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Seriously: You need a new Android app (or an update to the old one). (Read 428 times)

     

    Obviously nobody needs one but apps in this category are targeted at people who run with their phones--at least that's what RunKeeper and the Nike+ app seem to be for. In effect it could take the place of a GPS watch and a PC for a casual runner.

     

    I wonder how many people are actually using HandRunner anymore and whether there's a way to get it pulled from the Google play store--it seems to cause more questions and complaints than anything at this point. Although, who knows, there could be a loyal group of users out there that we don't know about--there have been at least 10,000 downloads of it.

     

    I actually downloaded it and used it not too long ago when I wanted to see how far some of my walks in the woods with my dog were. I was kind of surprised it was still there and how well it actually worked since it hasn't been updated since September 2010 and there have been about a million releases of Android since then.

     

    Precisely this. Nobody needs any of this stuff to run, and clearly this site is usable without the app, but for me, it's about convenience... start the app, run/bike, stop the app, and my workout is logged with the right times and distances and doesn't require any manual entry. If I go on a winding 6-mile run through my neighborhood, I don't want to try to remember my route and then manually recreate it as a RA route to figure out what the distance was and all that.

     

    The app is simple and does work really well (when it doesn't crash), but therein lies the problem.

    TJoseph


      There are some other possibilites for an Android app than just using the built in GPS and log gazing.  With Bluetooth 4.0, it may be possible to synch future GPS watches directly with your phone or even use accessories like a HRM directly with your phone.  For the message board, you could just integrate with an existing app like Tapatalk.

      npaden


        I log everything from my phone using the runkeeper app, but I have to manually export a file from runkeeper and import it into RA to make it work.

         

        The features of the RA log are enough of an improvement over the features of the runkeeper log that it is worth the 30 seconds or so it takes each day to click on the mouse a few times to move the information over.

        Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)

        Current PR's:  Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)

        giddy-yup


           

          I wonder how many people are actually using HandRunner anymore and whether there's a way to get it pulled from the Google play store--it seems to cause more questions and complaints than anything at this point. Although, who knows, there could be a loyal group of users out there that we don't know about--there have been at least 10,000 downloads of it.

           

           

          NOOO!!!! Please don't have it pulled. I'm one of those who use it religiously (when it's not raining outside anyway) for my runs and walks, and have had minimal problems (the main one being it crashes at about ~4 hours).

           

          Also, too, thanks for everything Eric.

          jEfFgObLuE


          I've got a fever...

            I don't really have a dog in this hunt since a) I'm on iOS, not Android and b) I don't use my iPhone to track my runs.  However, I thought the OP made a legitimate point, and I thought that there was an unreasonable amount of piling on that followed.  Fact is, the log on this site is not really mobile-friendly on a smart phone, there's no iOS app, and apparently there are problems with the Android app.  I think things like this are legitimate concerns, and a person should have every right to bring them up in the Suggestions and Feature Requests zone and not be told to get off the lawn

             

            Eric is very smart and savvy, and I have no doubt that his roadmap for RA probably includes all of these things, but as he said, he has limited resources to implement them.  However, I know he takes feedback seriously, and if we shout down people who offer feedback, then there's very little constructive that can come in this section of the forum.

            On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

            Julia1971


              I didn't like the OP's tone. The title reads bossy. Only Mrs. Eric should order him around like that.  Smile. And I think the get off my lawn comment was insulting to me given the fact I was question these fancy apps everyone can't seem to live without like an angry old man. As a BlackBerry owner, I don't have a dog in this hunt either.

