Archive
New Brightkite Nokia app, includes Group Text
June 14th, 2010
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We just released a new version of our Nokia (Symbian) application in the Ovi store. This is our first major update and contains a bunch of newness:
Group Text
Nokia users now join iPhone & Blackberry, Mobile web and SMS users with the ability to use Group Text. Group Text allows users to text up to 25 people at once – when one person replies, everyone gets the message.
Likes
You can now Like posts, just like you can on the web
Photo Library integration
Now you can post photos from your Photo Library – not just ones you take with your camera.
Comment and Mention streams
Now you have dedicated areas in which you can see your comments and mentions
Better battery and GPS usage
We’ve changed the way the app accesses GPS on the phone, which enhances battery Life.
Bug fixes
Assorted tweaks, enhancements and fixes
Download the free updated app today from the Ovi Store. It’s available for these Nokia devices:
Brightkite’s Nokia app is built by the wonderous Jay Mattila, famous for his high class underpants.
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Posted by lanky at 4:04 PM in Apps
5 comments
Latest Brightkite Blackberry app Released, featuring Group Text
May 11th, 2010
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myKite, the Brightkite app for Blackberry has just released a major 2.0 upgrade featuring Group Text and a slug of other cool features. Blackberry users now join those using Group Text on iPhone, iPod Touch, text messaging, the web, and mobile web. Group Text allows users to text up to 25 people at once – when one person replies, everyone gets the message.
myKite 2.0 also includes split Facebook and Twitter sharing, so you can decide which of your other social networks to share to post-by-post or checkin-by-checkin. This functionality was released last week on our Android app.
Other features include:
* A slick new UI for Storm devices
* Added ‘friends on the town’ for the Storm Devices.
* Added Friends/Fans/Everyone to the friend list.
* Filtering of Friends/Fans/Everyone
* New welcome screen with simplified settings
With new sharing options, filtering and an enhanced UI for Blackberry Storm users, myKite 2.0 is a must-have upgrade for any Brightkite user with a Blackberry. You can see the full Changelog here.
myKite 2.0 is a free download from Blackberry App World.
myKite is built by the amazing Chris Hallgren. Please make sure to thank Chris for his efforts – he does an incredible job working on myKite and we love him dearly for it. Nice one Chris!
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Posted by adam at 11:32 AM in Apps, Blackberry, Uncategorized
1 comment
Parafoil launches! Brightkite for Palm WebOS
January 22nd, 2010
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Palm Pre and Pixie users no longer have to look jealously at their friends with iPhones, Blackberry‘s and Android phones. We all owe a huge debt of thanks to Brightkite users barkerja and kylepauljohnson who have built Parafoil – a native Brightkite app for the Palm webOS.
You can download the app from Palm, starting today. For more information on Parafoil, see their site or follow them on Twitter or Facebook.
Today is also barkerja‘s birthday – so as well as thanking him for Parafoil, be sure to cut him a slice of cake, pour him a glass of something, or tickle his ferret. Happy birthday John!
Thanks once again to John and Kyle. Screenshots of Parafoil below:
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Posted by lanky at 2:06 PM in Apps, Mobile
11 comments
Learn how we built the Brightkite iPhone app
December 10th, 2009
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Like the Brightkite iPhone app? You can get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at our design process and thinking in the recently released book iPhone User Interface Design Projects. Chapter 3, which is exclusively dedicated to the Brightkite iPhone app, covers such topics as:
- web vs native app
- the motivation behind using tab navigation
- why we redesigned the entire signup process just before release
- how we accomplished virtually infinite detail drill-down without running out of memory
- best practices for address book integration
The chapter covers the Brightkite 1.0 iPhone version, so some stuff has changed since then, but all of it is still relevant. Thanks to Dan Burcaw of Double Encore for writing this up…you rock!
You can purchase the book on Amazon.com.
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Posted by Martin at 1:26 PM in Apps, Brightkite, Mobile, iPhone
4 comments
iPhone & Android update: Inbox, Comments, Mentions…
August 19th, 2009
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Many of you have mentioned and commented that you would like to see, well, “Comments and Mentions” in iPhone and Android apps. In this release we’ve added brand new Inbox which allows you to follow your tracked comments and see who has mentioned you. Read about the new Inbox and other enhancements below!
Here’s whats new in the iPhone app:
- New Inbox. One place to check on new messages, comments, and mentions – when people mention your username in a post.
- Links in notes and photo posts are now clickable
- Various bug fixes
Here’s whats new in the Android app: (Scan the barcode with your phone to download the app)
- Exciting new Android-style icon! Enjoy!
- New Inbox. One place to check on new messages, comments, and mentions – when people mention your username in a post.
- Improved location handling. The app should now find your location much better even when conditions aren’t optimal.
- Device Settings. In the Settings menu, there is now a Device Settings section which will control things that effect the device. Currently you can change how often to check for new messages, comments, and mentions, which will help conserve battery life.
