nearest bus stop in favorites
Show tube/bus departure times directly inside the journey planner
Integrate data about maximum journey time (http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14872.aspx)
Support push notifications for travel disruptions
Support advanced journey planner options
Add widgets.
You may lobby for your favorite feature here and I will do my best to implement it. If you are willing to contribute with code, just PM me.
PS. If you like the app don't forget to rate it. The more people that use it, the better the chances of keeping me motivated.
Download link: Android Market
Video presentation (it's old, the app looks more Holo-ish now):

ChangeLog:
---v.1.3.2---
*Journey planner suggestions improvements.
*Minor sliding menu UI updates.
*Better support for the Galaxy S4.
---v.1.3.1---
*Favorites are now sorted automatically by distance
*Bug fixes
---v.1.3.0---
*New, hi-resolution, application icon.
*Migrated to the Google Maps v2 API. Significant performance improvements in Map views.
---v.1.2.8---
Added: added a tube map with rail lines.
New: you can delete the stored tube map by a long press in the Map section button.
Fixes: bus stop selection bug in departures.
---v.1.2.7---
Added: Overground and Rail departures
Added: Departures section overhaul
Added: Official TfL Tube departures API
---v.1.2.6---
Added: Overground support in the Journey Planner
Added: Nearby rail stations
Added: Nearby oyster ticket shops
---v.1.2.5---
Added: New sliding menu implementation
Added: Android 4.2 support
Fixes: Oyster functionality
---v.1.2.4---
Added: service messages appear on (tube/bus) departures
Added: favorites now expand on click (for seeing more than the next 3 departures)
Fixes: bus departures are now sorted by time
---v.1.2.3---
Added: JellyBean support
Fixes: Accepts postcodes without spaces
---v.1.2.2---
Added: Support for oyster accounts with multiple cards
Added: National Rail stations in the Journey Planner
---v.1.2.1---
Fixes: Journey planner suggestions background in Gingerbread
---v.1.2----
Improved: UI
Added: Content Provider (type in the Google search box for quick access to departures and to the journey planner).
Added: Autocomplete textboxes.
Added: Official TfL bus departures API.
Fixes: countless small fixes here and there.
---v.1.1.0----
Added: Nearby Bus lines
Added: Nearby Tube/Bus/Cycle Hire data on a map
Fixes: Claim submission, favorites ordering
---v.1.0.0----
First version.

wow love u work matey just awsome and tyvm just keep going with ur work and ty again

Good job bro! If I'm ever going to London again I'll take this with me ^^

Great app, shame I just moved out of London though! Would have used this otherwise.

referring this app to all of my friends. you need more downloads. App is fantastic, you just need to improve the main menu layout and give it a more ICS style feel.
Well done mate, I use it everyday

fantastic app, will pass it on to all my mates. love it when someone sets themselves a challenge and sails over the bar.
keep it up

WOW what a potential app. I would like to make a few suggestions
1. UI, this needs a rehaul? Im currently using Tube Chaser https://play.google.com/store/apps/...wxLDEsImNvbS5hbmR5Ym90dGluZy50dWJlY2hhc2VyIl0.
and it looks very well polished. You can also set it up so that it takes you to a certain menu when you launch the app. So it could take you straight to Favourites or near by stations
2. Widgets. This is what Tube chaser was missing. The first Tube app I had was London Tube Status https://play.google.com/store/apps/...s#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDIxMiwicHRjLnRmbHN0YXR1cyJd
The widgets worked very well.
But I have to say this is a very comprehensive app but needs a cleaner look, ease of use and widgets.
Well done

