FanimeCon App

[otakuya]

I'm not devAtelier or anything like that, but I discovered and just downloaded the ("official") FanimeCon app from the Google Play store and I'm excited to see this being applied. Thanks to Devatelier.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.devatelier.fanimecon#?t=W10.

[TC X0 Lt 0X]

Gosh is this a Legit thing?
This is the first I am hearing about it.

[SpiritOfKairi]

It's a real app, though it isn't as good as I was hoping.  The schedule tells you when the AA and DH are opening, but the only other information it gives are about panels.  It doesn't say which videos are playing when in the screening rooms, nor does it mention events like the swap meet and ball (these are only mentioned in the Main Events section found by clicking the button on the home screen).  So while it does give some information, it doesn't give nearly as much as it could.

Other features include showing the tweets people are making using Fanime as a hashtag, showing a map of the center and surrounding area, displaying names and pictures of the Guests of Honor, and showing the "rules" of the con.  (I put that in quotes because it just shows the rules for the ball, and not the con in general.)  So it's a decent start, but could definitely use some more work.  What I would really like to see is a full-fledged schedule with all the panels, events, and screening room details and times in place of that twitter feed since I don't see the point of it.

[ewu]

Gosh is this a Legit thing?
This is the first I am hearing about it.

it is legit, Fanime programed. As more scheduling info is solidified, it should be loaded into the app.

[HarpB]

That app is good, but it is missing the feature to create a schedule. For me, purpose of mobile app is to plan out my adventure at the con. Last year, I created http://guidebook.com/ for Fanime 2012 and I will probably end up doing the same, this year, once the schedule is available online. Unless, FanimeCon be gracious to add the feature to create a schedule in their app :D

[ewu]

guidebook charge cons money....that's money away from programming, like a few thousand....it was a balance...

[keitoghostie]

Ooh thank you!!

[ShikiIchijo]

Is there a plan in the future to make it an app for the iPhone?

[2D Mirage]

Its interesting how this app doesn't work on my Google Nexus 10. You know, one of the most up to date tablets on the market.  This needs to be fixed more than the people posting updates on the website.


Seriously, this is horrible and I really hope someone made this for free.

[EJAY420]

Lol, this app didnt work for my samsung galaxy tab 2 10.1.  :-\

[HarpB]

guidebook charge cons money....that's money away from programming, like a few thousand....it was a balance...

I took your comment into consideration and looked for alternative. I found bloodhound and made a guide for Clockwork Alchemy 2013 (since their schedule is online).
You can try it by downloading https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bloodhound.android.client&hl=en , open app and then search for Clockwork Alchemy 2013. I am using Android 4.2 smartphone.
OR, try it in browser: http://bloodhound.com/webapp/#events/86954

[Admiral Donuts]

It works on my phone, and it's not worth the download. All the info could be in a pdf, and that would be a lot less than the 18.75 mb this takes up on my phone.

If people want to do a schedule, us Google Calender. It's free and you can use it collaboratively.

[phr34kish]

I dunno, I think you guys are being kinda harsh. :( It's a new product, and not even one Fanime has announced yet. (In my mind, that would obviously mean it's not completely done.) At least they're making and effort, and some headway. I was actually pretty excited to see quite a few of the features included, and even though the numbers aren't filled in yet, I thought the emergency contact page was a GENIUS idea. Too many people wander around without that kind of information. And the included Twitter feed is kinda cool. It's nice to have one place to go check everything at once, instead of flipping through about 6 different apps.

I say just be patient enough to give them time to finish fleshing it out. It's got great bones, and I'm personally excited to see it complete. :)

(P.S. Works fine on my Samsung Galaxy II Skyrocket!)

[otakuya]

^ speaking of, I didn't mean to prematurely promote the app before it was supposed to be released  officially. I just happened to search Fanime on Google Play. To whoever created the app, good job and to Fanime staff.

[HarpB]

It works on my phone, and it's not worth the download. All the info could be in a pdf, and that would be a lot less than the 18.75 mb this takes up on my phone.

If people want to do a schedule, us Google Calender. It's free and you can use it collaboratively.

It's the matter of convenience. Creating schedule with google calendar would require much more time for an indvidual than you just click an icon in the app. Browsing through pdf is cumbersome for me.

[2D Mirage]

It's the matter of convenience. Creating schedule with google calendar would require much more time for an indvidual than you just click an icon in the app. Browsing through pdf is cumbersome for me.

If the app worked for more than ten people, was totally reworked, then you may have been right. Plus you can put your google calendar onto your home screen for no clicks.

[Tsu]

Grumble-grumble, complain-complain. It's clearly not finished. It's free. I don't know how it's going to look when many events are lumped into the same time-block, but it's better than nothing. Keep in mind we also had the mobile site last year, which wasn't perfect, but was helpful. And the regular online schedule. And schedules posted at every info desk. And single-room schedules posted at every room. Oh, and the mini-schedule you could carry around.

I'm not sure it needs to be any more convenient than all of that.

[Oniko]

I think this is a great concept.  Having your schedule with you on your phone is a good idea. I dont even mind if I cant make alarms and favorite or anything, as long as I can look up events.  There as that one year that the didnt have enough programs and for me who didnt have a smart phone that was tough.  My friend had one and we used another app  called ConDroyd, but thats not up to date yet.  Last year and this year I have a smart phone and it has been very handy sense most of the time I either lost y schedule or didnt get one.

[Dimm]

I love this idea of having a single official app with all the guidebook info that can up updated on-the-go. It's a very polished looking app, and I can understand not including tablet-sized support, which would warrant a total redesign of the UI graphics. I can't wait to see the final result in action during the con when all the info has been updated inside of it.

But I'm holding off on downloading it after looking at the permissions it requires. For an 18mb app that could pull updated info directly from public feeds, I'm curious why it requires permissions to:

• get my location based on GPS and network, which doesn't show up as my location on the map
• receive text messages
• record audio
• read and modify my personal contacts
• find accounts I have signed into on my device
• send "sticky broadcasts", which has the potential to drain battery very quickly
• change my audio settings

The Bloodhound app that was posted only requires basic permissions, so I really don't see any reason why an app like this needs them.

[M]

Quick notes since I don't have much time to go through and format this post nicely (quote people and whatnot):
* This is a legit thing. DevAtelier is amazing for this and we hope to only improve on this. :)
* All information on it isn't finalized. We're hastily getting the schedule data on our schedule website, which will automatically update in the app (it's "magic" for those that aren't tech savvy and "data feeds" to those that are).
* There is an iOS version that is planning to be released. *crosses fingers*
* An update has been submitted to Android to allow it to work on tablets as well as remove all permissions that we don't need (we don't really want to know anything about your text messages, record your audio, etc.). The new version only requires two things: internet and GPS.
* We're still trying to see options as to what we can do and this is a start. There will never be a perfect solution, but we will work towards a solution that will work for many users.