[APP][2.2+] Impel - easily and automatically do things

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mstroud

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Jan 3, 2012
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impel_banner.jpg


Impel is an automation and task creation utility for your phone or your tablet running Android 2.1 through 4.0.

Unlike other utilities, Impel is designed to be simple to use, easy to maintain, very low on memory consumption and polite to system resources (runs as a service or as an app - you choose). Root features are available but it runs just fine without root (su features will be hidden). It is worth noting that on Galaxy Nexus devices there is a force close issue if you use the lock screen camera button. We know about this issue and are working on a fix for this now.

Give Impel a try and see if you like it, then let us know. We're a small developer with some great talent and fast feedback response times, we're just looking for more customers and feedback. There are two versions of the app available in two different storefronts:

Free version with in-app Plus upgrade (no ads) :
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.phase2i.impel

Plus version only :
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mas/dl/android?p=com.phase2i.impel

Full details and features list :
http://impel.phase2i.com/

Product Video :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4dosbj1F8M
 
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buzzboy

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Oct 29, 2010
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I like it. The U.I is much friendlier when compared to a "Similar ;) " app.

May have to upgrade now. I like it.

Thanks and regards
 
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mstroud

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Hmm, interesting feedback on the memory usage. Is that 34MB while in use and the UI isn't being shown? I think there is something odd happening there.

I would be curious to know your device, OS and task setup. By comparison my heavily loaded Impel with 11 tasks using all types of receivers is only 6.9MB while running in app mode. The most I've ever seen Impel use in recent versions is 11MB. My goto, daily device is a Galaxy Nexus running 4.0.2 with Impel 1.1.0 on it.
 
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Hmm, interesting feedback on the memory usage. Is that 34MB while in use and the UI isn't being shown? I think there is something odd happening there.

I would be curious to know your device, OS and task setup. By comparison my heavily loaded Impel with 11 tasks using all types of receivers is only 6.9MB while running in app mode. The most I've ever seen Impel use in recent versions is 11MB. My goto, daily device is a Galaxy Nexus running 4.0.2 with Impel 1.1.0 on it.

I got a SGS i9000 with a stock modded (themed and lmk tweaked) JVZ 2.3.6, i haven't got any oyher memory issue and i use very few apps to limit services.
Impel set up as "Quiet", UI closed with sgs task manager (so really closed).

My tasks are :
2 tasks to set media volume with headset plug in or out.
2 tasks to set autosync on/off when power is plugged in/out !

Edit : just retried, 25mo in memory for the processus !

-------------------------
GT-I9000 | SauRom JVZ DEODEXED | Semaphore Kernel Powered
 
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mstroud

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Very odd. How are you determining the memory in use by Impel on your device?

One other thing to check against is to set Impel to disable the tasks and see what is reported then. From within Impel, press Menu, Settings, and check Disable all tasks and exit to the launcher. In this state Impel will have shutdown all services and removed everything from a running state. In essence, it should not be around in memory at all when you reach the home screen.

If your phone still reports Impel as using memory at this point, the memory usage issue lies outside of our control.
 

mstroud

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linar10,

We haven't yet provided localized versions for any language, but I will add your request to the list. I would imagine that there would be other languages in the queue ahead of Polish due to the distribution of the app, however. I just want to set expectations appropriately.

As a more general question to the XDA forum, how do most apps from small developers handle localization? It is quite costly to do this work for apps that haven't made much money (that includes Impel at this point) and it seems that most apps are English or developer-native-language only that we see on the Android Market. Are there well known ways to get translations for less that actually are useful?
 

polobunny

Senior Member
Oct 25, 2011
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Montreal
This looks promising. Will try later tonight if I have time.

As for localization, I've done many translations of software from English to French on different platforms free of charge (or nearly).

I've seen others do the same, I think you'd be surprised to see how many people are ready to translate software, given that you provide them with an easy to use solution/way of translating strings and seeing the changes made. :)

I've done games and apps translations in the past and I've been rewarded with the software itself for free (plus credits for translation) or a small monetary compensation in the form of a cheque or gift card. Good enough incentives in my opinion, I absolutely HATE when a developer uses google translate or any other automatic translation tool for their software.
 

mstroud

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Jan 3, 2012
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OK, thanks for the feedback on the translation work. We will have to look into this for Impel at some point in the future. We don't yet have a way to give away Plus versions of the app, or comp someone who buys it, but that may be possible in the future.

Getting folks to do translations for free, and not put nonsense or bad words into those translations, is certainly a big concern. Not sure how everyone else handles those cases but it is something I worry about.
 

polobunny

Senior Member
Oct 25, 2011
6,223
2,312
Montreal
OK, thanks for the feedback on the translation work. We will have to look into this for Impel at some point in the future. We don't yet have a way to give away Plus versions of the app, or comp someone who buys it, but that may be possible in the future.

Getting folks to do translations for free, and not put nonsense or bad words into those translations, is certainly a big concern. Not sure how everyone else handles those cases but it is something I worry about.

Makes sense, I imagine you can counter verify by having more than one translator working on one language.

