Mobile Apps vs WWW [split]

[ollster]

G’day all – I’ve been asked by Parks & Wildlife to source stories and images of Tasmania’s 60 Great Short Walks. http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=1315

The idea is simple. PWS wants to develop an iPod/iPhone/iPad App (along the lines of the existing Bird in the Hand App) that has stories, images and maps of the 60 Great Short Walks.

So … do you have:

• good images of these walks that you would be willing to allow PWS to use? (Sorry, glory is the only payment … plus acknowledgement, of course)?
• some words (impressions, recollections, descriptions, even a poem) that might vividly describe some aspect of the walk?

If you answered yes, simply post your words and/or pictures on this topic/thread. If the App idea goes ahead, and if your words or pictures are chosen, I’ll PM you to sort details.

And if it doesn't go ahead, our forum will still get some great info. and images on these great (short) walks! Win/Win!

cheers

Peter

not meaning to sound rude, but... i-whatever apps are a dumb idea, what has the head of Parks got shares in Apple?

A mobile sensitive webpage would be much more useful, thanks. That way everyone wins, not just the fashion junkies.

[Azza]

Spot the android owner...

[north-north-west]

Peakbaggin points 80085

Is that for the entire Universe, or had you been drinking when last checking your tally for Tassie?

[geoskid]

Peakbaggin points 80085

Is that for the entire Universe, or had you been drinking when last checking your tally for Tassie?

Ah NNW, this is the latest in gentle stirring that I am quite in favour of-first started by L8r(as far as I know) and sublety brought to my attention by Penguin during a collective PM (I stand to be corrected as always). Mind you - can't quite work out how Ollster got onto it- the main thing is he has How did you get onto it Ollie - would be neat if it was parrallel thinking - wohoo
And no - it's not bed time yet!

[corvus]

Peakbaggin points 80085

Is that for the entire Universe, or had you been drinking when last checking your tally for Tassie?

Ah NNW, this is the latest in gentle pisz taking that I am quite in favour of-first started by L8r(as far as I know) and sublety brought to my attention by Penguin during a collective PM (I stand to be corrected as always). Mind you - can't quite work out how Ollster got onto it- the main thing is he has How did you get onto it Ollie - would be neat if it was parrallel thinking - wohoo
And no - it's not bed time yet!

What??
corvus

[geoskid]

Ah NNW, this is the latest in gentle pisz taking that I am quite in favour of-first started by L8r(as far as I know) and sublety brought to my attention by Penguin during a collective PM (I stand to be corrected as always). Mind you - can't quite work out how Ollster got onto it- the main thing is he has How did you get onto it Ollie - would be neat if it was parrallel thinking - wohoo
And no - it's not bed time yet!

What??
corvus

Ah found it - I knew I had written some pearls of wisdom somewhere tonight, just could'nt remember which thread it was in.
Corvus , you have a Question

[ollster]

How did you get onto it Ollie - would be neat if it was parrallel thinking - wohoo

Indeed, parallel it seems to be - I am not aware of the other jibes. And for the record I am rarely called gentle, and find the term rather offensive.

And back on topic... Az, that is a red herring and you know it. I'd like to see equity of access, and IMO P&WS should be spending their efforts on developing services that cater for the widest audience. Considering it's my bleeping money they're spending I think I'm entitled to a say.

[tastrax]

not meaning to sound rude, but... i-whatever apps are a dumb idea, what has the head of Parks got shares in Apple?

A mobile sensitive webpage would be much more useful, thanks. That way everyone wins, not just the fashion junkies.

I am with you Ollster - if the normal web page is able to figure out where the user is spatially then the possibilities for many users is much better. I am also seeking a similar sort of project for staff who have to do works in various Parks. I would love them to be able to just go to a web page that shows them all the outstanding works tasks "within 500 metre radius". Even better would be an alert as the drove past something ... but I will settle for a user driven system.

Can anyone point me to any such web pages that are spatially aware?

[Azza]

not meaning to sound rude, but... i-whatever apps are a dumb idea, what has the head of Parks got shares in Apple?

A mobile sensitive webpage would be much more useful, thanks. That way everyone wins, not just the fashion junkies.

I am with you Ollster - if the normal web page is able to figure out where the user is spatially then the possibilities for many users is much better. I am also seeking a similar sort of project for staff who have to do works in various Parks. I would love them to be able to just go to a web page that shows them all the outstanding works tasks "within 500 metre radius". Even better would be an alert as the drove past something ... but I will settle for a user driven system.

Can anyone point me to any such web pages that are spatially aware?

