The AJET - iConnect App (iOS & Android)

[Kagemusha]

The AJET - iConnect App is now available at the Apple App Store and Google Play Store for Android! It should be in every country available for FREE.

This is the app that has the info from the discontinued printed "JET Diary" as well as new stuff to help you with your everyday life in Japan.

This app was made to make your life in Japan easier and less stressful, whether you’re a JET Programme participant or just an English speaking foreign national living in Japan!

You’ll be reaching for your iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch or Android device all the time, knowing that this convenient app has all the information you’ll need for useful resource information, ways to Connect to AJET for their magazine, news and peer support, as well as a variety of handy Japanese language tools and phrases that you’ll need on-the-go! You’ll also appreciate the retina graphics on iPhone, iPod Touch and the new iPad!

For more information about the app go to: http://ajet.net/ios-app/

This app does require iOS 5.0+ or Android 2.0+, so keep that in mind.

Feel free to send any ideas, suggestions, content, etc. to app@ajet.net ! It can only get better with your help!

[AVN]

Love it! Thank you!

[Musashi]

We getting any Android love?

[Kagemusha]

Probably. It depends on how much time I have to learn/code it. Looking at it, I think it won't be too hard.

[Gizmotech]

Soooo.... Where would you like people to post bug reports/complaints/modifications/suggestions?

And how brutal would you like us to be in doing so? Carebear stare or ITIL honest?

[Kagemusha]

Yes, feel free to submit feedback at http://ajet.net/ios-app/support/ or app@ajet.net .

I'm always open to constructive criticism, suggestions, ideas, content you want submit, found bugs, etc. If you think something can be presented better or whatever, feel free to share your ideas. I'm fully open to good ideas; UI, content, whatever. Not sure what you mean by ITIL honest or Carebear Stare. You either give good feedback or bad feedback.

Let's talk about giving feedback for apps, while we're on the subject.

Good Feedback
Hey, I noticed you don't have a lot of buttons and machine translations in the Japanese section. Just clothes washing stuff. Could you add some more? I could really use some washing machine button translations and also for air conditioners.
(Requests more content specifically, isn't jerk about it)

Bad Feedback
This is pretty crappy. Why can't you make something like the BBC or USA Today app? They're much better. Also, you need more stuff.
(Not constructive at all. Why is it "crappy"? What "stuff" should be added?)

Here is also an example for the app store...

Great start, room for improvement
It's a really nice program and a great start for an [app] dedicated to JETs. It's especially helpful for people new to Japan and can't speak much Japanese.
There is still room for improvement. The feeds for lesson plans connect to a website that is not too easy to see on an iPhone. The emergency section only has English and romaji, adding Japanese characters would be easier to read.
The Japanese section is most useful with information that may be needed on a daily basis.
I gave it a 3 because it's a great start but still a lot of room to get better. Looking forward to some updates.

See? This person tells me changes which will improve the app and also what he/she liked as well. This is good feedback and they voted fairly based on their observation. Because of this good feedback, the next version will address some, if not all, of these issues the reviewer had. The reviewer didn't sugarcoat the issues, but wasn't rude about them either.

Also, how people come across will determine how seriously developers will take them. Being disrespectful or rude will cause an email to go in the trash and ignored. If a person can't be professional while giving feedback, why would anyone take them seriously?

So if anyone has any ideas or think something should be done different, by all means, let me know. While I can't please everyone, I'll try to make it as useful as I can.

[Terin317]

Looks cool. Would love to see an android version!

[Musashi]

Probably. It depends on how much time I have to learn/code it. Looking at it, I think it won't be too hard.

Sweet! Didn't realize you were doing the development yourself.

If you need help with Android, xda developer is a great resource.

[Kagemusha]

Probably. It depends on how much time I have to learn/code it. Looking at it, I think it won't be too hard.

Sweet! Didn't realize you were doing the development yourself.

If you need help with Android, xda developer is a great resource.

