I have a rooted galaxy S fascinate, and so far all parts of the app function. However..
I find the big ad on app load to be incredibly annoying. almost enough for an uninstall right off the bat.
Every part of the app loads incredibly slowly for me.
I do like being able to favorite the scheduled events, though the usefulness of that feature is limited if you can't load it up in a grid view.
As is, honestly, I'll stop using the app as soon as I have the physical program. Maybe sooner if I decide to check out guidebook.
That's pretty big for those of us with Android 2.1 who can't use Move To SD.
My phone only has 30 megs of space available, and if you go below 10, a "Low Space Alert" comes up on the notification bar, and is unremovable.
Guidebook/conventionist is just under 1 meg.
PAX Assistant *Unofficial* by Nick Swar is only 2.7 megs...
I'm running it on my third generation iPod Touch & having no performance issues...
That said, I've noticed a couple of mistakes on the Exhibitor list.
1) THQ is listed as being in booth 3446, yet according to the map posted on the PAX site, they don't have a booth (I'm hoping this is a mistake on the part of the map instead of the app as I want THQ to be there).
2) And, Uhhh, EA is missing (which I find incredibly funny because they seem to be the sponsor for the app).
I wish you could put events there that are happening at PAX but not on the itinerary (like the revolution! tournament Sunday) or parties but it's still pretty nice.
For those using guidebook: We just pushed a big update. Maps, tournaments, halo fest, schedule, and omegathon updates. Almost everything can be added to your schedule now. Check it out! (return to the home screen of the guide to be prompted to update.)
Maps - "Maps are being refreshed and are not usable, but you can still use geo/maps"
Exhibits - Immediate Crash. Force close (repeated half dozen times, never got in)
Schedule - Immediate Crash. Force close (repeated half dozen times, never got in)
About - Lagged, non-responsive for over 30 seconds. While non-responsive, phone would not recognize ANY input, including back and home HARD keys
Feel free to be as honest as you feel necessary on the app guys - i have no personal stake in it other than wanting data to make good decisions in the future, so you will not hurt my feelings, i promise.
This is my first year using a Smartphone, so I'm not biased towards any app.
The main thing I want to use the app for is the schedule. As a "pre planner" I want to tag all of the items I am interested in and then see what I can or can't make it to. Doing this with the official app is difficult and clunky. Say I am looking at the schedule for Friday. I scroll down to something a 1PM that looks interesting. I select it. I decide that this is or is not something that interests me and I flag it (or do not). When I back out of the capsule description, the schedule has reset to 10AM for that day, forcing me to scroll back through all of the schedule I have already looked at.
Additionally, changing between days on the schedule requires me to back out to the main starting menu. Why cant I swipe sideways to change days?
Also, many of the descriptions of events seem to be missing or incorrect.
After about 20 minutes of fighting with this app, I installed the Guidebook app. What a difference! The guidebook app may not be perfect, but at least it works in an intuitive way. I found it much easier to use. I was able to plan out my weekend schedule in less than 15 minutes, plus set alarms for the "important" things that I did not want to miss.
Feel free to be as honest as you feel necessary on the app guys - i have no personal stake in it other than wanting data to make good decisions in the future, so you will not hurt my feelings, i promise.
I find the official app i just fine, A cool idea I had for it would be a parties tab. This could possibly be a lot of work, however if you tracked them or had people apply to be on the app it could be done. Just a thought
I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite thread on the forums.
I attempted using the official app. (Android, 2.3)
- what's up with the ad? It was distracting...and I thought that maybe it wasn't the official app after all.
- the QR scan started my already-installed barcode scanner, and dumped me to my home screen when I used my back arrow to get out.
- the only events the showed up were the talks...seeing tournaments would be awesome.
- I had similar issues with the lack of moving from day to day, and the choosing within a day. (Similar to user Stupid's comment.)
- twitter feed was the best part of the app.
Uninstalled the app - not useful.
I then checked out Guidebook as well. Very smooth. It doesn't have tournament descriptions, but it was functional - with a to-do list, a scheduler that had the talks and tournaments (no location for tournaments!)...its system was clean, I wondered if the official app had all of its uses. (I won't be reinstalling to check.) The "My Schedule" keeps track of Main Schedule as well as Tournaments. The To-do checklist was useful, but I wish I had the floor map with that company's booth highlighted. Maybe even have the floor map as a general option, and you could highlight all of the booths you've marked on the to-do. (Ugh. Could your next version use "To-do" instead of "Todo"? This shows up in the exhibitor section, as "Add to Todo".) Their PAX Dev scheduler was excellent as well.
If the application is functional, I don't have a problem paying up to $5 for an official ad-free version. But it should contain the data that the listings have. (Who's running events, what the formats are, where it is, etc.) I think a highlighted map would be awesome as well. Think of all of the video games you play - a functioning map is so good. In the era of touch-screen phones, being able to find bathrooms, restaurants, halls, the exhibitor booths...this could be useful...and I probably wouldn't care about the 2011 guide from check-in. Less paper waste! (Sharing a to-do map/schedule with a friend, via bump or application link would be awesome.)
