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[APP] Next2Me for Windows Phone 7 released

Hi Guyz,
Perhaps you all know Next2Me for the Windows Mobile 6.x OS. This app was quite successfull (one of the 10 most downloaded apps in the Marketplace) and also here at XDA-Developers, quite many people liked my tiny app. If you don't know it, here is the link to the corresponding thread: http://xda-developers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=619329
So, why am I writing here? Because I am going to port Next2Me to Windows Phone 7. And I want YOU to participate on that ! I don't want you to code for me, but you have the great chance now, to submit your feature requests here, to get the software you always wanted to have !
The port of Next2Me is quite envolved by now, and it is already working, so I would be able to send the current state of the software to the Marketplace. But I just want to let you send your feature requests, to get Next2Me even better as it was and now is.
Current feature list of Next2Me
o Location based business search using Google Local Search
o Show a map overview with all found businesses
o Show detailed information (address, phone numbers, etc.)
o Let you add the infos to the contact list, forward the contact by E-Mail or SMS or call the found phone number right from Next2Me
o Show your position and the target contact on a map and the route to the target
o Give you a directions to guide you to the target
So, as you can see, the software is quite envolved by now.
What features will also be implemented:
o Support different local search providers (Wikipedia, Bing, Yahoo?, Yelp?)
o Support free text search for local search
If you are still missing any features, THIS is your chance! Post your feature wish here, let's discuss about it and perhaps it will be implemented !
[UPDATE 10-19-2011]
Next2Me v1.0 has been released in the Marketplace. You can find it here.
Next2Me will be devided into a free and payed version. The free version will show a small ad at the top of the main window. The payed version won't show this. Also the payed version will received new features before the free one and some features will be in the payed version only. But the core element of Next2Me, the local search, will stay free.
But, If you'll buy Next2Me (I am planning to sell it for 99Cent), you will not just get rid of the ad and get some unique features, you will also support me and my dev projects .
Feel free to post any question or suggestions regarding Next2Me here !
C YA - Nekro

i got a little idea. It would be cool if you could set it up so that everyday at a certain time it would set its self automaticlly to go somewhere. So if you leave for work at 7 everyday it would set its self for that location. Also would be cool to able to send your location to other people

I like the idea with sending your current location to other people. I think I will implement this feature ..
But: what do you mean with the other feature, setting your position at a specific time? Why should I do that? Every WP7 device has a built in GPS sensor, so I do have the current location at any time..

This sounds good, Bing does not provide Local search for my country so I need something else to give me access to Google's excellent business listings.
Will this be free / paid / trial-ware?

Next2Me WP7 release
Sorry guys for this long delay..
Finally, I released Next2Me for Windows Phone 7. You can get for free from the Marketplace.
The next version is already in work, with several more features.
Next2Me will be devided into a free and payed version. The free version will show a small ad at the top of the main window. The payed version won't show this. Also the payed version will received new features before the free one and some features will be in the payed version only. But the core element of Next2Me, the local search, will stay free.
But, If you'll buy Next2Me (I am planning to sell it for 99Cent), you will not just get rid of the ad and get some unique features, you will also support me and my dev projects .
If you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to post them here !
Have fun and a nice day!
C YA

suggestions
If you could make the voice an option for input and integrate with latitude (google) it worked on my 6.5 unit with my fiances iphone was really handy especially with her getting lost

buffalosolja42 said:
If you could make the voice an option for input and integrate with latitude (google) it worked on my 6.5 unit with my fiances iphone was really handy especially with her getting lost
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just had a look on the voice recognition, but I think I must disappoint you. There isn't an API for that at the moment and I don't want to rebuild a voice recognition myself. There are several solutions using web services, but this solution would be slow and doesn't work very well. Microsoft is already working on an own Siri called TellMe! I already registered myself for that API and as soon this is available on WP7 I'll implement this feature in Next2Me .
C YA - Nekro

I used Next2Me on WM6.5 great app, going to give this a try

[SDK] Promocodes for your app

Hello!
I'm software developer from Russia, and made one very popular app in local market. Very soon I realized that I need an ability to give licensed version of app for my friends or reviewers or someone else.
Unfortunately AppHub doesn't provide such functionality(private distribution is pain in ass), so I created a webservice for myself.
After two days I realized that it may be useful for other developers, so here it is:
promo.g33k.ru (here I wanted to post url, but I can't due to low post count. You may find it in my profile->interests)
Now it has:
- JSON/SDK with RSA1024/SHA1 sign for additional security checks
- Binary SDK available
- Russian localization(if anyone cares ) (btw, if you can help translating to other language(s) or correct english misspellings - i will appreciate this).
Now this service works in beta mode.
So for developers I have two questions:
1) Is such service useful for you?
2) How to develop it further, in which way?

