Twist For Android Hands-On: GPS Notifications With An HTML5 Spin
There's a brand new app out there today by the name of Twist, made for Android and working with GPS map data as well as real-time traffic information to give your friends and colleagues an idea of how long it'll be before you're at the place you're headed to. Without revealing exactly where you are – this isn't a hyper-tracking sort of situation, it's just a bit of a guide. This app had been available before today on iOS, this release being unique in its implication of HTML5 for fabulous accuracy.
With this brand spanking new app up on the Google Play app store today you'll be able to interact with users working with iOS, Android, or a web browser of any kind. When you send out your notification and start off on your trip, you'll be adding to a unique website in a browser that says how long it'll be before you get to the location you say you're going.
An important point is that this app never actually says where you are – it only says how many minutes (or hours, or years) it'll be before you get there. An example can be seen below – you'll also see information (if the case calls for it) about the location. Here we've got Perkins which also includes a phone number, website, street view, and actual link to the GPS location so other users can navigate there as well.
This app uses Microsoft's Bing Maps – that's Nokia's maps as well, mind you. ALSO heed this, per the developers of this app: "Since continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life, Twist utilizes proprietary GPS and cell tower data algorithms to minimize battery drain." Great idea!
"Twist lets family, friends and colleagues know when you will arrive—and it lets you know when they will arrive. Twist merges the best features of your iPhone into a single easy-to-use mobile application. Eliminate the uncertain wait times by calculating and sharing your arrival time with Twist's simple, social and accurate ETAs. Stop waiting and guessing and Start Twisting" – Twist
Users can add messages to the Twist page (or navigation, whatever you want to call it), this set of information being live until everyone has actually gotten to the location. More often than not, that just means the first person who set the Twist up in the first place. And it's all up and ready to roll for free – and rather fun to use, too!
Now you've got to decide if you want to tell everyone that this app actually exists. Let us know what you think about this app right now – as quick as you can!