aCar - Track your vehicles

[Armond]

On my U20i I just hold my finger down on the fuel brand you want to edit and go from there, which brings me to my question.

When entering data on the U20i from just using the touch screen, it says required instead of the question I need to answer forcing me to look at the question and go back in to answer it, my only negative I have on the app, other than that it's great and I donated [= thanks

I guess you're talking about landscape mode where the entire screen is filled with one input field and the on-screen keyboard. You are right... You would see the word "Required" instead of the name of the field being entered. Unfortunately Android does not have anything in its framework to help developers in such cases so I should come up with a solution on my own.
This is already in my feature request list and I will consider it in a future version.

 

[Armond]

Armond,
I would like to see two features in the app.

1st. - use the maps/search api to auto populate the location. This would be nice if it was simply GPS coordinates, but if it would list filling stations or service stations it would be great.

2nd. - It would be great if we had the option to take a photo and have it linked to the database. e.g. Take a picture of the receipt or work order for repairs.

1. GPS integration is already in my todo list. Keep your ideas coming... I need them! There are unlimited possibilities for GPS and integration with different things. But I won't be obviously able to implement them all so I need to pin point the most important and most frequently requested ones.

2. This is also in my todo list ;-)

 

[Armond]

I just changed phone, and if I donate again, will I get a new registration? I'm asking because it'd be linked to the same email account.

No need to donate again if you've already donated. Just unregister your donation ref ID from your old phone to be able to register it on the new one. Make sure you're using the latest version (2.3.0) which has some good support for moving to a new phone (for example if you don't have access to your old phone anymore to unregister there).

 

[Armond]

If you donated, just e-mail him with your old "Pro code" or whatever it's called and tell him you updated and he should be able to reset it so you can activate pro on the new device

The entire process has been automated in 2.3.0 ;-) So you don't need to wait for my action anymore! You can do this all by yourself... Just try to register with your new phone and you will be guided by aCar itself on what to do next.

 

[Armond]

I got this app a couple of weeks ago. It is easily my favorite app on my Incredible so far. I almost immediately donated as well, love this app.

So far, I am basically just using it for MPG tracking on my FJ Cruiser, but I am going to look into using it for service records, etc, if I can find the invoices for the services I have had done.

Eagerly waiting for your feedback on services. Starting with 2.2.0, you can even track your other expenses and trips too!

Awesome application, and if I could have it do one more thing, it would be online sharing so my wife could enter data when she fills up the truck. Thanks for a great app.

Online data synchronization is already in my todo list.

 

[Armond]

I'm another who found this a few weeks ago, and donated almost immediately. Thanks for this great app!

I would love to see the addition of Tire Wear (front and rear) and Brake Readings (front and rear) to the Service Rec.'s. Eg. 9/11/10 Tire Wear Front: 7/32 remaining, Rear 7/32 remaining and Brake Readings Front 6 mm, Rear 3 mm remaining.

Go to Management screen, then tap on "Services" tab to see the list of available service types. Tap on the big PLUS icon at the top to add your own custom service types... The entire list is quite customizable so feel free to edit it to fit your needs.

 

[Armond]

Is there a way for Pro users to remove the "Go Pro" on the new version besides the smaller view?

You mean you want to have the Go Pro icon hidden for the Pro users? But what else would you like to see instead of Go Pro? The entire line won't be eliminated because of the FAQ icon still there.

 

[Armond]

It is great to see a thread with the developer so involved in helping out.

I am just coming to Android from iPhone. I have been using the iPhone app, Road Trip to keep track of my auto expenses. I see your app says it will import from Road Trip. Is that the iPhone app you are talking about, or some other Android app?

It's the "Road Trip" from iPhone and aCar can directly from it. Just make sure you're using the latest version of aCar (2.3.0).

On the iPhone app, Road Trip, I can email the data backup file directly to myself from the app. That gives me a backup file in the gmail cloud. I can also quickly open that file in Excel since it will already be on my PC. Can your app do that? What about backing up to DropBox? That would be a great option.

I am seriously considering buying your app, if the program you mentioned importing from is the same Road Trip I am using already.

Thanks,

Mark

aCar can export your data in CSV format (which is viewable in Excel) and can email that CSV to any email you provide.

But the integration with Google Docs has not been implemented yet.

aCar stores your backup files and exported CSV files on your SD Card, so it's a matter of Dropbox app to be able to synchronize that directory as well. But there isn't any direct dropbox integration so that aCar can directly send your backups to your dropbox account.

 

[Armond]

10/06/2010 - 06:02 78,619 mi 13.081 gal $2.60 $34.00 No No 29.195 MPG Gasoline - Regular (87) 87
09/30/2010 - 06:07 78,420 mi 10.574 gal $2.46 $26.00 No No 15.213 MPG Gasoline - Regular (87) 87
09/27/2010 - 06:00 77,942 mi 10.166 gal $2.46 $25.00 No No 45.205 MPG Gasoline - Regular (87) 87


78,420-77,942=478 miles / 10.574 gal = 45.205 mpg
78,619-78,420=199 miles / 13.081 gal = 15.213 mpg

The math looks right.

Lets check for a number transposition --
(78,240-77,942)/10.574=28.18mpg
(78,619-78,240)/13.081=28.97mpg

Looks like an operator input error to me.

You are right. "78420" should be "78240" and everything will be correct then.

 

[DavDroid]

Thanks for creating this app!!!

I would like to know if it would be possible to have a feature that allows you to take pictures of receipts, store them and be able to search for them? The only reason I ask is because I believe it might help sell a car if you can export those receipts and print them.

Keep the good work!!!

 

[Armond]

Thanks for creating this app!!!

I would like to know if it would be possible to have a feature that allows you to take pictures of receipts, store them and be able to search for them? The only reason I ask is because I believe it might help sell a car if you can export those receipts and print them.