Wow, that is good resource. Thanks! Now I just need a phone to test with. :/
I'll probably send you a PM later on when I get a working app asking for beta testing help if you're up for it.

[Musashi]

For sure.

[Kagemusha]

You can download the newest version now, if you haven't already.
Update Notes for 1.1.0

-New Features-
The file types pdf, doc, xls, ppt, docx, xlsx, pptx, rtf, key, numbers, and pages now open in a separate applications.
For example, PDFs will now open in Safari and you can then save them to iBooks or your favorite app such as Dropbox, SkyDrive or GoodReader. The list of apps available will depend on what you have installed on your device.

-Updates and/or Fixes-
Updated the Emergency Number Phrases to include Hiragana and Kanji text. - Thanks Narasenbei
Changed the name of the calendar to make it more clear. More events will be added soon.
Fixed an additional term for "Fat Content" in the Japanese food section and added "carbohydrate" as another term - Thanks Alan
Made some icon changes to better represent sections.

-Content Added-
Added a contact button in the "Events Across Japan" section so you can send us events in your area to add to the calendar.
Added some more links for JETs to use.
Added TV and Air Conditioner Remote terms to the "Labels and Buttons" section. More to come!
_________________________________________

ANDROID USERS! DON'T DESPAIR!

The Android version of this app is about 98% done. I'll ask for volunteers to test it soon!

[mobiuschic42]

You can download the newest version now, if you haven't already.
Update Notes for 1.1.0

-New Features-
The file types pdf, doc, xls, ppt, docx, xlsx, pptx, rtf, key, numbers, and pages now open in a separate applications.
For example, PDFs will now open in Safari and you can then save them to iBooks or your favorite app such as Dropbox, SkyDrive or GoodReader. The list of apps available will depend on what you have installed on your device.

-Updates and/or Fixes-
Updated the Emergency Number Phrases to include Hiragana and Kanji text. - Thanks Narasenbei
Changed the name of the calendar to make it more clear. More events will be added soon.
Fixed an additional term for "Fat Content" in the Japanese food section and added "carbohydrate" as another term - Thanks Alan
Made some icon changes to better represent sections.

-Content Added-
Added a contact button in the "Events Across Japan" section so you can send us events in your area to add to the calendar.
Added some more links for JETs to use.
Added TV and Air Conditioner Remote terms to the "Labels and Buttons" section. More to come!
_________________________________________

ANDROID USERS! DON'T DESPAIR!

The Android version of this app is about 98% done. I'll ask for volunteers to test it soon!

I'm down for Android testing! I'm a web developer (for the next 2 months, anyway!), so hopefully I'll be able to give some constructive info. And if you want any development/bug fixing help, feel free to shoot me a PM!

[merkypie]

I'm also a web dev and an Android user, so I can give you some constructive criticism on the Android version of the app too. Will the app be able to move to the SD card? Android devices vary on storage unless they're rooted and the user managed to get rid of all the bloatware.

[Takoyaki]

oh wow this is great!

[Kagemusha]

I'm also a web dev and an Android user, so I can give you some constructive criticism on the Android version of the app too. Will the app be able to move to the SD card? Android devices vary on storage unless they're rooted and the user managed to get rid of all the bloatware.

It's only about 5MBs, so it shouldn't take up too much space. I don't know it can be be installed on the SD card, but lesson plans, PDFs, and etc seem to download to the SD Card. I only have one person who installed it so far as a test, so I'll ask him where it ended up. I don't have a physical phone to test myself, just the dev emulator. Thanks for letting me know about this concern.

For others interested, you need 2.0 or higher. After a small amount of internal people test it, I'll make a call for more testers here. I want it to be tested on a variety of Android devices before it goes to the store (for free of course). I'm adding more content to the iPhone/iPad one soon and the Android version should debate with the new content as well and then kept in sync as new content comes in.

Here is a couple of screenshots, as it stands now. The only thing really changing is the iPhone image in the "Contact Numbers" section will be an Android one.