

Google releases 'Field Trip' app, a location-aware guidebook - denzil_correa
http://www.fieldtripper.com/

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awolf
Yikes. I've been working on an iOS based competitor for the past three months.
My concept is a bit different. I'm using photo data from public sharing sites
and clustering geotag locations to determine scenic or popular points of
interest. Users can then create custom walking tours to one or more of these
locations.

I've only got a few days left of development, so I'll probably get it out
before Niantic/Google's iOS launch. The good news is that Field Trip seems
fairly well received so far so there's a demand for this type of thing.

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martythemaniak
Don't get discouraged - look at it as validation of your idea. Not everything
Google does turns to gold and there may be plenty of opportunity in doing
something vaguely similar, but different.

So, launch, listen to your users and iterate! Good luck.

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hahainternet
> This item cannot be installed in your device's country.

I'm sure I'll enjoy it in a few years.

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netfeed
same here, really annoying

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davewasthere
Fuck this country-limited shit... honestly!

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awolf
Do you truly not understand why a developer creating a location-based
discovery app - an app that will be judged mostly on the quality its location-
based content - might need to launch in limited locations to start? Does this
really need to be explained to you?

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TillE
People who live in one country may travel to others. It's absurd to enforce
the limitation at this level.

I'm getting really sick of apps in the Android store that are restricted by
country when they're not legally obligated to be that way.

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awolf
If the problem is that Google Play won't let you download an app from the U.S.
store based on where your current ISP is located then: 1) that's dumb* and 2)
download Field Trip when you get back to the U.S.

The point is developers shouldn't have to worry about people in un-supported
countries downloading their apps and finding them worthless due to no content.

* (it should be based on your Google Play account settings or billing information)

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_djo_
How about if I, as a non-American, want to buy this app to use on an upcoming
US trip?

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awolf
The other side of this coin, people downloading the app to use in their home
countries when those countries are un-supported, _is much more common_.
Probably two orders of magnitude more common. Sorry it sucks for you, but I'd
make the exact same decision as Google here 100% of the time.

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_djo_
Would be nice to have a third option, that incorporates the country
limitations into the purchasing process and warns you when buying the app that
it has no data/support/whatever for your country. At least then those of us
who do travel frequently and want to be able to use these apps when we do will
have that option.

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vailripper
That was one of the best product videos I've seen. Engaging, with enough hints
to what it does to make you want to download it.

~~~
wukkuan
Interesting. I thought the opposite. I watched it before I saw any information
about what it was, and had no idea what it was supposed to be about in the
end. I just needed a little more context at the beginning, and I think it
would have been quite clear.

~~~
mtgx
Same here. Plus, I'm not a big fan of the "creative" ads that don't talk about
the product or say nothing about what it's supposed to do. Sure, it's a pretty
ad, but ads are expensive, and air time is expensive, too(well on TV), so
viewers need to realize immediately what it's about.

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fumar
I've had for a couple of hours. Its a nice looking app. I found a couple
interesting spots while walking around Chicago. It does not look like a
"Google" app. I imagine its one of the first apps to use the Google Now API.

Edit: It was created by Niantic Labs.
[http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/27/googles-niantic-labs-
laun...](http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/27/googles-niantic-labs-launches-
field-trip-app-for-android-helps/)

~~~
denzil_correa
I think so too. There is definitely some Google Now at play in this app.

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jimmywanger
Hey all.

This app is _really_ cool. I've found out a lot of stuff in my neighborhood
(just a little south of SF) that I didn't know existed.

The website is here: <http://www.fieldtripper.com/>

There's even a launch party on Saturday (9/29) - <http://www.fieldtripday.com>

I'm a member of the team which has launched this product - any questions, and
I'll let you know to the best of my knowledge and ability to answer.

Hope to see you in two days!

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jcoder
Of all the companies to require flash to view their video...

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mikeevans
It says it's by NianticLabs@Google. Any more information about what The
Niantic Project is? Their website doesn't say much:
<http://www.nianticproject.com/>

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elq
AFAIK Niantic is a internal google "startup", from what I've heard their real
product/project (that I haven't seen) will be released soon-ish.

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wicknicks
Here is their twitter account: <https://twitter.com/nianticproject>

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knerd1
Can't wait to try it out.

I do wish google would be a tad less serious with their advertising. These
overly earnest, schmaltzy ads are getting old.

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iamdann
I'm still a little confused about the actual product. Does it use GPS data to
show information about surrounding landmarks? Or something else/more?

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fumar
Like Google Now it uses your location to display a variety to things; Some are
historical landmarks others are upcoming concerts or movie locations. You
choose in what frequency the app notifies you. For example, I was walking from
work to home and Field Trip notified me of where a scene for Oceans 11 was
shot.

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waterlesscloud
It's a mixed bag for me. I live in Los Angeles next to a movie studio. There's
a ton of cards for right here at my home. Some are cool stuff, some are
generic tourist guide info for tourist food and tourist shops, a bazillion
movie locations, and some (the ones I'm most skeptical about) are celebrity
news. I don't care where some celeb was seen yesterday, and I wouldn't care
much even if I didn't live here.

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Uhhrrr
This will be neat together with Project Glass.

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parfamz
<http://www.nokia.com/in-en/citylens/>

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windle
Love how there was obviously no testing of the site on Firefox, as clicking
the video pause or volume buttons hides the entire video. Pause/volume works
fine on Chrome/Safari of course.

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itsouk
what os/firefox/flash version are you using?

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windle
I tried it in FF Nightly and FF release. Using the latest Flash as far as I
know.

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mathieuh
US only.

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carterschonwald
youtube link to video in case anyone else has trouble getting it to play on
chrome
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=z...](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zusjUjaiWJQ)

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hodder
It looks like they can really put the Frommer's acquisition to use in this.

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bluetidepro
This looks neat. I hope they can get that iPhone version out soon!