I'm not an apple fanboi but fact of the matter is that Apple provide a reasonably slick distribution platform for App's. They have to pass certain criteria before they can be listed in the app store. its all well and good saying equality, but the fad is IPhone.. Android is like the open source world, people general want slick out of the box stuff no mucking around. IPhone is well established, Android will catch up eventually. I know similar distributions channels exist for Android, but I ain't seem 'em.
Business have generally up until recently used Blackberry, IPhone and other portable devices are viewed as consumer grade.
We write IPhone software at work, there isn't a solid commerical market out there yet in government and private enterprise for writing Android software. However there is value in writing Hybrid - web based stuff that looks like Native IPhone but still works in any browser.

Re-spatially aware..
Google Maps has some spatially aware features. However I think they're just accessing you're location by tracing your IP address. Apparently there are ways to access the inbuilt phone GPS through javascript, Massive security and privacy risk that someone could remotely determine you're location to a high degree of accuracy via a web page. The sort of application you describe is not something that would be well suited to a browser application.

Cheers

Aaron

[tastrax]

Thanks Aaaron,

I have also seen http://www.hpgloe.com/json/login/ which allows you to plug in a location and then get relevant sites. I suppose I was after something like this but with the ability of the user to press a button on the page to insert there current location from a gps aware device. From there it searches our corporate databases for the listing of assets with outstanding tasks.

Unfortunately I have been advised that the ipads cannot be connected to our corporate networks.

[ollster]

blah blah blah

I just want a webpage. I don't want a flapping Android app1!!!11111!! I hate installed apps that just replicate web functionality, they're stupid! Unless the app adds functionality that absolutely cannot be serviced with a well crafted web page, then what's the point? (ie: location sensitivity is a good example of a function that requires an installed app to enable location via 3g tower/gps)

I know similar distributions channels exist for Android, but I ain't seem 'em.

http://www.android.com/market/

Also...
http://www.appbrain.com/
http://androidapplications.com/

And so on. The last 2 are basically just portals to the same set of applications as in the official market, but that's what you get with open source - choice (or fragmentation if you want to be critical). You can also install apps using the app browser on the phone (again, several interfaces to choose from), or you can install an .apk straight off the phone's memory after copying it there (without having to root/hack the firmware).

[whynotwalk]

Hmmm ... these responses are quite what I was after in this attempt at "crowd sourcing"

That said, I do like the idea ollster and Phil are getting at

if the normal web page is able to figure out where the user is spatially then the possibilities for many users is much better

I reckon PWS are planning to use the App stuff in a modified form on the web anyway, so maybe what you're suggesting is possible, if someone can show us how.

Okay ... (using my best teacher voice) can we now please get back on topic?!!

So … do you have:

• good images of the 60 Great Short Walks that you would be willing to allow PWS to use? (Sorry, glory is the only payment … plus acknowledgement, of course)?
• some words (impressions, recollections, descriptions, even a poem) that might vividly describe some aspect of the walk?

cheers

Peter

[whynotwalk]

I meant NOT what I was after!!

[Azza]

G’day all – I’ve been asked by Parks & Wildlife to source stories and images of Tasmania’s 60 Great Short Walks. http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=1315

The idea is simple. PWS wants to develop an iPod/iPhone/iPad App (along the lines of the existing Bird in the Hand App) that has stories, images and maps of the 60 Great Short Walks.

Sorry to verge off to the side again - Smartphone debate aside (I just like to stir Olle because he hates Apple and just bought a HTC).

I agree a mobile enabled web site would be the best solution.
Which should be achievable using custom CSS, as Government web should be at least W3C Accessible A level.
In theory it would be a cheaper solution to adapt the existing site, add the new content, and have a single site accessible from both standard browser and mobile browser. You can then write a simple IPhone app to sit over the top if you really need it.
IPhone market share is 14%, Android is like 12%, Blackberry is like 30%.. why exclude the other 86% of the market?

[Son of a Beach]

For a good example, have a look at http://whitepages.com.au/ or http://yellowpages.com.au on an iPhone. Very nicely optimised and layed out for the iPhone screen.

(Having said that, they also have a yellow pages app - I guess some things are not as good on a browser as they are using the full native API of the device on which it is running.)

These forums are quite easy to use and easy to read on an iPhone's web browser. But they are even better using a native app ('Tapatalk') which is available for a variety of mobile/phone OS's.

There are pros and cons both ways. But a website that detects the browser/platform which is calling it and uses different CSS (or even different URL) depending on that platform, is probably the easiest way to cover a variety of platforms. A dedicated native-API app will give the best results on the platform(s) it is written for, but makes it much more difficult to cover a variety of platforms.

[ollster]

(I just like to stir Olle because he hates Apple

Incorrect. As you well know I own one of their laptops. It's OK. I just hate fanbois.

Another example to go with Nik's - the Commbank site has a very nice mobile version.