The Chainlink

App: A bike map and guide for Chicagoland

Consider this: You like to use the Chicago Bike Map but you don't always carry it with you. You want to be reminded of where the bike lanes and trail access points are. But you do carry your smartphone with you, all the time. 

In April 2012 I launched my first-ever app, the Chicago Bike Guide. It works similarly to the "Chicago Bike Map" (the City's printed one) in that it shows the presence of on-street bike lanes, multi-use trails, and train stations. It works like Google Maps, though, where you can pinch and zoom to interact with the map. 

Divvy, train stations, directions, The Chainlink, Twitter, points of interest, it's all right here. 

Available for Android and iOS. 

Routing on the Chicago Bike Guide

Views: 3850

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on January 3, 2013 at 4:43pm

I think I had that listed in some TODO list but forgot about. The next version will have three RSS feeds integrated: mine, Lawyer Jim Freeman's blog, and The Chainlink's latest posts. 

I will see about including The Chainlink calendar. Thank you for the suggestion!

Tony Adams 6.6 mi said:

Forgive me if this has already been asked/suggested Steve, but have you considered integrating Chainlink events on the app? Now that Cal's is gone, I'm probably not gonna know where bar night is...

Permalink Reply by JMinHP on January 4, 2013 at 7:56am

Shoot me a PM to meet up.  I have the phone with me at my office in River North, and my bike commute takes me north to Lakeview so I can make a stop anywhere.

Steven Vance said:

I will borrow it and keep care of it. I have a SIM card that will work in it if needed. 

JM 6.5 said:

I'll volunteer up my rooted and unlocked T-Mobile G2 running cyanogenmod, if it would work for you. A couple of things:

3) I only ask that I get the phone back at some point.  It's my back-up should I lose my current phone.

Permalink Reply by Marcus on January 5, 2013 at 3:39pm

I finally got around to reading this thread, and I immediately bought the app. I'll be sure to keep you informed of my personal experience! Thanks for putting so much work into this.

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on January 7, 2013 at 1:05pm

I've got an Android now. Someone off-list had one. I'll work with that before I see if I might need another one. Thank you for all of the offers, especially "JM" who I was going to contact really soon. I am readying v0.6 for iOS to be submitted Tuesday (tomorrow) - I thought it was going to be a map and bug maintenance update, but I was able to throw in some new features as well. More details on the blog.

After issuing this update, I will crack down on getting an Android version out the door. By the way, initially, the Android version will only be sold in the Amazon App Store - read why here. If you want it then, you will have to download the Amazon App Store app from Google Play and then follow its instructions on how to allow it to install apps.

This is your last chance to get suggested points of interest into the app. If you've suggested something before and they are not in, that means it's not the right time. I have some ideas for how to incorporate some of the suggestions in a new feature, but that's long term. You can see current POIs on this page. Bike shops are not listed as I have a different strategy for what to do (as you might guess, it involves attempting to sell them a spot). 

Permalink Reply by JMinHP on January 7, 2013 at 1:09pm

Glad you got one to work with.

Steven Vance said:

I've got an Android now. Someone off-list had one. I'll work with that before I see if I might need another one. Thank you for all of the offers, especially "JM" who I was going to contact really soon. I am readying v0.6 for iOS to be submitted Tuesday (tomorrow) - I thought it was going to be a map and bug maintenance update, but I was able to throw in some new features as well. More details on the blog.

After issuing this update, I will crack down on getting an Android version out the door. By the way, initially, the Android version will only be sold in the Amazon App Store - read why here. If you want it then, you will have to download the Amazon App Store app from Google Play and then follow its instructions on how to allow it to install apps.

This is your last chance to get suggested points of interest into the app. If you've suggested something before and they are not in, that means it's not the right time. I have some ideas for how to incorporate some of the suggestions in a new feature, but that's long term. You can see current POIs on this page. Bike shops are not listed as I have a different strategy for what to do (as you might guess, it involves attempting to sell them a spot). 

Permalink Reply by william on January 7, 2013 at 1:12pm
can you upload the .apk somewhere for those that know how to install unknown sources but have no interest in using the amazon store? a simple public dropbox link would be easy enough.

also, why the 50mb+ size? thats massive.
Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on January 7, 2013 at 1:42pm

I would need a way to charge for this and protect the app from being pirated. 

The app is ~85 MB because the entire map is stored in the device. It used to be 150+ MB until I figured out how to compress the map tile images. The app's prominent feature is that it's "offline": a large majority of features work without an active data connection. 

william said:

can you upload the .apk somewhere for those that know how to install unknown sources but have no interest in using the amazon store? a simple public dropbox link would be easy enough.

also, why the 50mb+ size? thats massive.
Permalink Reply by william on January 7, 2013 at 2:36pm
10 4
looking forward to the android version.
Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on January 13, 2013 at 11:43pm

New feature to be included: geotagged photos based on where you're located.

With this new feature, and some basic weather notifications, I am delaying the publication of version 0.6. The map tiles have been updated but I am now working out the bugs of the photos and weather features, as well as finalizing the points of interest. 

In the future, I will be considering ways to not have to issue "app store" updates but be able to update certain parts of the app from the web (while still maintaining the "offline" aspect that was the basis for developing the app originally). 

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on February 4, 2013 at 3:01pm

So, Android update: I had to give back the Android device I had. Still not ready to get another one to test. I got a new computer so some processes can happen a little faster. 

The app is on sale for 50% off right now until I issue the next version. Read the blog for some new features. I've tested routing, but it's not going to be ready for primetime. 

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on April 12, 2013 at 4:23pm

Version 0.6 is out. It has the following changes:

  • Routing: Get a visual indicator on which path to take to your destination. In beta.
  • Updated map: Now retina compatible; includes the latest bike lanes; adds streets with sharrows and identifies the Boulevards' service drives as "slow streets"; new icons. 
  • Flickr integration: See #bikeCHI photos that were taken near you.
  • Enhanced Twitter integration: shows photos in the tweet.
  • Blogs: Read updates from Lawyer Jim Freeman (an app sponsor), and the official app blog.
  • Discussion threads from The Chainlink
  • Upcoming events from The Chainlink
  • Find Fuel: Lists highly rated taquerias to keep your Miles Per Burrito up. 
  • Updated points of interest, which now includes Amtrak, Greyhound, and Megabus stations.
  • Map displays bike rental locations and contact information
  • Enhancements to Theft Prevention and DIY Repair Stand pages
  • Two-day, simple weather forecast

Download or buy now.

I have some bad news for Android users: I have no timeline for an Android version. I would welcome any assistance from Android app developers (who want to donate their time or get some token payment). I have been spending time on developing features over developing the Android version. It's likely just a hump I need to get over as the codebase is 99% the same. 

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on April 12, 2013 at 4:51pm

While I don't really need this app for my Android (Gmaps works pretty well and I don't have an issue with bandwidth for the rest of that stuff) the one thing that looks REALLY cool that I wish I could get is a decent mobile interface to The Chainlink.  

It's been ages since the mobile versions of this site were deactivated and I really miss them.   

That one feature of this iApp makes me iWant to go iBuy another iPhone again (iAlmost) -but then...iNot. 

RSS

Groups

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service