If the application is functional, I don't have a problem paying up to $5 for an official ad-free version. But it should contain the data that the listings have. (Who's running events, what the formats are, where it is, etc.) I think a highlighted map would be awesome as well. Think of all of the video games you play - a functioning map is so good. In the era of touch-screen phones, being able to find bathrooms, restaurants, halls, the exhibitor booths...this could be useful...and I probably wouldn't care about the 2011 guide from check-in. Less paper waste! (Sharing a to-do map/schedule with a friend, via bump or application link would be awesome.)
Some good ideas. We are actually currently working on maps as they are outdated we agree - exhibitor to map linkages are coming, we just want to make sure they are designed right. Schedule sharing is also in dev.
Recently the iPhone app that I installed on my iPad 2 refreshed and the qr code reader is gone.
Will whatever function the qr code reder is mention for still work on a non Internet connected iPhone? I'm coming up from Canada and will only have Internet on my iPad.
Feel free to be as honest as you feel necessary on the app guys - i have no personal stake in it other than wanting data to make good decisions in the future, so you will not hurt my feelings, i promise.
Device: BB 9650 (hard keypad)
Bugs: Info page does not display properly, only displays on part of the screen and doesn't scroll properly.
Small Design issues: Some text is difficult to read (light text on light background). Search feature for Exhibitors/Schedule would be nice. Being able to jump in the alphabetical Exhibitor listing by pressing a key would be nice (at least for us hard keypad users).
Future Design Ideas: As mentioned above, cross linking the location from Exhibitors and Schedule to the maps would be nice. Integrating line length info into the schedule would be nice (much better than having to parse twitter).
Crazy Ideas: As pax grows in area, integrating GPS location into the maps would be nice. Augmented Reality interface for the schedule.
General Comments: Nice to have an app for BB, Conventionist at PAX East didn't support it. Guidebook uses mobile site for BB. Also nice that all the convention information is available via web, so if you are using a laptop/netbook you can get the information just as easily.
Overall, I like it but would also backup most of the critiques brought up by others. My biggest single complain right now is the incomplete schedule. It's missing nearlly all the end of day Sunday stuff even though it's been announced/appears on the regular schedule (specifically, I'm talking about the final Omegathon round and wrap-up).
Checked this app in the AM and really dig the design and layout. I looked for SEGA in the exhibitors list and didn't find it, but we are on the show floor and listed in map area of the app, specifically at booth 2023 (South Hall). Is there any way this could be updated? Thanks!
Nick Swar's unofficial app is waaaaaaay better than this one.
Please give him your money next time, make it official, and there will be rejoicing.
Or go back to GuideBook... I like them more than the official app too. The official one is taking too long to load on my phone, and most of the time it will just bug out.
Hey guys, happy to say we had a great success with Guidebook at PAX - had TONS of great feedback and a lot of usage.
But we're not done! We built this app because we went to PAX a few years back and there wasn't a solution - so PAX is what got us started. We are con goers, and basically built something that we'd like to use ourselves.
We know its not perfect, though, so we turn to you guys to tell us what you liked, what you didn't like, or what was glaringly missing!
Posts
I find the big ad on app load to be incredibly annoying. almost enough for an uninstall right off the bat.
Every part of the app loads incredibly slowly for me.
I do like being able to favorite the scheduled events, though the usefulness of that feature is limited if you can't load it up in a grid view.
As is, honestly, I'll stop using the app as soon as I have the physical program. Maybe sooner if I decide to check out guidebook.
The unoffical guidebook app is still snappy and quick to load even on my ancient hardware, so it's what I'll be using during PAX.
Keep up the good work!
That's pretty big for those of us with Android 2.1 who can't use Move To SD.
My phone only has 30 megs of space available, and if you go below 10, a "Low Space Alert" comes up on the notification bar, and is unremovable.
Guidebook/conventionist is just under 1 meg.
PAX Assistant *Unofficial* by Nick Swar is only 2.7 megs...
That said, I've noticed a couple of mistakes on the Exhibitor list.
1) THQ is listed as being in booth 3446, yet according to the map posted on the PAX site, they don't have a booth (I'm hoping this is a mistake on the part of the map instead of the app as I want THQ to be there).
2) And, Uhhh, EA is missing (which I find incredibly funny because they seem to be the sponsor for the app).
Google +
Maps - "Maps are being refreshed and are not usable, but you can still use geo/maps"
Exhibits - Immediate Crash. Force close (repeated half dozen times, never got in)
Schedule - Immediate Crash. Force close (repeated half dozen times, never got in)
About - Lagged, non-responsive for over 30 seconds. While non-responsive, phone would not recognize ANY input, including back and home HARD keys
Promptly uninstalled
This is my first year using a Smartphone, so I'm not biased towards any app.