I don't think this issue has ever popped up in the past though, as unlikely as it seems. Some people simply have nice intentions. :p
 
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mstroud

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polobunny, thanks for the input. Perhaps we'll call on you to help us with French at some point in the future, then :)
 

mstroud

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Jan 3, 2012
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Hello again from the Impel HQ.

For those folks who would like to help test and provide feedback on an updated version of Impel, we have a release candidate for you to take a look at. A couple of fixes and additions have made it into this version, but no major features. Here's what's inside:
  • Fixed a crash when using the "camera swipe unlock" feature on Galaxy Nexus Android 4.x devices
  • Fixed a crash with the "network only" location provider service (not using GPS)
  • Fixed the color picker for very high dpi (Galaxy Nexus, Tablets) devices
  • Added a new setting: Location Services - restrict Impel to just GPS, just Network, or both
  • Added detailed location logging into the logcat stream
This build is an install-over-the-top version for Android Market customers only. Sorry about that, Amazon Appstore customers, but there is no way to do beta releases for your version at this time.

If you have Impel Plus, DO NOT uninstall Impel prior to installing this version or you WILL LOSE Plus functions. If you are a free customer this app works the same as your existing Impel does.

For people who want to see what Impel sees when it asks for locations, use your favorite logcat reader (ours is Catlog) and filter for Impel. You will see what Impel is seeing when it asks for a location from your device. The location data works like this:
  • Ask the device for all location services that are available: GPS and Network (WiFi and cell towers)
  • Device responds with all services and their accuracy level. The lower the number, the more accurate the service
  • Impel automatically chooses the most accurate service and gets the location data. This data is provided in Lat/Long format. This data can be dropped right into Google Maps to show exactly where the device thinks it is currently

Please give this a test and tell us what you think. We look forward to your feedback. Thanks!
 
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mstroud

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Hello again. We've taken some more feedback in and have made some additional fixes and updates based on customer input:

* Fixed a crash when using the "camera swipe unlock" feature on Galaxy Nexus Android 4.x devices
* Fixed a crash with the "network only" location provider service (not using GPS)
* Fixed the color picker for very high dpi (Galaxy Nexus, Tablets) devices
* Fixed a WiFi receiver crash in location services
* Added a new setting: Location Services - restrict Impel to just GPS, just Network, or both
* Added detailed location logging into the logcat stream
* Added in-app logging of tasks in chronological order
* Added an additional boot-start permission to fix cases where Impel doesn't always auto-start

Grab a copy of the APK from post #2 and let us know how it works for you. Note: this version is meant to be installed on top of an existing Impel setup from the Android Market only. Amazon Appstore customers cannot use the betas, sorry.
 

mstroud

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Jan 3, 2012
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We just released, posted and are starting to see the first bits of version 1.1.1 trickling out into the Android Market. Amazon Appstore folks will have to wait a bit longer for the approval process to see the new bits.

Our thanks goes out to those of you who tried the beta and gave us feedback. It was invaluable and you will find your fixes made it into this release version.

For all the details take a quick look over at our release notes post on our web site. The highlights are below for your perusal:

  • New setting: Location Services - restrict Impel to use GPS, Network or both
  • Added detailed location logging into the logcat stream
  • New stats: Task history shows a chronological list of when tasks were last run
  • New permission: additional boot-start permission to fix cases where Impel won't always auto-start
  • Fixed a crash when using the "camera swipe unlock" feature on Galaxy Nexus Android 4.x devices
  • Fixed "add widget" text to be correct for Android 4.x devices
  • Fixed a crash with the "network only" location provider service (not using GPS)
  • Fixed the color picker for very high dpi (Galaxy Nexus, Tablets) devices
  • Fixed a WiFi receiver crash in location services
  • General Fixes - some little issues were found and improved upon

Let us know what you think of it, we do hope you'll like it.
 

mstroud

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Jan 3, 2012
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Sunnyvale
We've had quite a few people ask us "what is Impel" and "what can it do?"

So we put together a short, 30 second video with some highlights to explain it. Take a look and see for yourself what Impel can do.

Watch what can Impel do? on YouTube.
 
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mstroud

Senior Member
Jan 3, 2012
500
696
Sunnyvale
Hello there folks. We have had some customers periodically contact us, saying that Impel will lose all of their tasks at some interval (e.g. every week, every few days, etc.). We have researched this issue but have so far been unable to determine the cause and we have not seen this issue on any of our test devices.

We don't know if this issue impacts only a few people (since we've gotten just a handful of emails) or many. So, if you have this issue please contact us! It is very important that we capture all of the details of your device, your tasks, and the exact situations where this task loss occurs. Without your assistance we will continue to look for the issue, but it will be a much slower and more painful fixing process.

Thanks for your help and patience.
 

peterevans9

Member
Apr 26, 2007
10
2
widgets

Are there any plans to introduce App Icons for task widgets?
Would like to set up a widget activated task to turn on WiFi then launch. Play store but using the play store icon.
Tasker does this but I don't like the app, UI is too complicated.
 

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