Keep the good work!!!

The feature is already in my todo list and I will consider it in a future version.

 

[jazzfan]

I like the app; but why isn't there a decimal point on the numeric keypad?

 

[Crumm]

I like the app; but why isn't there a decimal point on the numeric keypad?

There is. Just to the right of the 6 and above the DEL.

 

[x16wda]

I would really like to see a graph of mpg for different brands of gas - is this feature already there and I missed it?

 

[edbro]

I would really like to see a graph of mpg for different brands of gas - is this feature already there and I missed it?

Gas is gas. As long as the octane number is the same then the brand on the pump means nothing. Even different octane levels will not affect your mileage, only the ability to prevent engine knocking.

 

[reinbeau]

I've got an issue. Probably a stupid question. Do you have to manually back up your data, or does it create a backup on a schedule? I've had to factory restore my Captivate, and I am so upset - I've lost all my data. I do backups with Titanium Backup, but it seems to have not backed up the data. I'm hoping it's lurking somewhere, but I have no idea where to find it. Most likely you'll tell me it's gone, but I'm hoping....

ETA Interesting. I opened the app from my app drawer this morning (I'd opened it twice via my folder organizer shortcut I've got set up for all things 'car' on my 'car' screen) and received a message that it seemed I'd reset my phone and had lost my data, would I like to restore? Of course I would! So it is all back now, thank goodness! I wonder why that message didn't display the first two times I opened aCar?

 

[x16wda]

Gas is gas. As long as the octane number is the same then the brand on the pump means nothing. Even different octane levels will not affect your mileage, only the ability to prevent engine knocking.

Is that true? My understanding is, for instance, that gas/alcohol blends currently available contain measurably less energy per gallon, so I would expect a mileage difference regardless of engine knock suppression.

 

[GhostXR]

Gas is gas. As long as the octane number is the same then the brand on the pump means nothing. Even different octane levels will not affect your mileage, only the ability to prevent engine knocking.

Nope, wrong. You'll get fewer miles per gallon on higher octane gas. In siple terms, octane number refers to how easily the fuel is ignited, so you lose a little bit of efficiency with the higher octane - to take advantage of it you'd need to advance your ignition timing tables. If you switch to E85 from regular gas your gas mileage will decrease anywhere from 20-30%. You need approx. 30% more fuel with E85 to maintain the correct A/F ratio.
Ooops, forgot this is not a car forum, lol Sorry if this went too far off topic.

Anyway, I just downloaded aCar and donated after 1 hour of using it - this is exactly what I was looking for, a huge "Thank You" to Armond for creating an excellent app!

 

[reinbeau]

I'd like to ask why you base the fill up records on the number of gallons and the price per gallon, then the price is calculated. I'm used to entering the total fill up price, and then the number of gallons - the price per is the calculated number. It's easier to remember those two numbers if you're 'on the fly'.

 

[Deleted User]

I just purchased the pro version and am having a problem importing my fuelly data.

If I look at the CSV file that I imported, some of the data is not correct. For example, in the CSV file one entry says I went 268 miles on 13.34 gallons for a 20.09 MPG. But that same entry in aCar says it equals 23 MPG with the same data.

I imported 63 entries and most seem to be correct, but there are some that seem to show incorrect MPG.

If I look at the statistics of what I imported, I have a Max MPG of 206.553. When in the CSV file it is only 36.6. The Min MPG is correct

Any ideas?

 

[Poboy]

Just wanted to post that i donated, great app Armond!

 

[tkasner]

Thanks for a great app; and a couple of requests.

I saw requests for online data sync, and auto fill location from GPS.. those would be great!

Sorry if these are duplicates, but a couple of things I've noticed:

On the Add new entry screens, it would be great if it could show the last gas fill odometer at the top.. kind of a sanity check during data entry. I tend to fill out most fields while the car is filling, which means my ignition is off and I can't see the ODO anymore.. I'd be able to tell if I was transposing the numbers as I entered them if I could see what the last gas fill was..

If you're in the "brows recs" screen, if you zoom in to a record, it would be great if you could either swipe left/right to do previous/next, or even just ahve a prev/next button.. I spent about 10 minutes yesterday trying to find a record that the graphs showed had been accidentally entered with the wrong octane.. next/prev would have made it easy... (no doubt there was probably an easier way..)


Thanks for listening!

 

[skep]

i love this app, i use it on my droid x, no complaints. thank you!

 

[roopesh]

aCar is capable of importing any plain CSV file with a flexible user-interface to map your CSV columns to aCar data fields.

See if Personal Vehicle Manager supports CSV export or you can somehow do it.

Also please let me know if this application is widely used in Windows Mobile world and I may prepare a dedicated import for that (without doing anything manual) like other apps aCar already supports.

Thankyou for the reply, saw it only now..

Personal vehicle manager cannot export directly to .csv, but can export as .xls. If I open the exported file in Excel and then save as .csv, will it work ? I have now bought a Dell Streak, and would very much like to buy this, but this will only be useful if I can import my data. Right now I input all my gas data into the desktop counterpart of Personal Vehicle Manager.

And also some sort of sync with either desktop app (preferable) or a web application is required.

Please clarify.

 

[Holydoc]

When I look at my statistics, there is an item called #miles/day. This item use to be fairly accurate. Currently this item is showing my #miles/day as 1.52. This makes no sense since I drive 32 miles to work, 5 days a week. That is at the very least (64*5)/7= 45.7 miles/day. And that is only if I do not drive a single mile during the weekend.

How is this stat calculated? Why am I suddenly getting this very low number of 1.52 instead of a value closer to 40? Just curious on what I did (or was done to the program) to cause this value to change so radically.

Thanks again for a great program!