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@jpcarreiro , thanks for trying it out. For speed I'm bottle-necked by network speeds, there's not much I can do to speed up Tesla's servers, or better the device's internet connection. I serve up the content just as soon as I collect all the data I need for that view to function. If you find it takes too long to initially connect, I recommend turning on the "Always Connected" setting in your Tesla, this greatly speeds up connection time for negligible battery drain.
@GTIceman , a seasonal lifetime subscription option is a neat, but may hurt yearly subscribers. Perhaps simply lowering the yearly subscription price would be enticing enough. A year is a long time with each month lowering the effective monthly price, it'll certainly feel like you've paid for it in full. Per the doors, good suggestion. I have an improvement in mind I'll be rolling out shortly that I'll want your opinion on
@Xenius , thanks for checking it out, I understand and no hard feelings. I hope you check in from time to time to see future services.
@FerraraZ , interesting that Remote S equally had a price complaint early on, curious if that still pops up from time-to-time. I think every price should be scrutinized over whether you're getting what you pay for. There may always be a gripe when paying for services, but if that service is a must-have,
@skyhix , unfortunately for all Tesla apps (even the official), Tesla's APIs do not expose fron or back defroster control, or seat heater control. The seat heater and defroster indicators are purely indicators. Trust should Tesla expose this or any other functionality I'll be adding features to make use of it ASAP.
@GTIceman , a seasonal lifetime subscription option is a neat, but may hurt yearly subscribers. Perhaps simply lowering the yearly subscription price would be enticing enough. A year is a long time with each month lowering the effective monthly price, it'll certainly feel like you've paid for it in full. Per the doors, good suggestion. I have an improvement in mind I'll be rolling out shortly that I'll want your opinion on
@Xenius , thanks for checking it out, I understand and no hard feelings. I hope you check in from time to time to see future services.
@FerraraZ , interesting that Remote S equally had a price complaint early on, curious if that still pops up from time-to-time. I think every price should be scrutinized over whether you're getting what you pay for. There may always be a gripe when paying for services, but if that service is a must-have,
@skyhix , unfortunately for all Tesla apps (even the official), Tesla's APIs do not expose fron or back defroster control, or seat heater control. The seat heater and defroster indicators are purely indicators. Trust should Tesla expose this or any other functionality I'll be adding features to make use of it ASAP.
I'm not paying $50/year for an app. That's like $500+ dollars over the lifespan of the car. I would buy this for a one time price $5-$10 (and I think a lot more people would too, resulting in more $ for you in the end). There are no other apps on the app store that do this for this kind of functionality. I'm pretty sure, as you've seen so far, the market will respond accordingly...
The app looks nice though, good luck!
The app looks nice though, good luck!
@SG57 It's not that it's particularly slow doing the network requests ( for which you have no control), it's the fact that it it seems to clear information that it already had when switching between screens.
If I'm on the home screen and switch to the charge or controls screen, shouldn't it show them straight away? I guess it's the difference between showing stale data or no data.
If I'm on the home screen and switch to the charge or controls screen, shouldn't it show them straight away? I guess it's the difference between showing stale data or no data.
I think this is what Engeri does. It basically lies to you with old information (until it receives new information) to make it seem like it's faster than the stock app. As I've stated before, I'm ok being lied to as long as I know it and the info is eventually updated.
davidc18
Active Member
Have to agree with everyone else. I do not, and will not, do any subscription apps. I like what you are working on and wish you the best but I do not agree with you on the subscription model.
@GTIceman , I've addressed your sun roof open/close percent being reversed for the next release. I intentionally had it that way to avoid confusion between the sun roof slider's percent and the actual close percent, but I suppose it caused a discrepancy with how the car's firmware does it. I've updated it with a label to clarify when necessary. For the trunk/frunk bit, the open trunk command endpoint was known and allegedly working at one point but has been deactivated by Tesla (or we've been unable to adjust properly). I have a long list of features in development I'd rather be doing than exploratory API end point testing to find new things, but trust if I come across one I'll make use of it!
@supratachophobia & @jpcarreiro , yes I decided ages ago stale data is as useful as no-data, so I automatically reload on fragment creation. However, that may be a bit too close minded in retrospect, I think it's perfectly reasonable if you last refreshed a fragment within a minute ago then there's no need to automatically refresh on return. You will still be able to manually invoke a refresh of course. Thanks for the ideas fella, I'll add it to the list for next release, hopefully you don't mind being lied to!