Hi guys,
Thanks a lot for your kind words. I did put a lot of my spare time into this, and seeing it lagging in the area of 50-100 downloads is indeed demotivational.
ermacwins said:
WOW what a potential app. I would like to make a few suggestions
1. UI, this needs a rehaul? Im currently using Tube Chaser https://play.google.com/store/apps/...wxLDEsImNvbS5hbmR5Ym90dGluZy50dWJlY2hhc2VyIl0.
and it looks very well polished. You can also set it up so that it takes you to a certain menu when you launch the app. So it could take you straight to Favourites or near by stations
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, Tube Chaser had by far the cleanest UI. I went for the ICS+background images layout which I personally like a lot (and it required quite a lot of effort to make it 'work'). What I do lack are some nice icons for the main screen, which I guess is what turns a lot of people off on the first look. As I am not a designer (I more or less suck at photoshop), I didn't want to use some 'not quite right' icons. So I went with labeled buttons. If any of you has a suggestion for a good (+free) ICS icon pack let me know.
What I want to implement for the next version is a quick picker for stations that relies on autocomplete/location and use it thoughout the app. The current version requires quite a lot of scrolling.
As for the "take me to a specific screen", it's indeed nice. However, I think this workflow (quick information peeks) is better satisfied with widgets (see below)
ermacwins said:
2. Widgets. This is what Tube chaser was missing. The first Tube app I had was London Tube Status https://play.google.com/store/apps/...s#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDIxMiwicHRjLnRmbHN0YXR1cyJd
The widgets worked very well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you ellaborate a bit more on the wigdets that you need? I personally dislike widgets that require me to 'interact' with them in order to se what's new. For example, I don't think that "departures" widgets is a good idea as they will require me to always hit "refresh" to see what's new. If that's the case, I pretty much prefer to launch the app, hit favorites and stay in the clean interface of the app. I thought about doing it for oyster balance, yet I prefer the current implementation that just requires me to launch the main app. Quering servers on the background periodically or getting your location (thus depleting your battery) is something I want to avoid.

Hey,
I have just downloaded your app and I must say! I really like it. I spend a lot of time in london for meetings etc... and so this will come in very useful!

I didn't want to use some 'not quite right' icons. So I went with labeled buttons. If any of you has a suggestion for a good (+free) ICS icon pack let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do they have to be ICS icons? You know you can find nice icons on loads of icon sites
What I want to implement for the next version is a quick picker for stations that relies on autocomplete/location and use it thoughout the app. The current version requires quite a lot of scrolling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good idea
As for the "take me to a specific screen", it's indeed nice. However, I think this workflow (quick information peeks) is better satisfied with widgets (see below)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take me to specific screen would be handy as when I use it on tubechaser, where ever I am, I would like to see nearest stations first. Its worth having I think
Can you ellaborate a bit more on the wigdets that you need? I personally dislike widgets that require me to 'interact' with them in order to se what's new. For example, I don't think that "departures" widgets is a good idea as they will require me to always hit "refresh" to see what's new. If that's the case, I pretty much prefer to launch the app, hit favorites and stay in the clean interface of the app. I thought about doing it for oyster balance, yet I prefer the current implementation that just requires me to launch the main app. Quering servers on the background periodically or getting your location (thus depleting your battery) is something I want to avoid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only thing I dont like about tubechaser is that it doesnt have departure widgets. Isnt this one of the benefits of Android, having widgets?
When I use Train Times UK for C2C times https://play.google.com/store/apps/...EsImNvbS5jcm93b3JjLm5hdGlvbmFscmFpbC5saXZlIl0.
I only use the widgets and never the app. All I need to do is hit refresh on my homescreen and that is it. Im sure you can have that the widget doesnt always update unless manually done on the screen?

I've just downloaded this and love its features. On first impressions, it looks like it's going to become my new main Tube app! The only criticisms I have with it are:
1. To reiterate what others have said about the UI on the front page - I think that some nicer looking buttons wouldn't go amiss;
2. I have two Oyster cards linked to my online account, the first of which was lost a long time ago and has a zero balance. Until there's the option to choose which card to show in the app (or TfL let you delete old cards off of their online service), the Oyster balance feature could be useless to a lot of people.
Great work though, really nice app overall.

Thanks for all the feedback guys! I am now able to start filling up my list of ToDos. Here are my current priorities:
Improve the UI of the main screen (icons are the way to go).
Add a station chooser that uses auto complete and the current user location to void scrolling.
Add support for oyster accounts with multiple cards enabled.
Add widgets.
I will add this to the first post and try to keep it updated. If your favorite feature is not quite high up, maybe I will change my mind if more people ask for it.
I have two Oyster cards linked to my online account, the first of which was lost a long time ago and has a zero balance. Until there's the option to choose which card to show in the app (or TfL let you delete old cards off of their online service), the Oyster balance feature could be useless to a lot of people.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, I am aware of this and I added it to my todos. For the time being, I am pretty sure that you can erase cards from your online profile. The option may be burried somewhere but I remember doing it a couple of months ago and then fixing a relevant bug in the app.

papajohn said:
For the time being, I am pretty sure that you can erase cards from your online profile. The option may be burried somewhere but I remember doing it a couple of months ago and then fixing a relevant bug in the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the heads up, I'll have another look on the Oyster site. Now if only there were an app to stop me losing cards altogether...

simick said:
Now if only there were an app to stop me losing cards altogether...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pocket.apk or wallet.apk

i mostly use buses and not all bus stops are available yet (app's saying so). on the bus time table not only how many minutes left but also an arrival time information would be nice. and to be honest background photos distract me. i'm telling this to you as a user, who has tried many these kind of apps and to help you to understand what a user wants from a bus tracking app.

