*Official Trapster Thread*

[Sean@trapster.com]

Overview: Trapster is a FREE app which alerts you of speed traps, red light and speed cameras, police check points, and other wallet hazards.

How Does Trapster Work?: http://trapster.com/presentation.php

Please let me know of any issues with the Trapster app.

Feel free to ask any questions.

Fastest way to reach me is to shoot me an email: Sean@trapster.com

Resources:

Trapster Blog

trapster (trapster) on Twitter

Are you a fan?:
http://faceook.com/trapster

If you do not have trapster, simply type in trapster.com on your mobile browser.

 

[pwabbit]

Nice app!

 

[cookiemonster79]

Not really an issue, but are you aware of any good write-ups comparing Waze and Trapster? I know they are not exactly the same, but it would seem that either a) the two should share data or b) the two will start to have similar features and become direct competition.

At the end of the day, the one that has more users in my area probably wins -- otherwise there is no useful data, which is the whole point of these types of applications.

 

[Dragoro]

The link at trapster.com doesn't work, have to search in the market

 

[B1ny]

It doesn't update data when it run in the background.

 

[soada101]

just installed and it keeps showing me that im in northern california.... im in dallas,tx..... ive uninstalled.... go to my location ..... nothing.... gps is on.... doesnt let u run app unless gps is ON sooooo yeah no work for me!

 

[Sean@trapster.com]

Thanks for the feedback. Keep it coming!

Not really an issue, but are you aware of any good write-ups comparing Waze and Trapster? I know they are not exactly the same, but it would seem that either a) the two should share data or b) the two will start to have similar features and become direct competition.

At the end of the day, the one that has more users in my area probably wins -- otherwise there is no useful data, which is the whole point of these types of applications.

No, I have not seen any articles comparing the two apps. Not sure of their numbers, but we have over 3 million users, and our app works worldwide.

The link at trapster.com doesn't work, have to search in the market

So you typed in trapster.com - Speed Trap Sharing System on your mobile browser, and trapster.com did not come up? I have tried to duplicate this bug here in the office, with no success. Keep me updated on this.

It doesn't update data when it run in the background.

Make sure you do not close the app when asked to run in background. Also "Police Often Hide Here" traps will not alert via audio by default. You can change this in the settings.

just installed and it keeps showing me that im in northern california.... im in dallas,tx..... ive uninstalled.... go to my location ..... nothing.... gps is on.... doesnt let u run app unless gps is ON sooooo yeah no work for me!

The problem you are describing is part of the functionality of the device. If we don't have a previous location and the GPS hasn't got a location yet (or from the network) we have to set an initial starting point. That point happens to be in San Fran. We have to set an initial point to start the application up. When the user restarts the application we retain the last location and use that as a starting point.

 

[B1ny]

Try it yourself, let it run in the background for a while and then approach a speedtrap.
It will not alert since it don't download new data when it runs in the background.
As soon as the data it have downloaded when it was in foreground is "used up", it will not alert any more until you put it in foreground so that it will download new data.
Its the same on both my HTC Hero with 1.5 and Acer Liquid with 1.6. It don't work in the backround on Android.
I have used the Symbian versions for over a year before I went over to Android so I know how it shall work. And I have tried all the Android versions for the last 6 months, all of them have had this bug.
Another thing is that all the Android versions for the last 6 months have FC after a while, this have happened on both my Hero and my Liquid.

Thanks for the feedback. Keep it coming!
Make sure you do not close the app when asked to run in background. Also "Police Often Hide Here" traps will not alert via audio by default. You can change this in the settings.

 

[jazzlsx]

just installed and it keeps showing me that im in northern california.... im in dallas,tx..... ive uninstalled.... go to my location ..... nothing.... gps is on.... doesnt let u run app unless gps is ON sooooo yeah no work for me!

I was having a similar problem on my Motorola Droid. I killed the App with TasKiller and then restarted it. On the restart, it found me with no problem.

 

[dougiesgoindeep]

just installed and it keeps showing me that im in northern california.... im in dallas,tx..... ive uninstalled.... go to my location ..... nothing.... gps is on.... doesnt let u run app unless gps is ON sooooo yeah no work for me!

Same thing here. Droid 2.0.1. I'm in Boston but it thinks I am in CA. Also the menu seems slow/buggy. When I quit the application closes but the service is still running.

edit: I take it all back. After closing the app and rebooting the phone everything seems to be in order. Also, the quit thing, I had the box checked to run in the background. I figured quit is quit, but apparently not. So I assume if I leave the box unchecked it will run in the background as long as I do not "quit" and just go back to the home screen or another app?

 

[B1ny]

The new version actually works in the background but it FC. Hope you manage to fix that as well.

 

[Sean@trapster.com]

The new version actually works in the background but it FC. Hope you manage to fix that as well.

Are you still seeing this issue?

 

[B1ny]

Yes it FC regularly

 

[Sean@trapster.com]

Yes it FC regularly

Hi b1ny,

Thanks for the feedback.

If you can give me specific details on when it forced closed, we can troubleshoot the issue more accurately.

Can you give me details on the exact path you are taking when it force closes?

 

[Gremlin]

There should be quick buttons for the police and mobile cameras.

Also maybe someday a web blog for audio and video reports could be setup for descriptions and details. Maybe parlay a venting and harassment section.

 

[Sean@trapster.com]

There should be quick buttons for the police and mobile cameras.

Also maybe someday a web blog for audio and video reports could be setup for descriptions and details. Maybe parlay a venting and harassment section.