@immolated & @davidc18 , I understand your concerns, sorry it's a not good fit for you. $500 over the 10 years yes, but that assumes 10 years of business. Reminder, you may unsubscribe at any time and be refunded the remainder of your time left. Another note, the app is not bound to any 1 device, nor does it bind you to any 1 Tesla, your subscription follows you with all future devices and Teslas. The hesitancy I feel towards a one-time-payment model is felt by all app developers lately, because they are unsustainable without a constant influx of new users especially when you have operating costs. Owning a Tesla is a niche (ish), I can't market to millions of users like Angry Birds can. The plans coming up will incur more operating costs in addition to what I have already (TMC vendors pay monthly), so I'm taking that into account when pricing. $10 one-time is respectable, but in 1 year's time that's an effective $0.83 a month. At 2 years, $0.41 a month. I do like the idea of offering a founders deal through the holidays, I'm willing to compromise with you guys if you meet me half way.
@supratachophobia & @jpcarreiro , yes I decided ages ago stale data is as useful as no-data, so I automatically reload on fragment creation. However, that may be a bit too close minded in retrospect, I think it's perfectly reasonable if you last refreshed a fragment within a minute ago then there's no need to automatically refresh on return. You will still be able to manually invoke a refresh of course. Thanks for the ideas fella, I'll add it to the list for next release, hopefully you don't mind being lied to!
@immolated & @davidc18 , I understand your concerns, sorry it's a not good fit for you. $500 over the 10 years yes, but that assumes 10 years of business. Reminder, you may unsubscribe at any time and be refunded the remainder of your time left. Another note, the app is not bound to any 1 device, nor does it bind you to any 1 Tesla, your subscription follows you with all future devices and Teslas. The hesitancy I feel towards a one-time-payment model is felt by all app developers lately, because they are unsustainable without a constant influx of new users especially when you have operating costs. Owning a Tesla is a niche (ish), I can't market to millions of users like Angry Birds can. The plans coming up will incur more operating costs in addition to what I have already (TMC vendors pay monthly), so I'm taking that into account when pricing. $10 one-time is respectable, but in 1 year's time that's an effective $0.83 a month. At 2 years, $0.41 a month. I do like the idea of offering a founders deal through the holidays, I'm willing to compromise with you guys if you meet me half way.
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CurrentRide
Member
I agree that the subscription cost is too high. Competition from other apps such as AutoAlly and Induction will force you to drop the price, as they provide almost all of your functionality at a fraction of the cost.
I understand the concern about the opportunity cost of ongoing development for a limited niche user base. What about having a fixed price model and using in-app purchases to activate new functions as they are developed? An additional subscription model for data logging services might be worth a small nominal monthly fee to some customers. You could have tiered payment options depending upon customer needs. Like others, I am willing to pay more for a better app, but a subscription plan is a non starter.
I understand the concern about the opportunity cost of ongoing development for a limited niche user base. What about having a fixed price model and using in-app purchases to activate new functions as they are developed? An additional subscription model for data logging services might be worth a small nominal monthly fee to some customers. You could have tiered payment options depending upon customer needs. Like others, I am willing to pay more for a better app, but a subscription plan is a non starter.
Keep in mind that the Tesla user base isn't going anywhere. It's only going to get exponentially bigger. So the worry about long term stainablity has less basis in that context. Either don't have a subscription or better yet, don't have it yet.
Hey all, new release out today with many quality of life improvements suggested by users, a new Camper Mode time expiration option, and a new one-time payment model. Read below for more details, and feel free to grab the latest update from the Play Store.
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Quality of Life Improvements
Thanks to your guys' feedback, I've been able to polish out some quirks I'm incredibly happy with. Here is a list of some of the improvements:
Camper Mode - Time Expiration Option
Another idea spawned from you guys, you may now configure Camper Mode to automatically turn itself off at a set time. This works in-conjunction with the other battery percent option as well, so no more range anxiety fear when sleeping in your Tesla.
New Payment Model
You may now purchase permanent access to the app with a one-time payment.
For a limited time only, I am running a Founder Access special for you early-adopters out there, I appreicate you sticking with me.
It means a lot, I promise I have some great ideas just around the corner.
Additional special features may be purchased separately for one-time payments, and you can try them all out for free in the Demo Mode.
