Sunday, October 16, 2011

Multiple User Support

New Features:
  • Added multiple user support. Now you can control a bunch of Foursquare accounts simply from one app. Hit your menu button from the main screen to change or add accounts.***
  • Added option to hide the ongoing notification.
 Bug Fixes:
  • Fixed the broken default visibility setting.
  • Fixed the broken reminders issue.
  • Generally improved loading times and stability. All caching is now done via local database instead of in memory.  This is better for almost every user.
 Other changes:
  • Temporarily removed the venue prediction on main screen.

***The foursquare mobile login page doesn't play nicely with multiple accounts.  I'm working with them to get this simplified.  You may have to hit the log out button and exit the app to get this to work.  If you have trouble drop me an email and I'll help you with it.  support@checkinassistant.com

Download it now:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.thepoofy.cia

http://twitter.com/checkinasst

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Support for Celebrities and Bug Fixes

Not much more to say than that.  I got a lot of great feedback very quickly after 2.0.3 and wanted to fix stuff quickly. You should see reminders work much better and those celebrity users can now share with followers.

So get the app here but leave your thoughts in the comments or on twitter.

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.thepoofy.cia

http://twitter.com/checkinasst

Monday, August 22, 2011

Version 2.0.3 is now live in the Android Market

This might be primarily a bug fix release with a few changes users have been asking for.  I'm really hoping (fingers crossed) this handles the background crashing issue some users have been dealing with.  Please let me know in the comments if you have issues with this version.

Bug fixes:
  • App closing silently when running in the background
  • App not starting with the phone
  • App crashing on first load.
New feature:
  • Ongoing notification to tell you the app is still alive and how often it's updating.
  • Is being more stable a feature?
Upcoming (halfway done stuff):
  • Changing the distance to feet / yards instead of metric
  • Better account management 
  • Better sharing for "Celebrity" accounts

Monday, April 25, 2011

Check in Assistant is now live on the Android Market

Download Check in Assistant in the Android Market:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.thepoofy.cia

Leave feedback for me here or on twitter.com/checkinasst


Thanks to everyone who helped in the design, development and testing.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Now available: Beta 7

This release is a bunch of bug fixes to common issues.

Changes Made:
  - Reminder Notification will now take you to the Edit Venue Settings page
  - Check box to toggle background service is located toward top of Main page.
  - List for "Your next check-in" now has 3 venues listed.


http://williamvanderhoef.com/checkinassistant/Beta7/CheckinAssistant.apk

Feedback is appreciated.  I'd really like to know how accurate the "Your Next Check-in" is for you.  tweet me at http://twitter.com/checkinasst 

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Beta 6 - Now Predicting your Check-Ins

Only change - Added up to 2 venues to your main activity tab that you are most likely to be checking in to.

The algorithm for this was built overnight so I apologize if this version is buggier than the previous version.

If you don't want to set the predicted location as a favorite you can use the options menu on the edit settings page to directly check-in to that spot.

Get Beta 6 here:
http://williamvanderhoef.com/checkinassistant/Beta6/CheckinAssistant.apk

And please post feedback in the comments or on twitter to @checkinasst


Thanks!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Beta 5 - I use this more than the real Foursquare app

Right where you would expect to find it: http://williamvanderhoef.com/checkinassistant/Beta5/CheckinAssistant.apk

Major Changes:
 Added Default Global Settings for distance to venue, time between check-in, and visibility


 Added Dynamic Location Update Timer.  This reduces power usage and improves location updates for devices without wifi or gps.
  Added ability to Directly Check-In from Venue Settings Activity.  Just click your options button from there to do a quick check-in.  This is great after you click on your nearby notification.

Minor Changes:
  Added image icons for all menus.
  Menu items to update location and refresh data separately.

Next Scheduled Changes:
  Josh will be building a few ways to Check-In without entering venue settings.
  The first secret feature!

Please follow me on twitter @checkinasst.  I follow all followers and answer dm's asap.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Beta 4! Already?

Yes, I am continuing my work at breakneck pace.  Beta 4 is available at the same spot: http://williamvanderhoef.com/checkinassistant/Beta4/CheckinAssistant.apk.

Major Changes:
  Added logic to keep track of the last automated checkin and notification.
  Fixed the check-in time (that's been bugging me).


Minor Changes:
  Huge memory reduction in background tasks.
  Made the checkin history a little cleaner (text spacing)
  Removed the logo from the global settings page.

Next Scheduled Changes:
  Updating the global settings page.

Then testing for other devices!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Beta 3 of version 2.0 is now live.

The first fully functional build has been released to http://williamvanderhoef.com/checkinassistant/CheckinAssistant.apk.

Please uninstall any previous Beta Versions prior to installing Beta 3.

Major Changes:
  Added Automated Check-In functionality
  Allow for nearby notification or check-in for any favorite place
  Improved UI on the Venue Settings page (Thanks Josh! - @joshuanross)


Minor Changes:
  Added menu to main screen
  Fixed some bugs in the activity flow
  Smaller application size (200k less)


Next Scheduled Changes:
  Updates to the Global Settings screen including default settings
  Ability to check in by clicking on a location

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Version 2.0 Beta 2

Another update has been published to http://williamvanderhoef.com/checkinassistant/CheckinAssistant.apk

Major Changes:
  Improved background service

Minor Changes:
  Improved Venue Settings

This update fixed the background service issues.  The application will now show a notification for the most recent location you've been close enough to check-in to.  We did improve the look of the Venue Settings page so you'll see real facebook/twitter icons instead of checkboxes.  Big thanks to my friend Josh Ross who has started contributing to the project with his Venue Settings update.

Next Scheduled Change:
  Adding Automatic Checkins

The application does not do automatic checkins, but I want to test that myself before ruining your foursquare experience. 

Checkin Assistant 2.0 Beta 1

Whew.... that only took 6 months. 

Beta 1 is stable but will not actually perform any check-ins.  This version will put an alert in your status bar to tell you that you are very near a place that is in your favorites.

Obviously, this is because I plan on giving the user the ability to either check-in or remind them that they should check-in. 

Here it is:  http://williamvanderhoef.com/checkinassistant/CheckinAssistant.apk

If you see any issues that the application is running in the background when it shouldn't or that GPS isn't working on your phone please let me know.  Include the version of Android, which phone you have and any other details you can figure out for me.  Send it to info@checkinassistant.com

Thanks!

PS: Beta 2 will include the reminder and check-in abilities, but first things first.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Foursquare V2 API

Tonight I completed a first functional use of a JSON to Java deserialization of the User object returned by the Foursquare V2 API. 

In laymen terms I can now automatically translate from the original data format to an Android friendly format really fast!  I first did this with the Mayorships widget found on http://williamvanderhoef.com and feel really good about it. 

It might seem like nothing, maybe not even worth the post here, but I am still very committed to bringing a ton of new features in the coming weeks.  The roadmap starts with OAuth 2.0 logins, includes a full location engine rewrite and a few surprise goodies from another very useful service. This will definitely end up being called Checkin Assistant 2.0.

There's a big snow storm bearing down on NYC overnight and I'm hoping to get snowed in to keep working on this.