Not yet clear
I am sorry, but after reading your post and also checking your website I am still not sure what you offer. For me there is just not enough information to understand and then judge the usefulness of your service.
Maybe you could give a step-by-step scenario: Dev does this, then interested user does that, dev then this ...

Ok, I'll try to describe a little more details:
1) Developer wants to add capability of promo codes in his app(to give some specific users full licensed app).
The first problem is that developer need his own server for checking of promo code validity(hardcoding is not an option, of course).
2) So, Developer registers in my service, add his app's guid to his app list and create a promo code for specific app via web.
3) Developer adds support for promo codes in his app by:
a) adding an text box for user to enter promode
b) adding a web request to specific URL for promocode activation
c) adding to his license check web request for checking is current user activated a promo code.
Benefits for developer:
- Add support for promo codes without owning a server.
- Simple way to give full version of program to friends
Benefits for users:
- User may found promo code for specific app somewhere and use it to get full version of app in simple manner.
Benefits for reviewers/portals:
- Developers can easily give promo code for reviewing purpose or as giveaway for news post.

Clear now
Thanks for the additional info, now it's clear
Well yes, sounds useful. Properly implemented is probably really easier than Microsoft's "closed beta" mechanism, and of course can be used for other, non-beta apps as well.
The icing on the cake would be a "frame application" as sample code that basically does nothing more than asking for a promo code and then check against the list of valid codes on your server.

Sounds intresting but how do you ensure security?

chabun, I thought about security and situation is same as with default checking for trial - there is no security Man-in-the-Middle and direct cracking of xap will work, and there is no way out. I could use RSA signing for MitM, but still cracking of xap is very easy option today, so no one really interested will try to use MitM. When WP8 SDK will be out(I believe it will be in several weeks) - some developers may implement trial checks in native code - this will be much harder to crack.
As for server part there are following possible problems
- App's ID squatting(same as domain, someone else could reserve developer's app's guid). Don't know yet what to do with this, may be think about it later when this happens?
- Promocode's for App ID bruteforce - could be easily avoided via server throttling, if this ever happens - i'll add such checks
- Server DDoS - every webmaster's nightmare, I hope this never happens(or my Amazon AWS will pour my purse empty
rbrunner7, nice idea, I'll add a sample app as soon as possible on site.

This looks like an interesting concept
Sent from my SGH-i917 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

Yop, you can never avoid direct cracking... However, RSA signing would be good I'd say as it will avoid MitM - with MitM you could create simple tools which can be used by every noob outhere. Cracking xaps requires some skill and it will need an unlocked WP7 as well.

I can see this working i have been thinking about something similar also. You can encrypt the data on device before sending it off to the cloud, you can than verify the encrypted data with a password and compare it to the codes registered on the server. Than link a code to a certain device id (once the code becomes 'registered') if a certain code is already coupled to a deice id and the device is not the same than the app will jump back into trial mode. Otherwise one can use the paid mode.
This can defenetly work and will prevent reselling th codes. Although it requires a server. And users can still hack/patch the app ofcourse but that will require an unlocked device so I should not worry to much about it.
Also to prevent spoofing you can frequently check with the server if this device is legitetmately registered.

Marvin_S said:
I can see this working i have been thinking about something similar also. You can encrypt the data on device before sending it off to the cloud, you can than verify the encrypted data with a password and compare it to the codes registered on the server. Than link a code to a certain device id (once the code becomes 'registered') if a certain code is already coupled to a deice id and the device is not the same than the app will jump back into trial mode. Otherwise one can use the paid mode.
This can defenetly work and will prevent reselling th codes. Although it requires a server. And users can still hack/patch the app ofcourse but that will require an unlocked device so I should not worry to much about it.
Also to prevent spoofing you can frequently check with the server if this device is legitetmately registered.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I thought of... private/public key

chabun, so, for example, how about following scenario:
for each developer server creates public/private key pair.
when checking license on server: if success server encodes userid with developer private key
when checking license in app: server response decoding via public key(hardcoded in app) and comparing to userId. if ok -> licensed.

You might want to ask @ngreader guys on twitter. They do have this concept implemented in their app.

diverofdark said:
chabun, so, for example, how about following scenario:
for each developer server creates public/private key pair.
when checking license on server: if success server encodes userid with developer private key
when checking license in app: server response decoding via public key(hardcoded in app) and comparing to userId. if ok -> licensed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure if it would be good to encode the request to the server as well but otherwise it sounds really cool now... I'll use this service when I need this (and tell my friends about it)

Here is one way to do it http://stackoverflow.com/questions/599837/how-to-generate-and-validate-a-software-license-key

wpxbox said:
Here is one way to do it http://stackoverflow.com/questions/599837/how-to-generate-and-validate-a-software-license-key
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, what they suggest is not as good as diverofdark's service which is a lot more secure and still easy to use for the customers...