               

              I don't really have a dog in this hunt since a) I'm on iOS, not Android and b) I don't use my iPhone to track my runs.  However, I thought the OP made a legitimate point, and I thought that there was an unreasonable amount of piling on that followed.  Fact is, the log on this site is not really mobile-friendly on a smart phone, there's no iOS app, and apparently there are problems with the Android app.  I think things like this are legitimate concerns, and a person should have every right to bring them up in the Suggestions and Feature Requests zone and not be told to get off the lawn

               

              Eric is very smart and savvy, and I have no doubt that his roadmap for RA probably includes all of these things, but as he said, he has limited resources to implement them.  However, I know he takes feedback seriously, and if we shout down people who offer feedback, then there's very little constructive that can come in this section of the forum.

              jEfFgObLuE


              I've got a fever...

                 And I think the get off my lawn comment was insulting to me given the fact I was question these fancy apps everyone can't seem to live without like an angry old man. As a BlackBerry owner, I don't have a dog in this hunt either.

                No offense intended with the lawn thing.  I didn't know who said it, I just used it because it was memorable.

                 

                I've re-read the original post a few times, and didn't find much of a problem with it.  However, I agree that the title of the thread kind of combative, and that may have rubbed some people the wrong way.

                 

                Like a lot of folks in this thread, I'm a longtime RA user (6 years) who is very loyal to the site and Eric, and I understand the rush to defend him.  Nevertheless, my POV is that I thought the OP raised some legit points that got lost in the shuffle, and I don't think that the responses were commensurate with the tone of his actual post.

                 

                Regardless, I need to get back to vomiting over the fact that Michigan is in the Final Four and find a way to calm my nerves.

                On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

                bhearn


                   Hell, if he would publish an API for the site, I WOULD write an app for it.

                  RunningAHEAD API Reference

                   

                  Here's the thing: I LOVE RUNNINGAHEAD! I love that it's mostly data driven. I love that it's not all about integrating with facebook and all this other social bullshit that mapmyrun, runkeeper, runtastic, et. al., are all about. I just want to see my data, and RA allows for that.

                   

                  You just want to see your data? And the mobile browser interface isn't good enough? In what way?

                   

                  I ask as an app developer who has started playing around with the RA API. I have not committed to producing an app (though if I did, it would be iPhone, and not Android), but I am very interested in what it is people want. It seems to me that the biggest value in an app would be a way to upload GPS run data from the phone, for those that run with phones, right? Or is there some actual value in just a viewer?

                    RunningAHEAD API Reference

                     

                     

                    You just want to see your data? And the mobile browser interface isn't good enough? In what way?

                     

                    I ask as an app developer who has started playing around with the RA API. I have not committed to producing an app (though if I did, it would be iPhone, and not Android), but I am very interested in what it is people want. It seems to me that the biggest value in an app would be a way to upload GPS run data from the phone, for those that run with phones, right? Or is there some actual value in just a viewer?

                     

                    Awesome! Thank you for the link! I will definitely be digging into that.

                     

                    What I mean by "see my data" is that all the other tracking apps/sites out there seem to be more focused on integrating with facebook and "see how far so-and-so ran!" and "compete with your friends" and there's this huge social networking slant to them. I'm not interested in tracking my friends' progress or having it post to my facebook or the whole "social" aspect. I want to run/bike and then track my own progress/distances/times/etc. These sites also only display your data in ways that (to me) are largely useless...

                     

                    For example: For the last several months, I've been using runtastic and decided I wanted to see how many miles I'd biked this year. It'll show me how far I've gone total since I started using their app (which is more than just this year), or it'll show my monthly distances on a bar-graph without actual values, so you have to guess based on how high each bar is and then add up my guesses for each month, or I could go through and manually add up all the distances from each of my activities. I ride to/from work every single day... that is not an option. And I want to be able to see things like speed averages and heartrate data and how they correlate, etc.

                     

                    So, RunningAhead is GREAT for doing exactly what I want and provides real values, lots of great filters/queries, and I love being able to configure various web-parts on my main screen for distance totals etc. I also like the fact that if I want to do more than what RA offers in the way of number crunching, I can export my data as a spreadsheet and go to town on it.

