The first will add two-way sync, allowing you to download runs from the website after you get a new phone or factory reset your phone. We've relied on using the Google Cloud Backup service until now, however, some users don't enable it, some phones are too old to have it enabled, and in some cases, manufacturers (cough... HTC) actually seem to have removed it from their 'skinned' versions of Android.
Of course, users don't know the politics or technical details, and so the blame normally falls with us. As part of this, we're introducing finer grained privacy controls for both the map, and the whole plan, and will also allow editing of these controls from the phone and website. You'll also find better support for multiple accounts (for those who share a phone with their partner), though this is still a work in progress.
The second update will add some hotly-requested features - data entry for treadmill runs, an options for portrait screen layout, customisable announcements, elevation data, and some usability and GPS filtering improvements.
We really want to be sure that this works on as many devices as possible before we go ahead and release it to the whole community. However, that means that we need a few guinea-pigs - people who don't mind the odd hiccup here and there, and want early access to the new features.
Anyone can join, however in order to help report problems to us, ideally you will need to:
- Be able to use 'adb logcat' or aLogcat (available from the market), to report problems to us.
- Have a good technical understanding of Android (though you don't need to be a developer).
- Be prepared to occasionally abort a run, because of a bug in the software.
Happy running!