Greetings everyone!
Today I updated promo.g33k.ru, now it has:
- more detailed about page,
- SDK now includes RSA1024/SHA1 sign for additional security checks
- Binary SDK available
- Russian localization(if anyone cares ) (btw, if you can help translating to other language(s) or correct english misspellings - i will appreciate this).
- Many minor bugfixes.
So, from now this service works in beta mode

diverofdark said:
Greetings everyone!
Today I updated promo.g33k.ru, now it has:
- more detailed about page,
- SDK now includes RSA1024/SHA1 sign for additional security checks
- Binary SDK available
- Russian localization(if anyone cares ) (btw, if you can help translating to other language(s) or correct english misspellings - i will appreciate this).
- Many minor bugfixes.
So, from now this service works in beta mode
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I will check this out

Hey diverofdark
It would be nice if you update the first post in the thread with all information. That's the way it's usually done in the forum.
A possible user (here dev ) can read it and without having to browse the whole thread, he can use your promocode service...

Thanks for mentioning it, I updated the first post.

[Q] First Timer - App Advice Needed

PREMISE
see mockup attachment. fyi, some minor details are left out to protect the premise.
the purpose of the app is to create a countdown clock. and we intend to have different sponsors.
FRONT-END REQUIREMENTS
when the clock expires, it will have beep and vibrate.
to make money, when someone brings up the app on their phone, they would see a coupon from a sponsor company. and upon the launch screen, if the person likes the coupon, they can request to have it e-mailed to them. there's two options to have at this point. a) the app sends me (the app business owner) an e-mail confirming that this individual has requested this coupon. and I'll e-mail it to them whenever I get a chance [but this could get messy if there is a ton of users] b) the app somehow automatically send an e-mail right then and there to the individual [this could be a Day 2 project].
regardless of whether or not the visitor has requested the coupon e-mailed to them, when they click the "ENTER APP" button, they should be transferred to the APP SCREEN.
BACK-END REQUIREMENTS
a. we will NOT store any customer data or e-mails or anything else. we will simply generate a one-time e-mail to that address and that's it.
b. we would like to track a) how many downloads so we can tell potential sponsors b) how often people use the app and how long it's open on their phone for.
c. needs to work on android, IOS and windows phones. we do not care about tablets or computers. smart phones users will be 99% of our audience.
d. we need some sort of back-end or web interface where I can enter in new sponsor names, logos and coupons.
QUESTIONS
1. I'm not going to learn to build this myself. i have no knowledge of how to build one and don't have the time to learn. i plan to hire an overseas freelancer through odesk.com. what program should I ask they use to build this? I've heard terms like swift, xcode, ruby on rails, twitter bootstrap, etc… ideally, is there one go-to popular program that creates a cross-platform compatible app? my fear is that if I have to drop a programmer in the middle of the project and pick up another, will the new person be able to pickup where the last guy left off?
2. how would I go about changing the coupons? and changing the sponsor banner ads? would there need to be some sort of web interface? would I need to purchase a website and hosting account and have some functionality built there? is there some dashboard somewhere else?
3. how big scale a project is this? roughly how many hours should this take a COMPETENT app developer? seems to me like one of the most basic apps you could build but what do I know.
4. at what point does an app get submitted to google play? apple store? windows whatever they have? or do I even need those entities or could I just let people somehow download it from a website? if so, what would I be missing out by not getting it listed under those marketplaces?
5. anything else I have not thought about that I should be aware of?
please advise. thanks in advance!!!

