[gps-talkusers] defaults and options for Lookaround POIs
- From: "Michael May" <mikemay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 4 Aug 2013 16:32:11 -0700
The nicely written review from Kelly has prompted me to explore the
following topic on the list as I suspect there will be varied opinions as to
what constitutes the ideal amount and type of POI information.
There is a somewhat gray area between too much information and not enough
information. Each person and each situation requires more or less
information.
For example, when a POI name is announced, do I also want the category? Do I
want to know the distance of that POI? Do I want the direction? Do I want to
call that business or to view the menu? The answers vary depending on
whether I am in a familiar area or a new area or if I am looking for dinner
or a hardware store.
Our approach in Sendero products has been to offer options so users can
adjust the amount and type of content to fit their circumstances and
preferences. There are not yet as many options for Lookaround information on
the iPhone app as the 13 year-old GPS products for the Note and Sense
products.
For those products, we scan for new POIs every 12 seconds and this timer is
adjustable. Not every POI in range is spoken as we have learned this would
bombard users with way too much information. We use speed to determine how
far away a POI is announced to differentiate between pedestrian and
vehicular situations. Users have the option to only have a specific category
of POIs announced.
We assume that in most situations, a user would like to know a sampling of
which points are around but giving the details of distance and direction
would add undesired chatter if one was not actually interested in that POI.
If you do want it, you can stop and search for the POI and then do what you
like including setting it as a destination or calling it if there is a
number. One does know without hearing the specific distance and direction
that the point is within a few blocks. I believe the threshold is up to 500
feet at pedestrian walking speeds.
What I would really like to see on the iPhone is the option to trigger
details more easily when I hear a point of real interest. Maybe I could
shake the phone right after hearing it in Lookaround and then more details
would be announced. Maybe I want to hear all categories of POIs in general
but I want details about a specific category.
In terms of the Foursquare points and viewing menus, we could definitely
switch to the Foursquare details and allow one to view a menu or even to
check into the Foursquare location. Being a big fan of Blindsquare and user
and playing the Foursquare game, I think this would be a nice feature to
have.
In terms of choosing a default behavior, we could have the direction and
distance to Lookaround points if this was preferred by the majority of
users. We will at least add this item to the feature list as an option.
Mike
Michael May, CEO
Sendero Group, Davis California
Developers of accessible GPS
Sendero Phone: 888-757-6810, extension 101
Home Office: 530-757-6900
Email: MikeMay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sendero web: http://www.senderogroup.com
General GPS web: http://www.AccessibleGPS.com
Mike May Personal: http://www.CrashingThrough.com
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