Feedback from Android beta testing

September 03, 2011 10:35

KeithCl DAFNE Graduate
St Columcille's, Dublin 43 posts

The beta testing period is now over and the app will be published on the Android Market around 14 September. (The delay is because I'm away on holiday next week.)

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback or just tried it out. As listed above over 10 important fixes have been made as a result, and there are several ideas that should make it into future versions.

Thanks again,
Keith

September 03, 2011 15:11

John Syer DAFNE Graduate
Diabetes Australia-Vic, Melbourne, Victoria 19 posts

Hi Keith,

I hope I'm not too late (or being too much of a pain) but I have just found another issue

Phone: HTC Desire A8181
Android version: 2.2
Beta version: 1.3.r265 BETA

Bug #9 (continuing from my previous list) - Comments are not visible when being entered
Reproduce: Add a new diary entry and enter text into the comments field. The text being entered does not appear in the text box (but is added to the entry).
Further information: This is a problem on my phone when in portrait mode, when holding the phone in landscape I get an expanded text entry box which works fine. I can also view the text breifly in portrait mode if I press on the text box - the text will display in the box then disappear again.

Regards, John

September 03, 2011 18:05

KeithCl DAFNE Graduate
St Columcille's, Dublin 43 posts

John Syer said:

Reproduce: Add a new diary entry and enter text into the comments field. The text being entered does not appear in the text box (but is added to the entry).

John,

Not too late - sounds like a problem that needs fixing. It may be hard for me to reproduce though which is the first step to fixing. I'll set up an emulator running Android 2.2 and using the same screen resolution as your HTC Desire and see if I can. Won't be until the week after next though...

Keith

September 04, 2011 08:09

Geofftrez DAFNE Graduate
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 22 posts

Add entry CP now accepts a decimal point but on the Samsung Galaxy the decimal point is on the second page of the number keypad. For the sake of streamlining could you replace the * with the decimal point ie use the same keypad as when entering BG values.

I note that autocalc still doesnt function correctly. If you are concerned at litigation why not make it function in a sensible manner but set it so that you have to overtype it or else it defaults as a null value when you save.

September 04, 2011 10:12

KeithCl DAFNE Graduate
St Columcille's, Dublin 43 posts

Geofftrez said:
Add entry CP now accepts a decimal point but on the Samsung Galaxy the decimal point is on the second page of the number keypad. For the sake of streamlining could you replace the * with the decimal point ie use the same keypad as when entering BG values.

I note that autocalc still doesnt function correctly. If you are concerned at litigation why not make it function in a sensible manner but set it so that you have to overtype it or else it defaults as a null value when you save.

I agree that the keyboard layouts are not as good as they could be. Unfortunately Android only allows the app to provide an "input type" hint and its then up to the phone to do its best at offering an "input method editor" that can do the job. This design seems to be to allow alternate input method editors to be installed by users and selected as the preferred one. But the bottom line is that there is no way to add or change individual keys in layouts. There are some work-arounds possible but with various down sides, so for now I've left the app using the standard mechanism.

As commented before, the auto-calc for Android is the same as for iPhone and I think the way to go is to agree an improved design that is applied in both. But that will not make it into the first release of the Android app.

September 04, 2011 14:50

KeithCl DAFNE Graduate
St Columcille's, Dublin 43 posts

John Syer said:

Reproduce: Add a new diary entry and enter text into the comments field. The text being entered does not appear in the text box (but is added to the entry).

Using an Android 2.2 emulator, while the initial text of "Comments' is gray, any text entered and the text cursor are rendered in white on top of the very nearly white background so that the text entered is hardly visible. The problem does not occur with Android 2.3.3. There are various postings about styling problems with the AutoCompleteTextView widget that I moved to to provide auto-completion of the comments. I'll look for a work-around to make this work with all target Android versions.

September 04, 2011 17:33

marke Site Administrator
South East Kent PCT 681 posts

Geofftrez said:

I note that autocalc still doesnt function correctly. If you are concerned at litigation why not make it function in a sensible manner but set it so that you have to overtype it or else it defaults as a null value when you save.

Geoff can you elaborate on your comment regarding 'litigation' ? what do you mean by this.

September 04, 2011 18:27

Geofftrez DAFNE Graduate
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 22 posts

In reply to Marke

Simon Said:
On the correction dosage calculation, the DAFNE guidelines state that 1 extra IU will bring down your BG by 2-3 mmol/l, which is quite a large range, and could mean the difference between having a hypo or not. As app developer I didn't want to set myself up as a target for any legal action in case the app was seen to be giving medical advice which then caused somebody to have a hypo.

September 04, 2011 18:39

Headspace DAFNE Graduate
Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust 9 posts

Keith, this is the first time I've been involved in testing any software or application so its been an interesting couple of weeks. I haven't really understood some of the technical aspects of the app, but as a plain old user its been enlightening to see the range of comments that have rallied back and forth.

I just wanted to say thanks for developing things so far, and for making the changes that have been suggested. I think this is going to be a worthwhile outcome for all concerned, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of it.

Brian

September 05, 2011 07:40

Geofftrez DAFNE Graduate
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 22 posts

Keith said:
I agree that the keyboard layouts are not as good as they could be. Unfortunately Android only allows the app to provide an "input type" hint and its then up to the phone to do its best at offering an "input method editor" that can do the job. This design seems to be to allow alternate input method editors to be installed by users and selected as the preferred one. But the bottom line is that there is no way to add or change individual keys in layouts. There are some work-arounds possible but with various down sides, so for now I've left the app using the standard mechanism.

The keyboard layout when you call for the BG data field is perfect - simply a numeric keypad. The keyboard layout when you call for CP, QA and BI data fields is a typical phone alpha numeric keyboard. Since those fields only need numeric data I would suspect its a programming error.