sixrfan said:
PREMISE
see mockup attachment. fyi, some minor details are left out to protect the premise.
the purpose of the app is to create a countdown clock. and we intend to have different sponsors.
FRONT-END REQUIREMENTS
when the clock expires, it will have beep and vibrate.
to make money, when someone brings up the app on their phone, they would see a coupon from a sponsor company. and upon the launch screen, if the person likes the coupon, they can request to have it e-mailed to them. there's two options to have at this point. a) the app sends me (the app business owner) an e-mail confirming that this individual has requested this coupon. and I'll e-mail it to them whenever I get a chance [but this could get messy if there is a ton of users] b) the app somehow automatically send an e-mail right then and there to the individual [this could be a Day 2 project].
regardless of whether or not the visitor has requested the coupon e-mailed to them, when they click the "ENTER APP" button, they should be transferred to the APP SCREEN.
BACK-END REQUIREMENTS
a. we will NOT store any customer data or e-mails or anything else. we will simply generate a one-time e-mail to that address and that's it.
b. we would like to track a) how many downloads so we can tell potential sponsors b) how often people use the app and how long it's open on their phone for.
c. needs to work on android, IOS and windows phones. we do not care about tablets or computers. smart phones users will be 99% of our audience.
d. we need some sort of back-end or web interface where I can enter in new sponsor names, logos and coupons.
QUESTIONS
1. I'm not going to learn to build this myself. i have no knowledge of how to build one and don't have the time to learn. i plan to hire an overseas freelancer through odesk.com. what program should I ask they use to build this? I've heard terms like swift, xcode, ruby on rails, twitter bootstrap, etc… ideally, is there one go-to popular program that creates a cross-platform compatible app? my fear is that if I have to drop a programmer in the middle of the project and pick up another, will the new person be able to pickup where the last guy left off?
2. how would I go about changing the coupons? and changing the sponsor banner ads? would there need to be some sort of web interface? would I need to purchase a website and hosting account and have some functionality built there? is there some dashboard somewhere else?
3. how big scale a project is this? roughly how many hours should this take a COMPETENT app developer? seems to me like one of the most basic apps you could build but what do I know.
4. at what point does an app get submitted to google play? apple store? windows whatever they have? or do I even need those entities or could I just let people somehow download it from a website? if so, what would I be missing out by not getting it listed under those marketplaces?
5. anything else I have not thought about that I should be aware of?
please advise. thanks in advance!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi i have read your long query,The app which you described and checking out the mockups seems to be pretty less complicated and i will give you some answers for it.
1) The best thing to do is make an app in popular cross platform frameworks better use html5 frameworks such a sencha touch,jquery mobile etc with phonegap. Look for developers in this category.
2)Changing the banner ads and coupons is simple.Just host that in your server,app will load those ads and banners whens it loads for the first time ,we can refresh the content later by periodic service calls
3) its a small scale project .Just building the app alone will take atmost 30 hours including creating for 3 platforms and excluding testing.
4) its always better to upload the apps their respecttive stores.Apple wont allow apps to sideload fro other sources.For getting listed on those stores you need to get developer licenses 100$ for apple store,25$ for google play store etc
5)Just be aware that the app should work on all ost of the devices ,gives timely updates etc
also you can track the number of downloads from the respective stores,also you can include some analaytic sdk like flurry etc to get the details like "how often people use the app and how long it's open on their phone for".
i am an Cross platform app developer.If you are interested we can talk in Pm. hope i helped

Searching App Developer for website news feed

Hi there, I need a simple app for a website but I need to know if is too expensive or not.
The app need to display the news feed of a website, organized for categories.
The users must have the opportunity to select which categories to follow
Automatic notification for new post published on the website.
Possibility to set up interval between notification and the notifcation sound
I found this app on GitHub and I think is really perfect for an example. But it give to users the possibility to select which website to follow, and I don't know how to edit the app to set it up for just a website
Hope someone can help me. Sorry for my bad English

You can try Feedly app which is best for creating a personalized news feed. It has very economical in price and available on every platform (Web, iOS and Android).

Price
It's not expensive. You need to know some php/mysql and you can make it

ciao, come va?
If you still are interesting on it, I just developed something like that you search for.
It's a catholic app that show news and other things, with private firebase push notifications server.... ah... the blog code is mine too.
The app is free and in spanish language but you can look in the playstore ans search for "Miglesia" of mRobot, in order to have an idea.
Tell me about your budget in pvt. my email is maxlinux2000 @ gmail.com
(P.S. you can write in italian if you pref.)

Publishing desktop bridge apps (personal experience)

Hi guys,
probably it's not a proper forum, and my post is offtopic, but it's a most reliable forum on xda-dev for this post, other forums are simple dead
For the "rara avis", developers who still do something on Win10 platform, I'd like to share my personal experience to publish an app with restricted capabilities (desktop bridge) on Microsoft store. Might be, someone will find this useful (I hope so!).
So:
- on March, 29 I created a "desktop bridge" app from already existing app and started submission. Of course, package submission failed, and I issued a "desktop bridge permission request".
- next day, March 30, I received automated confirmation.
- on April, 10, I've got mail from Windows App Consult with request to fill some form(s) in Word document format, zip it with my app (.appx or .appxbundle) and share with Microsoft team.
- two weeks later, on April, 24, I've got another mail (quoting):
Hello, we have completed the testing of your desktop application. Congratulations, your application is compliant and, as such, your developer account has now been unlocked! Please allow 24-48 business hours for the permissions to propagate, then you’ll be able to start the submission process on the Dev Center’s website.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- and, after two days (48 hours, not an hour or minute sooner ), my app was published and become available on the next day(s) or so
Here we go: the very first console app published in the Microsoft Store (if it's not please let me know). App is completely free and open source; I set $0.99 price just in case if someone wanna donate a bottle of good beer to me ($1 isn't enough of course but it's OK). App "trial" isn't different from paid; and of course you can download it directly from the github, or build by yourself.
The main purpose of this experiment was to check an ability to the regular, third party developer, to publish an app with restricted access via MS store, and, I can say, it works as promised...
P.S. Oh, I forgot to say: please download the app, use it (if you really need it) and rate up to five stars, please!