If you previously had a subscription, it has been cancelled and refunded.
Subscriptions will make a return in the future once the Data Logging service is offered.
All payments are managed by Google Play Billing, and may be cancelled and refunded at any time.
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Please private message me, or email me at [email protected], if you have any concerns or questions you don't want to post here.
Cheers
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Quality of Life Improvements
Thanks to your guys' feedback, I've been able to polish out some quirks I'm incredibly happy with. Here is a list of some of the improvements:
- If it looks clickable, now it probably is. Prior, some graphical indicators were useful when conveying information, but did nothing when interacted with. I've made a concerted effort to fix that, most every indicator is informative AND functional. One component in particular is the Home view's top-down vehicle status image which now supports AC toggle, sun roof toggle through states, lock/unlock, and start/stop charge.
- Better doors. Pandering to @GTIceman 's valid stylistic gripe over the previous door icons, I've revamped the entire door display to use... actual car doors (crazy I know). This applies to all doors, including both trunks and the charge port. Another perk of these better, less obstructive doors is the Climate view now shows the door states as well.
- Faster, more efficient experience. Thank you @supratachophobia and @jpcarreiro for sparking this idea: the addition of a smarter view refresh mechanism. Prior, a view would refresh itself upon return if navigated more than 1 adjacent view away. This was in the spirit of avoiding stale data, but caused a slower, greedier experience. Now, a fragment will refresh itself upon return if it has been a minute since the last refresh. This provides a snappy experience, uses less data, and still goes a long way in preventing stale data. You may still explicitly refresh the fragment at any time.
- Sun roof displayed percentage now matches what the Tesla's software displays. Thanks again @GTIceman .
- Added an open location in Google Maps button to your Tesla's location to the Home view.
- Added a firmware update check to the Home view. (exclusive)
Camper Mode - Time Expiration Option
Another idea spawned from you guys, you may now configure Camper Mode to automatically turn itself off at a set time. This works in-conjunction with the other battery percent option as well, so no more range anxiety fear when sleeping in your Tesla.
New Payment Model
You may now purchase permanent access to the app with a one-time payment.
For a limited time only, I am running a Founder Access special for you early-adopters out there, I appreicate you sticking with me.
It means a lot, I promise I have some great ideas just around the corner.
Additional special features may be purchased separately for one-time payments, and you can try them all out for free in the Demo Mode.
If you previously had a subscription, it has been cancelled and refunded.
Subscriptions will make a return in the future once the Data Logging service is offered.
All payments are managed by Google Play Billing, and may be cancelled and refunded at any time.
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Please private message me, or email me at [email protected], if you have any concerns or questions you don't want to post here.
Cheers
@SG57 I think the new icon looks great. I just want to make sure I understand the pricing now. The features listed below the Founder Access and the Standard Access are additional costs right now. So if I buy Founder Access I don't get those features? I know you indicated additional costs for special features but I assumed the features listed would be included right now.
@GTIceman & @supratachophobia, hey fellas.
So there are 2 types of products currently, Access and Features. Access products do just that, grant you access to sign in and use every feature (minus the special ones). The Features product listing allows you to enable special functionality for exclusive, neat stuff. The Founder Access does not include any special features currently.
I'll try to clean up the wording to be more clear, thanks.
So there are 2 types of products currently, Access and Features. Access products do just that, grant you access to sign in and use every feature (minus the special ones). The Features product listing allows you to enable special functionality for exclusive, neat stuff. The Founder Access does not include any special features currently.
I'll try to clean up the wording to be more clear, thanks.
Dstrohl
Member
I don't have a problem with subscription models if I can see that there is something that needs to be "maintained" that they are paying for... so, for example, it seems like it would be better off having a one time purchase for the product, which brings all the remote control features and data access, but then a subscription level that adds data logging, scheduled actions, IFTT connections, etc... things that you will need to have a server running for.
I am also not a fan of lots of cost based add-ons. To me, these kinds of things might be OK if they are significant extras that realistically only a subset of owners would want (possibly race timing, g-force calculations, combining with data from the canbus, etc...),, but if they are "common features" that everyone is going to want then the extra fees feel like "bait and switch". tactics.
I am also not a fan of lots of cost based add-ons. To me, these kinds of things might be OK if they are significant extras that realistically only a subset of owners would want (possibly race timing, g-force calculations, combining with data from the canbus, etc...),, but if they are "common features" that everyone is going to want then the extra fees feel like "bait and switch". tactics.
