

Show HN: My new running app, Vima - clarky07
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vima-gps-run-tracker/id871857373?ls=1&mt=8

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andrewljohnson
I don't consider this an "MVP" for a running app. The market is too far along,
and I think this lacks a certain kernel of innovation that would set it apart
in spite of lacking features.

It has a nice, kind of Yahoo-weather like feel to the app. For a commercial
success, I think the app does not even embody 1% of the necessary work:

* Without some sort of web+mobile experience, you are way behind everyone else that is established in the space (runkeeper, runtastic, strava, mapmyrun).

* The competitors are well-funded and start-uppy - so, even as you perhaps start to add necessary features like route-making, elevation-correction, etc - they will still be innovating and making new stuff.

* You integrated with Pebble, but the other hardware in the space probably makes more sense (like heart rate watches), so that's more work. Or nutritional stuff like MyFitnessPal.

For the marketing, I'd say:

* The app ends up being a demo because of the restriction on number of runs, while the competitors offer something fully functional, including Vima's paid features, for free. Is this going to work?

* The name is probably bad - take it from the guy who likes greek mythology for names. If it's a running app, you might as well say so. Runtastic, Runkeeper, MapMyRun - there's a theme here.

* I don't see any way I can join the community, so Vima can email me later and follow up to see why I'm not using the app after I downloaded it.

I've thought about making a fitness app, and I have some infrastructure such
that I can get to market with a more feature-complete product than Vima, in
just a few weeks. It's a big brawl to walk into though.

~~~
clarky07
Thanks for the brutal honesty.

>Without some sort of web+mobile experience, you are way behind everyone else
that is established in the space (runkeeper, runtastic, strava, mapmyrun).

perhaps, but I'm not convinced the web features are that exciting or necessary
for success. (Note that I make apps for a living, but I don't need 1 app to
carry all of the weight. It would be nice to have a huge success that turns
into something more, but it isn't required)

>The competitors are well-funded and start-uppy

Yeah that sucks. I agree.

>The app ends up being a demo because of the restriction on number of runs,
while the competitors offer something fully functional, including Vima's paid
features, for free. Is this going to work?

I have no idea honestly, but I've had success with this style of limitation in
the past. I STRONGLY considered no limits, but I wanted to do it this way to
start. I can remove the limits later and only make people happy. Can't start
with no limits and go back easily.

Also, I hate banner ads. So ugly. So not useful. With no limit I'd really have
to put ads in it. which may happen, but I'd love for this to work. It's an
experiment.

>The name is probably bad - take it from the guy who likes greek mythology for
names. If it's a running app, you might as well say so. Runtastic, Runkeeper,
MapMyRun - there's a theme here.

Possibly, but you've also got Strava and Endomondo as counterpoints

>I don't consider this an "MVP" for a running app.

I think that's pretty harsh. We are obviously competing against mapmy and
runkeeper etc, but that doesn't mean we have to make the same app. I believe
that there is a market for a simpler version that does the basics (time,
distance, maps, etc.) with an easier to use interface. We have some more
advanced features planned, like interval training and more charts etc, but the
idea we were going for was the simplicity. Now, the monetization strategy was
an entirely new experiment that may or may not work. It's a lot cheaper than
the competitors options, but as you pointed out doesn't do as much.

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__xtrimsky
I'll add just one thing to this.

For me the web interface is essential and I think it is for a lot of other
people. People like to share their life with everyone. When I go running, I
post a live tracking to facebook (not necessary), and then when I finished
running I post automatically the data to Facebook. I want everyone to know I
just spend X calories and ran for X miles. I enjoy the fact that everyone can
click on the link, and view the map of where I was running.

I'm sure this is not a requirement for everyone, but a web interface is for
me.

~~~
nedwin
Not a requirement for me at all. I use both Runkeeper and Strava (long story)
and occasionally post times to social media but mostly use them for personal
tracking and connecting with friends around running.

Posting an image of my course + time to web would be enough for me and prevent
the need for building a web version when some novel functionality might be a
better investment.

~~~
x1798DE
I'll actually go one further and say that if something has a web gateway that
is mandatory, I specifically won't use it. I've used MyFitnessPal in the past,
but when I tried to use it again recently, opening the app presented me with a
login screen, so I deleted the app. I think Endomoto also forces me to log in,
so I deleted it. If I recall correctly, RunKeeper also has a login gateway and
they imply that you won't be able to use it without signing in. I almost
deleted that one too, but I think that once I got around the login screen they
stopped asking me actively to sign in.

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geff82
The most important small feature for me in Runtastic is that it tells me how
many calories I've burned. As I try to lose some pounds I run until I burned
1000 calories (or whatever the goal of the day is).

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clarky07
OP Here. Feel free to ask any questions. I'd love to get some feedback on it
from anyone that runs or bikes etc.

If you're curious, Vima is Greek for "Pace"

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omarforgotpwd
Like the app. If you ever want a job, I'd love for you to come help us at
PredPol (jobs@predpol.com). We predict where crime is going to happen in the
future so cops can stop is before it happens, and mobile is going to be a big
part of that.

~~~
clarky07
Thanks, glad you like it. I'm not looking for anything right now, but that
looks pretty sweet. Best of luck to you.

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irongeek
Personally I want access to my running data in json or rss. Without that I
would not consider using a new app.

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fataliss
"Metric" is the standard unless the target for your app is only the US
market...