September 03, 2011 10:35 KeithCl DAFNE Graduate St Columcille's, Dublin 43 posts	The beta testing period is now over and the app will be published on the Android Market around 14 September. (The delay is because I'm away on holiday next week.) Thanks to everyone who provided feedback or just tried it out. As listed above over 10 important fixes have been made as a result, and there are several ideas that should make it into future versions. Thanks again, Keith
September 03, 2011 15:11 John Syer DAFNE Graduate Diabetes Australia-Vic, Melbourne, Victoria 19 posts	Hi Keith, I hope I'm not too late (or being too much of a pain) but I have just found another issue Phone: HTC Desire A8181 Android version: 2.2 Beta version: 1.3.r265 BETA Bug #9 (continuing from my previous list) - Comments are not visible when being entered Reproduce: Add a new diary entry and enter text into the comments field. The text being entered does not appear in the text box (but is added to the entry). Further information: This is a problem on my phone when in portrait mode, when holding the phone in landscape I get an expanded text entry box which works fine. I can also view the text breifly in portrait mode if I press on the text box - the text will display in the box then disappear again. Regards, John
September 03, 2011 18:05 KeithCl DAFNE Graduate St Columcille's, Dublin 43 posts	John Syer said: Reproduce: Add a new diary entry and enter text into the comments field. The text being entered does not appear in the text box (but is added to the entry). John, Not too late - sounds like a problem that needs fixing. It may be hard for me to reproduce though which is the first step to fixing. I'll set up an emulator running Android 2.2 and using the same screen resolution as your HTC Desire and see if I can. Won't be until the week after next though... Keith
September 04, 2011 08:09 Geofftrez DAFNE Graduate Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 22 posts	Add entry CP now accepts a decimal point but on the Samsung Galaxy the decimal point is on the second page of the number keypad. For the sake of streamlining could you replace the * with the decimal point ie use the same keypad as when entering BG values. I note that autocalc still doesnt function correctly. If you are concerned at litigation why not make it function in a sensible manner but set it so that you have to overtype it or else it defaults as a null value when you save.
September 04, 2011 10:12 KeithCl DAFNE Graduate St Columcille's, Dublin 43 posts	Geofftrez said: Add entry CP now accepts a decimal point but on the Samsung Galaxy the decimal point is on the second page of the number keypad. For the sake of streamlining could you replace the * with the decimal point ie use the same keypad as when entering BG values. I note that autocalc still doesnt function correctly. If you are concerned at litigation why not make it function in a sensible manner but set it so that you have to overtype it or else it defaults as a null value when you save. I agree that the keyboard layouts are not as good as they could be. Unfortunately Android only allows the app to provide an "input type" hint and its then up to the phone to do its best at offering an "input method editor" that can do the job. This design seems to be to allow alternate input method editors to be installed by users and selected as the preferred one. But the bottom line is that there is no way to add or change individual keys in layouts. There are some work-arounds possible but with various down sides, so for now I've left the app using the standard mechanism. As commented before, the auto-calc for Android is the same as for iPhone and I think the way to go is to agree an improved design that is applied in both. But that will not make it into the first release of the Android app.
September 04, 2011 14:50 KeithCl DAFNE Graduate St Columcille's, Dublin 43 posts	John Syer said: Reproduce: Add a new diary entry and enter text into the comments field. The text being entered does not appear in the text box (but is added to the entry). Using an Android 2.2 emulator, while the initial text of "Comments' is gray, any text entered and the text cursor are rendered in white on top of the very nearly white background so that the text entered is hardly visible. The problem does not occur with Android 2.3.3. There are various postings about styling problems with the AutoCompleteTextView widget that I moved to to provide auto-completion of the comments. I'll look for a work-around to make this work with all target Android versions.
September 04, 2011 17:33 marke Site Administrator South East Kent PCT 681 posts	Geofftrez said: I note that autocalc still doesnt function correctly. If you are concerned at litigation why not make it function in a sensible manner but set it so that you have to overtype it or else it defaults as a null value when you save. Geoff can you elaborate on your comment regarding 'litigation' ? what do you mean by this.
September 04, 2011 18:27 Geofftrez DAFNE Graduate Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 22 posts	In reply to Marke Simon Said: On the correction dosage calculation, the DAFNE guidelines state that 1 extra IU will bring down your BG by 2-3 mmol/l, which is quite a large range, and could mean the difference between having a hypo or not. As app developer I didn't want to set myself up as a target for any legal action in case the app was seen to be giving medical advice which then caused somebody to have a hypo.
September 04, 2011 18:39 Headspace DAFNE Graduate Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust 9 posts	Keith, this is the first time I've been involved in testing any software or application so its been an interesting couple of weeks. I haven't really understood some of the technical aspects of the app, but as a plain old user its been enlightening to see the range of comments that have rallied back and forth. I just wanted to say thanks for developing things so far, and for making the changes that have been suggested. I think this is going to be a worthwhile outcome for all concerned, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of it. Brian
September 05, 2011 07:40 Geofftrez DAFNE Graduate Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 22 posts	Keith said: I agree that the keyboard layouts are not as good as they could be. Unfortunately Android only allows the app to provide an "input type" hint and its then up to the phone to do its best at offering an "input method editor" that can do the job. This design seems to be to allow alternate input method editors to be installed by users and selected as the preferred one. But the bottom line is that there is no way to add or change individual keys in layouts. There are some work-arounds possible but with various down sides, so for now I've left the app using the standard mechanism. The keyboard layout when you call for the BG data field is perfect - simply a numeric keypad. The keyboard layout when you call for CP, QA and BI data fields is a typical phone alpha numeric keyboard. Since those fields only need numeric data I would suspect its a programming error.