‬1‬ said:
i mostly use buses and not all bus stops are available yet (app's saying so).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using the 'Bus stop locations' dataset released by TfL here. It may be slightly out of date (eg released last year) but I wasn't aware of any stops/lines missing. Thanks for bringing this up. I will update the description to mention this. Are these missing stops available in other apps?
‬1‬ said:
on the bus time table not only how many minutes left but also an arrival time information would be nice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure that I understand you here. Do you mean "the next bus arrives in 13.49" instead of "in three minutes"? Or maybe "buses on route 49 arrive normally every 12 minutes"? As for the second dataset (sceduled bus frequency), I do not know if it is available somewhere (and I do not think it is particullarly useful given that live information is available).
[/QUOTE]
‬1‬ said:
and to be honest background photos distract me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, others have told me that one before (while others quite like them). If more people feel strong against them I will deactivate them. For the time being, I think that they give a unique touch to the app.

Maybe adding a background configuration in the settings to allow users to chose either blank or image background. On/Off toggle basically. I'm about to try this app, judging by the video it seems packed with features so I'm looking forward to having it. The oyster card thing looks good, I don't want to waste time checking at the station all the time or hoping I have enough.
The buses section doesn't work very well. Maybe a compass would help to understand which way is which. I guess we can use the journey planner if we are stuck somewhere. On my road the local bus is only shown as one direction. The tube part is good though, haven't tried the oyster card thing yet.
I use BusCount for bus information, it's pretty good, maybe you would want to look at that to see how they get all the information. Just a suggestion since it's spot on.

RED_ said:
Maybe adding a background configuration in the settings to allow users to chose either blank or image background. On/Off toggle basically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let's update my todos.
RED_ said:
On my road the local bus is only shown as one direction.
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Click to collapse
Can you give me the route number so that I check what goes wrong?

papajohn said:
Let's update my todos.
Can you give me the route number so that I check what goes wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bus number is 462. It shows two buttons but both say "Departures not available. This is Tfl service so be patient". I presume that means it's a problem on their system. It works for other bus routes.

[APP][4.0+] Shuffle My Life 1.7 (Vanquish boredom with random activities)

Hey,
This is my first major app I've produced by myself - it's called Shuffle My Life, and it generates random activities for you to do depending on where you are, what time it is, the weather conditions, and so on. For example, if you're near a park, there'll be outdoor activities. If it's after 10pm, you tend to get media-based activities like news, new music discovery, and so on.
It's currently in beta and being heavily developed, so I'm looking for feedback and ideas for where to take this in the future!
PS - here's some info about the permissions used:
Location - used to determine what places are near to you, to feed Google Places API (e.g. are you near a bakery? a restaurant? a park?) - Location is only stored on the local device, so if you delete the app, the data goes with it. You don’t need to use the app with location if you don’t want to.
File storage read/write - To be able to save images/videos you’ve taken with some tasks (this is upcoming for an expanded sharing functionality)
Find/use accounts - used for Google Play Games
WiFi connection and disconnection/network access - This can probably be removed, it was a relic from when the built in web browser needed to check if you were on WiFi before automatically loading a page (it now always prompts before loading a page).
Control vibration - For some fun feedback when completing tasks
Some ideas for the future:
- Localization and better support for other currencies
- Lots more tasks
- Some multiplayer element
- Better task submission system
I'm hoping I can take this idea and run with it, expanding it as I go - but I wanted your feedback first! Thanks for checking it out!

Oh, and the Play Store link is here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gadsby.shufflemylife

I like the idea but I think users need more info (may be more screenshots) about app.
Is it global? What about preferences? Why isn't it in Play Store?

It is in the Play Store, but I'm a new user so can't post direct links yet - I'll update it when I can!
It's not localized, if that's what you mean? The app should work anywhere in the world, though currency (I.e. the estimated time it takes to complete a task) is in dollars only at the moment. I'll add an automatic conversion at some point!
I'll add a couple more screenshots, good idea!

I just updated the app with a few fixes, including the ability to opt out of Google Play Games, faster loading times, a new splash screen, and crash bugs resolved. Any other thoughts?

Shuffle My Life on AppHunt
Look what happend to your app
Quite amazing! Let's push it a little more...

jon.hil said:
Look what happend to your app
Quite amazing! Let's push it a little more...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, that's crazy!
Last night I updated a lot - 1.7 should be a lot smoother, have a look!