                     

                    So, that said, my issue is not with RA itself, but with the Android app. Honestly, I'm surprised that there's this much backlash against the concept of using an app for tracking... It just makes sense to me: Start the app, put my phone in my pocket/holster, and run... Stop the app and upload to RA, and my activity is logged without having to manually figure out my distance or enter the times, etc. My frustration is, that while there's lots of apps out there that work very well and do exactly what I want, when it comes to the web based component and actually looking at the resulting data, they ALL suck, and the only one that doesn't (RA) has a garbage app. So, again, while I realize Handy Runner isn't runningahead's product and isn't responsible for keeping it up to date, I want to push for a replacement or upgrade to be made available, either by RA or someone else.

                    bhearn


                      So uploading run data is a critical piece of the puzzle for you? When you said you just wanted to view your data, I was curious about what, specifically, is unsatisfactory about just using the RA website on your Android device's browser.

                      TJoseph


                        One quick workaround if you want to use RA is to purchase a new or used Garmin Forerunner.  They are light, strap to your wrist, will track your run, and upload it to RA without having to type in data.

                          So uploading run data is a critical piece of the puzzle for you? When you said you just wanted to view your data, I was curious about what, specifically, is unsatisfactory about just using the RA website on your Android device's browser.

                           

                          Well, again the problem isn't with RA or their web interface, and in fact, I've gone into great detail about why I LIKE running ahead for viewing my data, so I'm not sure what you're really after. I don't use the web interface on my phone, it's not formatted for mobile devices (unless there's a mobile version I don't know about), but really, using the RA site with my phone is not something that interests me.

                          Chris T


                            I don't really have a dog in this hunt since a) I'm on iOS, not Android and b) I don't use my iPhone to track my runs.  However, I thought the OP made a legitimate point, and I thought that there was an unreasonable amount of piling on that followed.  Fact is, the log on this site is not really mobile-friendly on a smart phone, there's no iOS app, and apparently there are problems with the Android app.  I think things like this are legitimate concerns, and a person should have every right to bring them up in the Suggestions and Feature Requests zone and not be told to get off the lawn

                             

                            Eric is very smart and savvy, and I have no doubt that his roadmap for RA probably includes all of these things, but as he said, he has limited resources to implement them.  However, I know he takes feedback seriously, and if we shout down people who offer feedback, then there's very little constructive that can come in this section of the forum.

                             

                            +1.  A couple of the responses here were pretty high schoolish.

                            xm41907


                              I would love to see a new app that connects with RA.  I've been using RA for years now, and tried Handy Runner. It has basic functionality, but nowhere near what other apps out there have.  Unfortunately the developer is long gone.  If someone would step up to the plate to develop a new app, I would gladly fork over some money for it.  As things are now, I usually use Runkeeper if I'm going to track my run, then just log in the details in RA.  It's an extra step, but no more inconvenient than opening up RA with my logged data.  I usually include details into all my runs so I edit everything on the RA website no matter if I track and with whichever app I use.

                              lmorsi


                                I vote for updating the old one. I used it a couple of years ago, but found it was unreliable as far as actually saving the runs. At some point between me hitting start and me hitting end, it would often just zero out and there would be nothing. Truly annoying. So I used RunKeeper to track my runs and then exported them periodically to RunningAhead.

                                 

                                Like the OP, I much prefer the RunningAhead site for its data focus and lack of social network junk. I just want to be able to upload my workouts effortlessly (automatically) like HandyRunner is designed to do. For an updated app without the crashes and zeroing out, I'd pay $5. My current phone is a Samsung Galaxy Nexus. HandyRunner zeroes out on my phone every time I have tried it recently. When the app worked for me half the time (2+ years ago), I was using an HTC Droid Eris and then an HTC Incredible 2. I read in another thread about workout schedules that Eric said he was working with HandyRunner to correctly display still (2013) so I'm interested to know if any fixes are being made to the app or if it's a lost cause at this point.

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