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CamerAlert doesn't show many cameras

 
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matthewj
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 10:13 am    Post subject: CamerAlert doesn't show many cameras Reply with quote

Is there a proper forum for CamerAlert questions?
On my 3GS, it isn't working very well. It opens, obtains my location, and shows just a few cameras around London and in other countries, but very few in the UK. Nearest camera reported is 1164 miles away apparently.

And if I leave it, sometimes a few more appear. After a few minutes this morning, some more local ones appeared, in the same town (Kendal) but not ones on the road to Windermere at Ings.

Is this what you expect - that cameras appear slowly over time? Or is it not coping well with something? Perhaps running out of memory? I'd suggest that a simple check of distance might improve performance, and make showing cameras over 250 miles away optional.
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PaulB2005
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 10:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Moved to correct forum
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mostdom
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 10:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Did you just try a stationary test or did you go for a drive with it. It is well know that the couch test doesn't produce very good results! Also have you downloaded the full database as the app gets installed with only a small sample of the database to begin with!
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matthewj
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 10:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I updated using my camera subscription, so should have full set.

It was just a couch test, and not mobile. Not sure what difference that should make really, as it doesn't inspire confidence to go on the road if it doesn't show any cameras nearby.
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MaFt
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 10:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

it is not designed for couch-testing. it is for on the road. there are over 25,000 cameras in the database so the app, put simply, just stores your local ones in temporary memory for a couple of minutes - if all 25,000+ cameras were 'in use' by the app then the iphone would just drop dead!

as you drive around (or even walk about outside) the less-than-ideal locational set up used by the iphone will tell the app you have moved and the app will refresh it's temporary memory with your local cameras and zoom in on your area.

it does state all this in the manual too.

hope this helps?

MaFt
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matthewj
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 4:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Okay, moving makes sense.

Manual eh? The box with it in hasn't arrived yet! I've not needed a manual with any of the other 100 apps I've got.

Perhaps some sort of basic label saying no movement detected yet, local cameras not yet active, might help. Basically, that initial couch position should be used if you aren't going to get bad reviews on iTunes.

Just my 2p worth!
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MaFt
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 5:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

most apps have some sort of online manual. clicking on 'CamerAlert Support' in iTunes sends you to: http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/cameralert.php

this shows the entire feature set of the app - something you simply cannot fit within the app itself!

MaFt
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matthewj
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 5:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The nature of text communication makes these things seem pedantic, and that's not how I mean to be. I am hoping that this is constructive criticism.

Sure, apps have instructions ("manuals"), and online is not unusual. But an iPhone app should not need to have a manual for the most basic things. I'm experienced as a developer and iPhone user, and it made me wonder if it was working right. To see a map of Europe with my GPS position marked, and a few cameras in France somewhere, and nothing more, struck me as not right.
If I was a more inexperienced user, I'd post on iTunes that it was a waste of money, give it a low rating, and move on. My aim was to ask here instead, knowing that I must have missed something.

So, here are some questions that might be worth asking:
Why show any cameras at all at the start? Why not start blank, and have a label overlay that says "local cameras will be shown when you start moving".
When in this mode, have the list of nearest cameras empty. Show a label saying it isn't underway yet.
When the GPS fix is found, why not show the nearby cameras anyway, without having to move? Funny thing is I was thinking my most likely mode of use would be to be standing by a camera and get the app out, and mark or update it. Seems I'd have to run up and down the road a bit before the camera I was next to would appear.

Just some thoughts.

Matthew
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mostdom
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 11:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

matthewj wrote:
Seems I'd have to run up and down the road a bit before the camera I was next to would appear.


I love that idea but fortunately that isn't necessary as new cameras are marked by your gps location, and no movement required. You can even turn off the gps using the target button and mark a location manually. Try zooming in on an area you know to have cameras and you'll see all the cameras are on the map! The list view is really for when you are moving!

Having some sort of loadup time is something in the pipe line for an update, which is being considered to prevent far off cameras being picked up on initial start up. Due to the design of the app it will store cameras for 2 minutes as they pass, so any cameras seen as it zeros in on your location are displayed. Hence our reason for saying the couch test is our biggest nemesis in the apps design!

All suggestions are considered, so thanks and hopefully you'll see your ideas in the next update!
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MikeB
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 1:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mostdom wrote:
Did you just try a stationary test or did you go for a drive with it. It is well know that the couch test doesn't produce very good results! Also have you downloaded the full database as the app gets installed with only a small sample of the database to begin with!

Just to clear up a slight inaccuracy. The App is supplied with a FULL database, but it is a few weeks old. We provide the single map update to ensure that your database is current when you buy the app.
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MaFt
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 3:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

MikeB wrote:
We provide the single map update to ensure that your database is current when you buy the app.


ahem... single DATABASE update... or do you work for TomTom now?!
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