- Various bug fixes
Speaking of iPhone…we’re excited to tell you our friends over at 360|Conferences are having their next 360|iDev Conference right here in our back yard! The 3-day event will take place at in Denver, CO September 27 to 30, 2009. Tickets are $499 and there’s a special 10% discount for Brightkite users! Just enter the discount code “ brightkiterocks ” when you purchase your tickets.
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Posted by Brady Becker at 1:45 PM in Android, Apps, iPhone
16 comments
Brightkite Now Available in the Android Market!
June 25th, 2009
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We have exciting news for our Android users — Brightkite is now available in the Android market! This is our latest application, after our iPhone app, and we have extended the user experience and functionality to the Android platform while taking advantage of the features that are unique to Android. As TechCrunch mentioned, we have an even smoother interface and we’ve added some cool, new features. The Android app includes integrated Google Maps and background notifications, so now you won’t need to open the app to know you have a direct message or friend request!
To quote TechCrunch: “If you liked what you saw of the iPhone app, you’ll probably like the Android app just as much — if not more.”
As with all things Brightkite, the app can be downloaded for free – so stop by the Android Market and check it out! Please don’t hesitate to give us your feedback — we’d love to hear what you think!
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Posted by Lesley Yarbrough at 4:50 PM in Android, Apps, Brightkite, Mobile
9 comments
User-created BlackBerry App Goes Open Source
June 1st, 2009
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We really cannot thank Brightkite user Chris Hallgren enough for choosing to create a Blackberry application by himself, using our public API. BrightBerry , which is available here, has been quite the hit with our community — offering most of the basic functionality that makes Brightkite on the go so much fun.
Currently, you can use the app to:
- View and navigate your streams (Friends, Nearby, Universe, Mentions, and User)
- Post a Note to your current location
- Check in to Placemarks
- Send and receive Direct Messages
- View and post comments on a post
You can also check-in via GPS and via Place Search, but both of those still need some tweaking. This is a big undertaking for one person, so Chris has decided to make the app open source and we’re hoping that there might be a developer or two out there with some free time that would be willing to contribute.
In addition to GPS and Place Search check-ins, the following things are still being worked on:
- Posting photos from camera capture and media viewer
- Sending and responding to Friend Requests
- Creation of Placemarks
- Viewing a Place Stream
- Improving load times on streams
- Creating a better GUI based on the iPhone app
We would love to see this become a full-featured application and we are reaching out to you, one of the best communities out there, to lend a hand to one of your fellow Brightkiters.
Again, a big thanks to Chris and all the hard work he has put into BrightBerry, he has certainly made a lot of our users happy.
Here are a few links with more information about the app:
Main Website – http://bbhn.mobi
GitHub Repository – http://github.com/challgren/brightberry
Brightkite Profile – http://brightkite.com/people/BrightBerry
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Posted by Lesley Yarbrough at 8:20 PM in API, Apps, Blackberry, Community
8 comments
Cross-post Your Photos to Flickr, with Optional Geotagging
December 24th, 2008
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Have a Flickr account? We’ve just added the ability to cross-post your photos to Flickr, with optional geotagging.
To set up Flickr cross-posting:
- On Brightkite visit your Account Settings, click on the Sharing tab.
- Scroll down and authorize Flickr.
- Choose your Flickr cross-posting options and click save. To enable geotagging on your Flickr map check “Tag photos with location”.
Brightkite photos cross-posted to Flickr will have the place name as the photo title and the caption as the photo description. Geotagged photos will appear on your Flickr map.
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Posted by Brady Becker at 10:35 AM in Apps, Visualizations
13 comments
Brightkite for iPhone (v1.1) Better, Faster and Open
December 15th, 2008
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Brightkite for iPhone version 1.1 is now in the app store. Download it now!
Brightkite for iPhone v1.1 delivers a number of great updates. Here’s what’s new:
- Ability to sign up through the app
- Larger radius options on Nearby Stream
- Lots of new settings
- Friend discovery via Address Book
- Invite users using email or phone number
- Ability to join users
- View more information on friend requests
- More control over place snapping
- Have the app open from SMS notification URLs
- Simplified “I am” screen
- Check in from place screens
- Lots of bug fixes, performance improvements and tweaks
Better location finding, improved performance and simplified “I Am” screen.
In this release you will notice the “I Am” screen got a small facelift. Due to some place snapping enhancements, we were able to simplify this screen. We’ve also added a somewhat advanced feature to dismiss a guessed location. Simply swipe across the guessed location (as shown below) and Brightkite will display your last checked in place. This becomes useful in large venues such as airports or conference centers in which the guessed location may return a different value. Additionally it can be useful for “lying” and posting at places you’re not. ;)
We hope you enjoy this update. As always let us know if you have any comments or suggestions.
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Posted by Brady Becker at 5:58 PM in Apps, GPS, Mobile, iPhone
12 comments
FriendFeed, Ping.fm and Hellotxt Add Support for Brightkite
June 11th, 2008
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During their Fix-it Day, FriendFeed added support Brightkite and our fellow TechStars team IntenseDebate.
Ping.fm and Hellotxt have also added support for Brightkite. We are excited about these third party services adding support for Brightkite. Keep watch over the next few weeks for our developer API which will enable seamless third party integration and interesting mashsups.
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