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Introducing Cover

coverscreen.tumblr.com

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Re: Introducing Cover

#2
Neat idea, elegantly executed. Exceeds the design standards typical of Android apps.

I've never liked Android's implementation of home/app screens (widgets + some apps, tap to reveal all your apps).

I guess if you want a lot of clocks, Android is great.

This adds another app/button layer...

Re: Introducing Cover

#4
This looks really slick!

How well does it work with some kind of lock-screen security? The UX for that is always a hassle, and I'd love to find someone who is doing it well.

Re: Introducing Cover

#6
Heh. What the Facebook phone could never be; useful.

It would be good to be able to define actions based on location (either by which wifi I connect to or GPS) - as well as time of day.

(I'd like to have my screen auto dim at 10PM)

Re: Introducing Cover

#8
post #5

This is a neat idea, however, I fail to see either why it requires so much funding ($1.7m according to TechCrunch) or any server backend whatsoever.

I agree with you. I like the idea and concept, but I prefer that apps like this actually let me do some of the teaching manually. Perhaps try to define the apps I want to appear at certain times of the day.

One of the reasons I stopped using Aviate was that I felt like their scenes just didn't really match what i was doing at the time.

Re: Introducing Cover

#9
post #8
post #5

This is a neat idea, however, I fail to see either why it requires so much funding ($1.7m according to TechCrunch) or any server backend whatsoever.

I agree with you. I like the idea and concept, but I prefer that apps like this actually let me do some of the teaching manually. Perhaps try to define the apps I want to appear at certain times of the day. One of the reasons I stopped using Aviate was that I felt like their scenes just didn't really match what i was doing at the time.

Just out of curiosity how long did you use Aviate for. I would assume their algorithm just keeps track of how many times you use an app at a specific location and then the premise would be after some amount of time it would reach a general consistency. To speed up that process It would be nice to be able to define a list of apps up front which have a greater weight and then hopefully it will reach a list of apps that you actually use over time.

Re: Introducing Cover

#10
post #5

This is a neat idea, however, I fail to see either why it requires so much funding ($1.7m according to TechCrunch) or any server backend whatsoever.

The real product here is almost certainly an analytics service. From Cover's privacy policy at https://www.coverscreen.com/privacy:

  Cover records the following items: 

  The list of apps installed on your phone, including which apps are
  on your homescreen and dock

  The number of times you run an app, including the time and place 
  where you ran it (specifically, the cell tower or wifi network you 
  were connected to, or that you were located within a geographic area 
  you identified such as home or work)

  The number of times you turn on your phone (i.e. view your Cover 
  lockscreen), and what you do subsequently: launch an app, slide open 
  the cover, or simply turn the screen back off (e.g. just glance at 
  the clock).

  Information from connected Bluetooth devices, such as the Bluetooth 
  device ID of your car.

  Information from the sensors in your phone, such as the 
  accelerometer, gyroscope, and GPS (though GPS is used exceptionally 
  sparingly in order to save your battery).

  The system starts to collect data as soon as you install Cover. The 
  data collection continues until you remove Cover from your phone. 

  The data is uploaded from your phone over a secured connection to 
  our servers.
Cover is tracking every app you launch on your phone, when you launch it, where you are when you launch it, and even what angle you're holding your phone when you launch it. Privacy concerns notwithstanding, sounds like valuable data.
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