Alex D
Member
I still don't understand the difference between Founder Access and Standard Access. Maybe we can have a little column overview which shows the differences between the two? Kind of like Demo or Full versions of software with checkmarks?
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Thank you for listening and meeting the community halfway.
I have kept the demo version installed and noticed that you are very vigilant about updates. This encouraged me to go ahead and purchase a founder's edition with camper mode. I'm looking forward to checking it out tonight.
I've tried all of the Android apps now, and I must say that your interface is by far the best. I'm so glad that "estimated" range (the range that really matters) is big and very readable.
I'm really looking forward to a widget that would display current car estimated range so I don't have to always open the app to check my car's current range.
Thanks for all of your obvious hard work. Can't wait to see where this goes.
I have kept the demo version installed and noticed that you are very vigilant about updates. This encouraged me to go ahead and purchase a founder's edition with camper mode. I'm looking forward to checking it out tonight.
I've tried all of the Android apps now, and I must say that your interface is by far the best. I'm so glad that "estimated" range (the range that really matters) is big and very readable.
I'm really looking forward to a widget that would display current car estimated range so I don't have to always open the app to check my car's current range.
Thanks for all of your obvious hard work. Can't wait to see where this goes.
Thanks for the explanation and for the one time payment structure offer.
I think the Summon should be included in standard as all the apps available offer this from what I can tell. Other than that I thank you for all you have done. Camper mode and speed, data logging, etc could be extra. I do think you are very diligent about updates. Not trying to be cheap, just trying to get you the biggest base right now which I think is what you want to perfect this app as we will be the ones using it and providing feedback. I have no problem looking down the line at spending $2 or so if a really cool new feature comes out that nobody else has.
One more style comment. If you have a Model X if possible have the display show a Model X not the generic Model S type vehicle you use now.
Yes, just to be clear, what comes in both packages because I'm about to just buy everything I can click on because I like you so much.
@Alex D , there is some confusion I'll try to clear up in a quick update later today. I like the idea of the feature check marks in a grid for each mode and access type. To be clear though, a 33% reduction in price is the only difference (for now) between Founder and Standard access. Going forward, I may opt to give special treatment to Founder's as well.
@Dstrohl , I agree, a subscription-based model will sit better with people once always-on services are offered. I understand the bait-and-switch concern, it's not my intention. This is how it is in my head, currently, each additional feature (speed clocking, advanced climate, & summon and homelink) is a significant extra in terms of functionality gained and time in development that only a subset of users may want.
My assessment is as follows- not everyone needs Summon & Homelink because they don't have the tech package on their Tesla. Not everyone needs Advanced Climate because Camper Mode and Cabin Temperature Protection (soon!) would never be used by them. Not everyone needs Speed Clocking because performance analysis does not matter to them.
I agree not to stick a price on every little feature, I don't feel I've gone down that dark path, but if you feel I'm being unreasonable, do tell.
@Mattzilla , thanks for the kind words and joining us! I feel you on the widgets, I constantly am reminded how useful they'd be when checking my phone. I promise that's in the works, I plan to have a multitude of widgets, charge monitoring and quick control access to name a few. Widgets will be free for all, I feel they're useful to everyone and should be included in the access price.
@Dstrohl , I agree, a subscription-based model will sit better with people once always-on services are offered. I understand the bait-and-switch concern, it's not my intention. This is how it is in my head, currently, each additional feature (speed clocking, advanced climate, & summon and homelink) is a significant extra in terms of functionality gained and time in development that only a subset of users may want.
My assessment is as follows- not everyone needs Summon & Homelink because they don't have the tech package on their Tesla. Not everyone needs Advanced Climate because Camper Mode and Cabin Temperature Protection (soon!) would never be used by them. Not everyone needs Speed Clocking because performance analysis does not matter to them.
I agree not to stick a price on every little feature, I don't feel I've gone down that dark path, but if you feel I'm being unreasonable, do tell.
@Mattzilla , thanks for the kind words and joining us! I feel you on the widgets, I constantly am reminded how useful they'd be when checking my phone. I promise that's in the works, I plan to have a multitude of widgets, charge monitoring and quick control access to name a few. Widgets will be free for all, I feel they're useful to everyone and should be included in the access price.
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