4 ms·

Show HN: Send a text message, get your friends' location back

11 points by friggeri 14y ago

friggeri 14y ago
Hi fellow HNers, I'm releasing to the public my first iPhone app today. I'm right here to answer any of your questions! I'm giving out a few promo codes, send me an email at adrien@tehula.com, the first 5 will get the app for free.
jameswyse 14y ago
Looks cool, unfortunately I've no iOS device to test it on. How does it work? I'm guessing the recipient has to open a link?
- friggeri 14y ago
  Yes that's it: we add a unique link to the text message, the recipient then visits the page and share his location, and we then notify the sender.
  - jameswyse 14y ago
    Cool! I love tools like google latitude but unfortunately my friends aren't all geeks who know how to use it. This solves that problem completely, well done! Hope you release an Android version at some point! edit: just realised there was a slideshow explaining that on the site, in my defence it's 2am and I'm a little sleepy!
    - friggeri 14y ago
      There are plans for an Android version in the future, although there are still a few features I want to add to the iOS version before that.
danso 14y ago
Here's what you have to sell users on: Is it worth paying 99 cents to install a new app (that fits somewhere in their app list) just to get someone's location? How often when you text someone do you need their location, and is it enough to create the habit of using this? Keep in mind that many location-based questions don't require geocoding. Like, we've agreed to meet at Joe's Bar and I want to know if they're there or still eating dinner at the restaurant...I don't need to see it on a map. Moreover, the user receiving this message will have to trust this new site they've never heard about. some users will click through but there will be plenty of users who have been twitter-phished and be inherently distrustful. The sender can put in more effort into the message, i.e. "Hey, this is Jon, I'm using this app to geolocate you so just click through" but by then, you've lost a bit of the convenience factor.
- friggeri 14y ago
  Great comments, thanks. First, about the cost. I chose to charge 99 cents basically to ensure that the services keeps running: I wouldn't want to shut it down just because it becomes too popular. Next, after doing some market research, it turns out that one of the major uses of cell phones is exactly to ask people where they are, which can be inconvenient when the recipient does not really no. Sure, some cases do not require exact geolocation, but where you are meeting someone in a large/crowded area it is useful. Another feature we will be implementing in a next version is to provide directions to go where your friend is. Finally, yes I agree that trust is important. But I believe that this issue is not as drastic as you say since the text originates from the sender — his phone number.
jaequery 14y ago
is the location accurate? ive seen other apps like this but it was always not accurate. i believe it's because the link opens up a browser, which uses html5 geolocate that doesn't really use GPS but surrounding wifis?
- friggeri 14y ago
  The location is pretty accurate. Instead of using getCurrentPosition, we actually use watchPosition + enableHighAccuracy to gather location for a few seconds before pushing it to our server.
mikeevans 14y ago
Why wouldn't I just use Google Latitude? It has 'Ping for location' support too.
- friggeri 14y ago
  Because with Google Latitude your friend needs to have the app themselves and there is some setup needed on there part.
  - mikeevans 14y ago
    I guess. On Android, the app is part of Google Maps, all they need to do is click the "join Latitude" button. Not only that, but they can enable real time updates/etc. I'm not saying this isn't a neat idea though.
jcfrei 14y ago
this is interesting. I've been developping something very similar just for the last couple days. there seems to be some kind of a rush in that direction lately, with the widespread implementation of browsers geolocation api. my version: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4248056 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4248056

11 points by friggeri 14y ago

Hi fellow HNers, I'm releasing to the public my first iPhone app today. I'm right here to answer any of your questions! I'm giving out a few promo codes, send me an email at adrien@tehula.com, the first 5 will get the app for free.

jameswyse 14y ago

Looks cool, unfortunately I've no iOS device to test it on. How does it work? I'm guessing the recipient has to open a link?

friggeri 14y ago
Yes that's it: we add a unique link to the text message, the recipient then visits the page and share his location, and we then notify the sender.
- jameswyse 14y ago
  Cool! I love tools like google latitude but unfortunately my friends aren't all geeks who know how to use it. This solves that problem completely, well done! Hope you release an Android version at some point! edit: just realised there was a slideshow explaining that on the site, in my defence it's 2am and I'm a little sleepy!
  - friggeri 14y ago
    There are plans for an Android version in the future, although there are still a few features I want to add to the iOS version before that.

danso 14y ago

Here's what you have to sell users on: Is it worth paying 99 cents to install a new app (that fits somewhere in their app list) just to get someone's location? How often when you text someone do you need their location, and is it enough to create the habit of using this? Keep in mind that many location-based questions don't require geocoding. Like, we've agreed to meet at Joe's Bar and I want to know if they're there or still eating dinner at the restaurant...I don't need to see it on a map. Moreover, the user receiving this message will have to trust this new site they've never heard about. some users will click through but there will be plenty of users who have been twitter-phished and be inherently distrustful. The sender can put in more effort into the message, i.e. "Hey, this is Jon, I'm using this app to geolocate you so just click through" but by then, you've lost a bit of the convenience factor.

friggeri 14y ago
Great comments, thanks. First, about the cost. I chose to charge 99 cents basically to ensure that the services keeps running: I wouldn't want to shut it down just because it becomes too popular. Next, after doing some market research, it turns out that one of the major uses of cell phones is exactly to ask people where they are, which can be inconvenient when the recipient does not really no. Sure, some cases do not require exact geolocation, but where you are meeting someone in a large/crowded area it is useful. Another feature we will be implementing in a next version is to provide directions to go where your friend is. Finally, yes I agree that trust is important. But I believe that this issue is not as drastic as you say since the text originates from the sender — his phone number.

jaequery 14y ago

is the location accurate? ive seen other apps like this but it was always not accurate. i believe it's because the link opens up a browser, which uses html5 geolocate that doesn't really use GPS but surrounding wifis?

friggeri 14y ago
The location is pretty accurate. Instead of using getCurrentPosition, we actually use watchPosition + enableHighAccuracy to gather location for a few seconds before pushing it to our server.

mikeevans 14y ago

Why wouldn't I just use Google Latitude? It has 'Ping for location' support too.

friggeri 14y ago
Because with Google Latitude your friend needs to have the app themselves and there is some setup needed on there part.
- mikeevans 14y ago
  I guess. On Android, the app is part of Google Maps, all they need to do is click the "join Latitude" button. Not only that, but they can enable real time updates/etc. I'm not saying this isn't a neat idea though.

jcfrei 14y ago

this is interesting. I've been developping something very similar just for the last couple days. there seems to be some kind of a rush in that direction lately, with the widespread implementation of browsers geolocation api. my version: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4248056 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4248056