A little while back we came up with a neat idea to showcase some Aussie developers’ work for Android.
We received a huge response – we have now over a dozen applications in our queue to be reviewed, and it’s going to take us a little while to get to them all, but we want to get started. As you know, we approached MobiCity and asked them if they’d like to be involved, and they have graciously given us a phone (a HTC Desire HD) to use to review these apps.
The first app we’ll be reviewing is one that we here at Ausdroid’s Sydney office just can’t live without. TripView Sydney has been around for a while in its iOS incarnation, but it has come across to Android, and done so well!
For those unfamiliar with TripView, it basically presents all Sydney’s public transport information in one, easy to use, application. It contains data for Sydney’s trains, buses and ferries, and features the following:
- Full timetable viewer
- Data is downloaded and stored locally, so you can use it without an active network connection (handy in Sydney’s underground rail where signal is variable)
- Updates downloaded over the air within the app
- Cityrail-style display (if that’s your thing), as shown to the right.
- Trackwork and service interruption information (though this requires an active network connection)
- Interactive maps for trip planning.
Some screenshots:
[nggallery id=67]
Our favourite feature of this app is its trip planning feature. As you can see in the third screenshot above, you can program in your favourite trips for ready accessibility in the app. For example, I regularly travel between Hornsby and Town Hall, so I have the forward and return journeys saved as favourites.
On accessing one of these favourites, you’re presented with a timetable view of upcoming services which will take you between your chosen stations – in this example (screenshot 2) between Hornsby and Town Hall.
You can readily see when the next services are, which way they go (the colour indicates the rail lines for Cityrail), how long the trip will take, when you’ll arrive, and by pressing on the square icon in the top right, you can cycle the view between the platform information, line information and travel time.
Conclusion
In short, we (I) love this app, and I’m so glad it’s come across to Android as well as iOS (which I’m forced to use for work).
The paid version is $2.49 well spent, and there is a lite version as well.
Links:
- TripView Sydney – $2.49
- https://market.android.com/details?id=com.grofsoft.tripview
- TripView Sydney Lite – Free!
- https://market.android.com/details?id=com.grofsoft.tripview.lite
