

Tell HN: My Start-Up Launched our iPhone App Today - Gaia GPS - andrewljohnson
http://www.gaiagps.com

======
andrewljohnson
You can find out about all of this on the website, but basically Gaia GPS
includes a GPS Recorder, topographic and road maps, waypoint search, and other
cool features.

If you are a hiker, you have probably heard of MyTopo maps. Gaia GPS is the
first app to provide these maps on the iPhone, and in my own travels, they are
really great. You can download as many map sections as you want for no
additional charge.

<http://www.gaiagps.com>

------
ckjohnston
Just downloaded it for myself. I figure I've read more than $3 worth of your
HN posts in the past to justify buying the app regardless.

------
joeld42
Just purchased. Already like it better than MotionX. Is there a way to search
for nearby trails (other than the trails on the scanned topo maps)? not just
waypoints?

edit: just noticed the other posts about TrailBehind app. Awesome. Now I am
all set.

~~~
andrewljohnson
Sorry Joel, no way to search for Trails yet. However, we are thinking about
further integrating the EveryTrail API so you could search their trail DB,
insead of just doing uploads.

Better than Motion-X huh? You make me feel all warm and fuzzy. Feel free to
say something to that effect in your review :)

------
rrival
This is fantastic work guys, thanks for doing this. It's especially useful
since Topozone.com became expensive.

Anyone who's had to head to EMS to pick up paper trail maps or spend hundreds
on the National Geographic map packs (me) should be equally ecstatic.

Distant, distant future feature request: a little augmented reality - let me
mount it on my dash and display a 3D view of what I'm looking at.

~~~
andrewljohnson
Thanks for the compliment, and let me just say... we bought the Nati-Geo map
software for over $100, and MyTopo's maps have more details, more trails, and
more landmarks. Just hands down better.

And were working on a game overlay for this now called Gaia Quest :)

Stay tuned!

------
movix
That seems like a great app - well done.

Minor niggle, change the tacky stock photos in the header and footer of your
web page. People make subconscious judgments on the quality of your product by
subtle clues they pick up on in how you present it. You've done all that hard
work in the coding, seems a shame to not to maximise your potential sales by
not giving your full attention to your sales page.

~~~
andrewljohnson
There's not stock photos in the header, though there are in the footer :)

And I guess I just disagree. I think our designer did a great job, and the
page conveys the right things.

~~~
01101010
I thought the same thing as movix- that footer is definitely the weak point of
the page.

I get it- they are supposed to convey travel/adventure/situations where your
app would be useful- but the images mostly communicate "hastily edited clip
art" to me. (Maybe try the same gradient as the header?)

Otherwise, nicely done.

------
meterplech
hey, i don't know if your particular market knows all about this and i don't
but you mention "kalmin filter" for improved accuracy. I doubt many users know
this term, certainly not your average hiker. I think including an explanation
would make the site more accessible for users

~~~
andrewljohnson
I did include a description, but buried it. I was hoping people would be
intrigued and Google it.

Here's is the description (from <http://www.gaiagps.com/acknowledgments>)

Kevin Lacker's Kalman Filter - Underneath the hood, Gaia GPS uses a "Kalman
Filter" to get more accuracy from the iPhone GPS. The Kalman Filter code was
written by Kevin Lacker, a technical advisor to the Gaia GPS team, and egineer
at Google. The Kalman Filter code is now open source and available for anyone
to use. You can read more about Kalman Filters on Wikipedia, and you can
download the source code on GitHub.

~~~
SlyShy
"engineer". Otherwise, very nicely put together, I feel.

~~~
andrewljohnson
Fixed.

------
andrewljohnson
Any chance we could get some votes on our gimmick marketing post on reddit:
[http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/9mr0z/ok_reddit_...](http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/9mr0z/ok_reddit_i_know_you_can_do_it_im_just_an_indie/)

------
ckjohnston
Andrew, I don't hike, but a buddy of mine is always hiking. I forwarded him
the link. Very cool looking screenshot on the homepage. I almost want to buy
the app just to see it work as I walk down the street for coffee. Good luck
with the app.

~~~
andrewljohnson
Hey, thanks a lot!

Even if you don't hike, this app is pretty useful. I don't know if you have
bought an offline maps app, but that's built into this. So you can select
sections of OSM or MyTopo maps.

Taking geo-tagged photos around the city is fun too :)

------
aroon
the app looks great. as a hiker the topo maps excited me more than anything
else. paper maps are expensive!

only other thing is i wonder why you don't use mapkit for regular maps instead
of another map source. with mapkit you get the same great user experience
user's expect and all the mapkit improvements coming for free.

~~~
smokey_the_bear
We used route-me, since with mapkit we wouldn't have been able to draw tracks
or download tiles for offline use.

------
ngs
Can I buy this in the UK? I clicked on the AppStore link on your web site
which took me to a general iTunes splash page.

~~~
andrewljohnson
No, sorry, we aren't selling this internationally right now, because the Topo
maps only cover the US and Canada. We will be releasing an international
version, as well as two other apps that will be available near you soon: Gaia
Maps and Gaia Places.

Maps and Places are cheaper and are standalone features from Gaia GPS.

------
cgherb911
Hi Andrew,

I like it. My 2 cents:

1) Once i read your statement below I understand the app. I think you should
make it plainly obvious that the app is for hiking (if that is your target
market)

2) (This is based off the assumption that the target is hikers) The people who
will use this are outdoors people. The app gui should be geared towards the
market. I feel the app & web layout is geared for the high tech crew. Look at
some legendary brands' color schemes (<http://www.coleman.com/>). Maybe
partner up with a casing designer to provide rugged iphone cases (they'll be
taking their iphone outdoors).

3) Why are you better than GPS motionx?

Cool app and I hope you can give me your feedback when our (phone halo) app
releases.

~~~
andrewljohnson
Hey CGH,

Thanks for your comments. I've thought about each of these issues:

1 & 2) We want to market the app to anyone who wants to take a track. It being
for hikers is a nice bonus, but in our experience, the market isn't big
enough. We have a fairly successful app called TrailBehind just for hikers,
but we hope people use this for cars, road-biking, etc.

Note that we did have art for this app that was for hikers - just like
www.trailbehind.com - but we changed it for a broader appeal.

3\. We are better than Motion X for the following reasons:

\- we have MyTopo maps

\- we have far more complete waypoint search

\- I would argue our GUI is simpler

\- on things like track accuracy and batter consumption, we are equal if not
better

~~~
cgherb911
Thanks for getting back on my questions. Hope to see your app in the top 20.