The main thing I want to use the app for is the schedule. As a "pre planner" I want to tag all of the items I am interested in and then see what I can or can't make it to. Doing this with the official app is difficult and clunky. Say I am looking at the schedule for Friday. I scroll down to something a 1PM that looks interesting. I select it. I decide that this is or is not something that interests me and I flag it (or do not). When I back out of the capsule description, the schedule has reset to 10AM for that day, forcing me to scroll back through all of the schedule I have already looked at.
Additionally, changing between days on the schedule requires me to back out to the main starting menu. Why cant I swipe sideways to change days?
Also, many of the descriptions of events seem to be missing or incorrect.
After about 20 minutes of fighting with this app, I installed the Guidebook app. What a difference! The guidebook app may not be perfect, but at least it works in an intuitive way. I found it much easier to use. I was able to plan out my weekend schedule in less than 15 minutes, plus set alarms for the "important" things that I did not want to miss.
- what's up with the ad? It was distracting...and I thought that maybe it wasn't the official app after all.
- the QR scan started my already-installed barcode scanner, and dumped me to my home screen when I used my back arrow to get out.
- the only events the showed up were the talks...seeing tournaments would be awesome.
- I had similar issues with the lack of moving from day to day, and the choosing within a day. (Similar to user Stupid's comment.)
- twitter feed was the best part of the app.
Uninstalled the app - not useful.
I then checked out Guidebook as well. Very smooth. It doesn't have tournament descriptions, but it was functional - with a to-do list, a scheduler that had the talks and tournaments (no location for tournaments!)...its system was clean, I wondered if the official app had all of its uses. (I won't be reinstalling to check.) The "My Schedule" keeps track of Main Schedule as well as Tournaments. The To-do checklist was useful, but I wish I had the floor map with that company's booth highlighted. Maybe even have the floor map as a general option, and you could highlight all of the booths you've marked on the to-do. (Ugh. Could your next version use "To-do" instead of "Todo"? This shows up in the exhibitor section, as "Add to Todo".) Their PAX Dev scheduler was excellent as well.
If the application is functional, I don't have a problem paying up to $5 for an official ad-free version. But it should contain the data that the listings have. (Who's running events, what the formats are, where it is, etc.) I think a highlighted map would be awesome as well. Think of all of the video games you play - a functioning map is so good. In the era of touch-screen phones, being able to find bathrooms, restaurants, halls, the exhibitor booths...this could be useful...and I probably wouldn't care about the 2011 guide from check-in. Less paper waste! (Sharing a to-do map/schedule with a friend, via bump or application link would be awesome.)
Some good ideas. We are actually currently working on maps as they are outdated we agree - exhibitor to map linkages are coming, we just want to make sure they are designed right. Schedule sharing is also in dev.
Thanks!
Will whatever function the qr code reder is mention for still work on a non Internet connected iPhone? I'm coming up from Canada and will only have Internet on my iPad.
Having issues with constant force closing whenever I try tapping exhibitors and schedules. Everything else loads.
Device: BB 9650 (hard keypad)
Bugs: Info page does not display properly, only displays on part of the screen and doesn't scroll properly.
Small Design issues: Some text is difficult to read (light text on light background). Search feature for Exhibitors/Schedule would be nice. Being able to jump in the alphabetical Exhibitor listing by pressing a key would be nice (at least for us hard keypad users).
Future Design Ideas: As mentioned above, cross linking the location from Exhibitors and Schedule to the maps would be nice. Integrating line length info into the schedule would be nice (much better than having to parse twitter).
Crazy Ideas: As pax grows in area, integrating GPS location into the maps would be nice. Augmented Reality interface for the schedule.
General Comments: Nice to have an app for BB, Conventionist at PAX East didn't support it. Guidebook uses mobile site for BB. Also nice that all the convention information is available via web, so if you are using a laptop/netbook you can get the information just as easily.
Overall, I like it but would also backup most of the critiques brought up by others. My biggest single complain right now is the incomplete schedule. It's missing nearlly all the end of day Sunday stuff even though it's been announced/appears on the regular schedule (specifically, I'm talking about the final Omegathon round and wrap-up).
Nick Swar's unofficial app is waaaaaaay better than this one.
Please give him your money next time, make it official, and there will be rejoicing.
when i set it to attend the friday night convects (8pm-130am) it block out all of friday from 130am-8pm.
EDIT: actually it doesn't really matter to me now, the GuideBook app is way better.
http://blogs.sega.com/usa/
Or go back to GuideBook... I like them more than the official app too. The official one is taking too long to load on my phone, and most of the time it will just bug out.
Hey guys, happy to say we had a great success with Guidebook at PAX - had TONS of great feedback and a lot of usage.
But we're not done! We built this app because we went to PAX a few years back and there wasn't a solution - so PAX is what got us started. We are con goers, and basically built something that we'd like to use ourselves.
We know its not perfect, though, so we turn to you guys to tell us what you liked, what you didn't like, or what was glaringly missing!
Thanks, and see you at East!