

Show HN: Fliple - iOS Contacts with Metro UI - chitza
http://FlipleApp.com
This is my try at a iOS Contacts app replacement.
I was frustrated by the fact that the default application wasn't showing contact pictures in lists, so I tried to design an app that makes full use of the images.<p>Another issue I had with the default app was the number of taps until finding a contact, so I tried to minimize that too using various approaches:<p>- put most contacted people on the main screen (app also proposes new tiles based on number of interactions)
- group contacts (work, family, friends, etc.) then put a group tile on the main screen
- search the contact list using T9 (3-4 taps to locate contact)
- use action tiles to instantly communicate with a contact (phone, SMS, mail) for often contacted people<p>At the moment the app is free, I haven't yet come up with ideas for monetization - if you have any, please share.
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king_magic
It generally takes a lot for me to be really surprised & impressed with a new
iPhone app, but this is a pretty incredible app. I've been spending an absurd
amount of time on the phone with a lot of different people at work and this
just inserts itself so perfectly into my workflow that I wish I wrote this app
myself :)

It has managed to dethrone the Phone app from my app tray, which is no easy
task. Last app I moved into my app tray was Spotify, and that took forever to
win that coveted spot.

It's kind of everything I wish the Phone & Contacts apps were. Love the Metro
UI. You have found yourself a raving fan. Please don't stop developing this
app!

I really like the T9 search, by the way. Nicely done.

~~~
chitza
Thanks for the feedback. If you have any problems or suggestions you can post
them to the UserVoice site I've set up: <http://fliple.uservoice.com> Some of
the features I've implemented lately have been suggested by users.

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ville
This looks very nice visually, but I had trouble adding contacts to groups,
most contacts resulting in "this contact belongs to another account, cannot be
added to this group". Maybe this has something to do with the fact that I have
synchronized the contacts with my Google account?

The lack of native UI components also makes this app feel like an "outsider"
in iOS, which is easy to notice when opening the native contact card inside
the application that looks like it's from a different OS, literally.

~~~
chitza
Thanks for the feedback. I see that this is an issue for some people (mixing
contacts with groups in different accounts), I'll try to come up with a way of
overcoming the limitation. The problem is described in a support article:
[https://fliple.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/182665-i...](https://fliple.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/182665-i-can-
t-add-contacts-to-a-group)

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nachteilig
I'm a little confused about using a number pad to find names, as is shown in
the graphic on the site. We're doing this on iPhone, so why use that old T9
mechanic?

Looks like a solid effort, in any case.

~~~
CrazedGeek
I find it's a lot faster to find a contact with T9 than a soft QWERTY keyboard
or just scrolling through a list. (CyanogenMod has this built in to its dialer
and it is beautiful.)

~~~
archivator
From a UX perspective, after the initial learning curve, T9 gives you larger
tap targets and fewer taps needed (compared to QWERTY). This naturally results
in faster finger movement but also less need for movement overall. It's a win-
win for search.

~~~
chitza
This --^ :)

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pastaking
I can't add contacts from my Gmail account to a group, and a support article
says there's no fix to this unless I recreate the contact locally.

Sorry, that's way too much work. The app looks really nice, but if I can't
import my contacts, it's useless to me.

Just uninstalled.

~~~
chitza
Sorry that it didn't work out for you. I'll put more work into solving this
problem, I'll have to come up with a seamless method of merging groups or
moving contacts from one account to another.

The problem is described in a support article, as you said:
[https://fliple.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/182665-i...](https://fliple.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/182665-i-can-
t-add-contacts-to-a-group)

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mntgmry
Ugh, Metro interface is so bad. No sense of visual hierarchy or
prioritization. The colored tiles all run together. Why would anyone want to
bring this mess to iOS??!!

~~~
pedalpete
In the contact sense, the hierarchy is an alphabetical list. What hierarchy
does the native iOS contacts list give you that is better than that?

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shawn-butler
I would not use "Metro UI" Microsoft stopped using the term due to trademark
dispute with a Metro AG. I recall seeing a notice to msdn developers
requesting them to stop using the name some time ago.

I have no idea if it was a valid claim, but easier to just avoid the hassle.

~~~
chitza
I've used the term just to describe the UI in one word to the HN community. I
haven't use the term in the app itself or any official description (landing
page, App Store, etc.).

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bound008
I have been meaning to make a Google Voice client with the only feature being
T9. If you add google voice support to this (just for making calls and sending
a new message) I will send you a gift.

~~~
chitza
That's an interesting idea. I'll look into it.

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nicksergeant
This is pretty great. My only gripe so far is the auto-rotating between name /
photo. Some people don't actually use photos of themselves so I'd much rather
see the name.

~~~
chitza
If the person doesn't have a picture assigned, there will be no animation,
just the name (see this screenshot
<http://flipleapp.com/img/screenshots/AltLayout.png>)

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aaronbrethorst
Is that AwesomeMenu I see there?
<http://www.cocoacontrols.com/controls/quadcurvemenu>

~~~
chitza
Nope, it's a modified version of ExpandableNavigation from Tobin Schwaiger
([http://tob.in/post/15654557154/how-does-path-2-0s-iphone-
app...](http://tob.in/post/15654557154/how-does-path-2-0s-iphone-app-
implement-their)). Which reminds me I forgot to credit him :(, thanks for
asking.

~~~
aaronbrethorst
cool, thanks! <http://www.cocoacontrols.com/apps/271-fliple>

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gyrccc
Apple should have added T9 a long time ago. If it doesn't in iOS 7, its market
share in China could fall below Windows Phone in a couple of years.

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jameswyse
This looks like it could be very useful! I don't like the huge font size on
the contact list though, a way to change that would be nice :)

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ErikGelderblom
I'd love to see an Android version of this, I really don't like Samsung's take
on the address/phone app

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gsempe
I thought T9 keyboard is patented.I'm wondering if Fliple will not have
problems with this fact ?

~~~
chitza
T9 is a text prediction technology.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T9_(predictive_text)>

Fliple is merely using a method to filter contacts using less keys, I used T9
just to explain the feeling to the people.

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piranha
No support for cyrillic layout yet? Except for that, I love it!

~~~
chitza
I've looked into it and at the moment I'm still in doubt about localizing in
cyrillic/arabic/chinese/japanese. If I do it, it will have to be a complete
implementation, along with T9 filtering, wich frankly scares me because of the
vast amount of information I'll have to digest to make it work properly.

~~~
piranha
Heh, I see... Well, if you decide to add some support for that, I would love
to help (you can find my email in my profile).

I have no idea about arabic and of course chinese/japanese is somewhat
strange, but for cyrillic it's the same as for latin, just different symbols
and a bit more of them (so like АБВГ on 2, ДЕЖЗ on 3, and so on). I can
provide layout and info about additional letters which we don't usually show,
but use (like Ë and Ъ from Russian and Ї from Ukrainian).

Anyway, thanks for good work! :)

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rastasheep
Edit contacts feature missing :(

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chitza
In contact detail screen, there's an arrow in the bottom-right. It takes you
to the standard (iOS) contact edit screen.

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wavesounds
I think this looks better and more useful than facebook home

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geuis
It doesn't show all of my contacts, only the first 5-6.

~~~
chitza
Sorry about that, you should switch to "all accounts" in settings (see
[https://fliple.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/155508-i...](https://fliple.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/155508-i-can-
t-see-my-contacts-in-fliple-what-should-i-d)). By default it only shows up
contacts from the "default account" - lots of people were complaining about
seeing duplicate contacts, when in fact they were seeing contacts from all
their accounts and indeed they were duplicates.

