With more than a million minutes of baby monitoring the app has made quite some impact by now. I do have ideas for improvements and enhancements - but I am also looking for your thoughts. Please let me know how the app can be improved and what features you need added.
I created a page for feature voting on Productific.
Showing posts with label About the App. Show all posts
Showing posts with label About the App. Show all posts
Oct 19, 2018
Oct 20, 2015
Room Temperature
Last weekend we stayed at a friend's place. He has one of those automatic, timer controlled heatings. It was set to energy saving mode which means it turns down the heating at night time, when people usually go to sleep. Of course we stayed up a little longer, didn't notice the energy saving mode and our little guy, who went to bed as usual, got pretty cold. Long story short: the Baby Monitor app needs to check the room temperature. Some devices have a temperaute sensor which can easily be accessed, that’s a quick one to have in the app.
Oct 15, 2015
Whoomp, there it is
There it is: a simple baby monitoring app. Complexity bootstrapped to the minimum needed to monitor a baby over wifi. The app is available on Google Play now.
Aug 10, 2015
Noise Filter
Usually I want to omit background noise and be alarmed only when my baby cries. Because I'm not actively listening all the time, I only want to be alarmed when there is a loud sound. That makes a noise filter an obvious feature choice. As a pleasant side effect the data can undergo a supreme compression with a noise filter active.
Though, sometimes I also want to check on the breathing or be able to hear street noise so I know what's going on. Just to be safe, the more insight I can have the better things are.
With that I want the app to have a noise filter that can be switched on/off. Usually the filter is active to cancel any background noise. I'll switch it off when I want to check what really goes on, all the little sounds and noise.
Though, sometimes I also want to check on the breathing or be able to hear street noise so I know what's going on. Just to be safe, the more insight I can have the better things are.
With that I want the app to have a noise filter that can be switched on/off. Usually the filter is active to cancel any background noise. I'll switch it off when I want to check what really goes on, all the little sounds and noise.
Jun 2, 2015
Complexity: I want it simple
When I first checked for monitoring apps to use I ran into a few interesting listings in Google Play.
Some of these were subscription-based apps where the user needs to compensate for using server resources, the apps offer monitoring via mobile network. Right now I only need monitoring via wifi, because I'll stay in my place while the little guy sleeps. Or, at most, I'll visit my neighbours where my wifi is available. So the app should be free.
Other apps offer wifi monitoring for free but are totally overloaded with configuration and tuning options, let alone their questionalbe user interface design. Neither do I want to go through lengthy configuration and tuning, nor do I want a user interface which is impossible to use while being in a mental state of half-sleeping-half-awake (parents will know what this is about). The app should be simple and easy to use.
Do I need automated phone-calls to alert me when something goes on? Nope, just wifi monitoring.
Do I need video monitoring? Nope, not now, in the room it's dark anyway.
Do I need talk-back? Nope, not now, I can walk over to the other room and be there myself.
Want I want is not available on Google Play - so I should definitely build it myself...
Some of these were subscription-based apps where the user needs to compensate for using server resources, the apps offer monitoring via mobile network. Right now I only need monitoring via wifi, because I'll stay in my place while the little guy sleeps. Or, at most, I'll visit my neighbours where my wifi is available. So the app should be free.
Other apps offer wifi monitoring for free but are totally overloaded with configuration and tuning options, let alone their questionalbe user interface design. Neither do I want to go through lengthy configuration and tuning, nor do I want a user interface which is impossible to use while being in a mental state of half-sleeping-half-awake (parents will know what this is about). The app should be simple and easy to use.
Do I need automated phone-calls to alert me when something goes on? Nope, just wifi monitoring.
Do I need video monitoring? Nope, not now, in the room it's dark anyway.
Do I need talk-back? Nope, not now, I can walk over to the other room and be there myself.
Want I want is not available on Google Play - so I should definitely build it myself...
May 31, 2015
Electromagnetic Pollution
Radiation is being talked about a lot these days. The more you read the less you know, only this seems clear: less electromagnetic radiation is better. I want my baby monitor to be as low-radiation as possible. Using wifi and doing as little network traffic as possible seems a clear goal. Which only reinforces my choice to have my own app for this.
Further reading:
Further reading:
- Some general considerations about baby monitors and their long term risks
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/get-those-wireless-baby-monitors-out-of-the-nursery/ - A comparison of baby monitor devices [in German]
http://www.oekotest.de/cgi/index.cgi?artnr=102041
May 18, 2015
I'm a dad now, I need a baby monitor
Becoming parent is a blast. Your life changes quite a bit and suddenly there is someone you are taking care of all the time. You buy the usual stuff: diapers, toys and clothes. You worry about what else you need. A baby monitor is an obvious purchase, all parents seem to use one. Obviously. Because you want to know how your baby's doing without the need to stay in the same room or appartment.
Already having multiple smartphones in the family, I figured using these smartphones as a baby monitor is a smart idea. There should be an app for this. Buying separate baby monitor radio devices is possible, though I wouldn't want additional pieces of hardware floating around in our place - they tend to get lost in my appartment, need to be carried when traveling and need extra battery supply. So I went to check for baby monitor apps on Google Play: many available but nothing really fits my needs. I want the app to be free, I need it on wifi only and I don't want the complexity of tenthousand settings to manage.
Maybe I should build one myself?
Already having multiple smartphones in the family, I figured using these smartphones as a baby monitor is a smart idea. There should be an app for this. Buying separate baby monitor radio devices is possible, though I wouldn't want additional pieces of hardware floating around in our place - they tend to get lost in my appartment, need to be carried when traveling and need extra battery supply. So I went to check for baby monitor apps on Google Play: many available but nothing really fits my needs. I want the app to be free, I need it on wifi only and I don't want the complexity of tenthousand settings to manage.
Maybe I should build one myself?
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