Thanks for the suggestions!

For now, if you would like to add any comments on specific traps, you can do so on our website's trapmap: Trapster - Trapster Speed Trap Sharing System

Simply click on any trap, and then more info. You can even image tag actual enforcement cameras with google's streetview.

 

[Gremlin]

I was able to reproduce the California issue with the demo, but my reg account works fine. Ive also havent had any issues with the program at all.

The only complaint is battery usage but that could also be the GPS. Not that i need to worry about it because of the car charger, its the life of the battery i wonder about. I put a lot of miles on the phone so i do my best to keep it fresh.

Thanx for the info on the sharing system, i missed that.

 

[Sean@trapster.com]

I was able to reproduce the California issue with the demo, but my reg account works fine. Ive also havent had any issues with the program at all.

The only complaint is battery usage but that could also be the GPS. Not that i need to worry about it because of the car charger, its the life of the battery i wonder about. I put a lot of miles on the phone so i do my best to keep it fresh.

Thanx for the info on the sharing system, i missed that.

Thank you Gremlin.

We are aware of this bug and look for an update that will correct it soon.

 

[Gremlin]

Ive notice some reports are sticking around for weeks and came up with an idea id like to pass on.

Maybe after a week the report doesnt leave an icon on your screen per say (maybe add a filter) but all reports go into a record that highlights the map red for hot spot, yellow for some past reports and blue for a cold spot. This might be a good way to go anyways because the number of users are bound to grow, meaning the number of reports should follow.

With the reports being logged they can be built up with the sharing system. This will be useful of local and frequent visitors to certain hwys who can compile a report of traps and hotspots. For example on the 40 in Arizona the DPS likes to have a spotter hidden in deep cover with a buddy on an overpass waiting for the call. This kind of information can be shared but with the hot/cold highlights people can note that its probably a hideout rather then a cop in position.

With these added options with a community UI for the phone im sure a pay version would sell very well. The community setup could be monumental in keeping big brother in check so that like minded people can network and log the slippery slope.

 

[Sean@trapster.com]

I was able to reproduce the California issue with the demo, but my reg account works fine. Ive also havent had any issues with the program at all.

The only complaint is battery usage but that could also be the GPS. Not that i need to worry about it because of the car charger, its the life of the battery i wonder about. I put a lot of miles on the phone so i do my best to keep it fresh.

Thanx for the info on the sharing system, i missed that.

The problem you are describing is part of the functionality of the device. If we don't have a previous location and the GPS hasn't got a location yet (or from the network) we have to set an initial starting point. That point happens to be in San Fran. We have to set an initial point to start the application up.


When the user restarts the application we retain the last location and use that as a starting point.

 

[ScottAllyn]

Sean, as Gremlin says, a quick button for reporting live police would be handy. It currently takes too many taps on the screen (and glances down atthe screen) to report something.

I'd also like to see an option to have the display rotate so that the direction of travel is always "up" - I miss that feature from the iPhone.

 

[dougiesgoindeep]

Has anyone else had a problem with the GPS staying on after exiting the application? I have it set to NOT remain active after quitting. Yet the GPS icon remains on long after I have gone on to bigger and better things. I need to restart the phone in order to get things back to normal.

I would like to request a feature. Make use of the physical buttons (camera and volume rocker). For example, the camera button could be used to bring up the next speed trap and prompt a voice alert to read the description. The volume rocker can be used to scroll through upcoming traps along the route you are travelling. They would announce "in 1/2 mile, police often hide here". Then you press the volume down key and it says "in 10 miles, speed trap reported January 10th 2010 at 5PM". Or something like that. Make sure the volume rocker reverts back to its original designation (for volume) when not in the "alert preview mode" (that you get by pressing the camera button).

 

[Sean@trapster.com]

Sean, as Gremlin says, a quick button for reporting live police would be handy. It currently takes too many taps on the screen (and glances down atthe screen) to report something.

I'd also like to see an option to have the display rotate so that the direction of travel is always "up" - I miss that feature from the iPhone.

Got it, thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Sean@trapster.com]

Has anyone else had a problem with the GPS staying on after exiting the application? I have it set to NOT remain active after quitting. Yet the GPS icon remains on long after I have gone on to bigger and better things. I need to restart the phone in order to get things back to normal.

I would like to request a feature. Make use of the physical buttons (camera and volume rocker). For example, the camera button could be used to bring up the next speed trap and prompt a voice alert to read the description. The volume rocker can be used to scroll through upcoming traps along the route you are travelling. They would announce "in 1/2 mile, police often hide here". Then you press the volume down key and it says "in 10 miles, speed trap reported January 10th 2010 at 5PM". Or something like that. Make sure the volume rocker reverts back to its original designation (for volume) when not in the "alert preview mode" (that you get by pressing the camera button).

Hi dougiesgoindeep,

Make sure you have the latest version of trapster by downloading directly from trapster.com - Speed Trap Sharing System on your mobile browser. There was an issue with the GPS staying on, but it has been fixed in the latest update.

Thanks for the suggestion, we are getting a lot of feedback about adding a "quick" live police report option.

Thanks,

Sean

 

[Chuck1906]

I haven't used it in a while. It was giving me false information. Kept saying "Cops hide out here" in places where I know for a fact they don't hide out. I travel the same route to/from work so I should know! LOL! It also tells me where the Red light cameras are. I have not got it to tell me if a cop is running radar up ahead for me to slow down.