The Wizi Blog

Pastel de Nata Brotherhood

2008-07-07T11:15:00Z

Wizi has associated with the " Pastel de Nata Brotherwood", an organization started within the online social network The Startracker which gathers Portuguese talents spread around the world. “The Pastel de Nata is a very banal thing in the life of the Portuguese and therefore can help to spread the image of Portugal abroad”, said José António Sousa, Startracker member and founder of the brotherhood . One of the first initiatives of the Brotherhood was the creation of a Pastel de Nata World Map, which...(read more)

New Java version available for beta testing

2008-06-18T15:17:00Z

We've been working hard in our Wizi Java version. This platform will allow Wizi to run in most models from Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson and others. The present version has no interactive map yet (expected to be available in July). Until then, some features are limited and the map is opened in the mobile's web browser. This version can't use Cell ID, so if you would like to try out you should have a GPS enabled phone or an external GPS. At the moment we have a signed version (not compatible...(read more)

Big Brother

2008-05-29T18:07:00Z

‘ Big Brother! ’ This is the most common reaction from people who hear or read about Wizi for the very first time. I’ve seen it in many forums and blogs, I’ve heard it from friends and unknown people I’ve talked to. " Big Brother! " they say " that means my boss or my wife may track me at any time. There will be no peace from now on…" Most of these comments are made in a funny tone but there’s always some truth in it. People are concerned with their privacy. The concept of Big Brother, raised in...(read more)

Jobs @ Wizi

2008-05-23T16:59:00Z

We are looking for enthusiastic people that want to work with the best technology in the world! :) If you have skills in Java, C#, C++ or whatever you fill confortable that could contribute for the improve of Wizi technology please send me an Email -> miguels@wizi.com or just invite me in Wizi ( http://wizi.com/miguels ) We are building Wizi on the following Platforms: - Android - iPhone - JavaME - Blackberry - Windows CE If you think are good in any of those or just want to start, this is the...(read more)

Wizi for Java

2008-05-22T20:16:00Z

A new preview for Java ME compatible devices in now available. We are still fixing some bugs and haven't placed it in our download page yet. However, some users showed interest on start trying it right away. In this version: - Some features are limited - Location using Cell ID is not available - Interactive maps are not implemented yet: temporarily we are using static maps by opening the web browser. This solution lets you see yourself, your friends and your places on the map, but doesn't allow routes....(read more)

Wizi integration

2008-05-21T14:58:00Z

Last month Wizi won the first prize in the Orange API and Widget Contest . Second runners were Microsoft and Cellfish Media. The event was held at Orange Partner Camp in Faro, Portugal and intended to find innovative applications able to make use of their APIs. Participants had no prior access to them and had to develop their solutions during the Camp with help from Orange API engineers during one or two days of work. Wizi partnered with Symlabs , a global leader in identity management, for the mashup...(read more)

Wizi Android results

2008-05-16T16:59:00Z

Miguel @Wizi Just receive an email from google with our results from android challenge, we were on top 25% of all applications: Hi, Thanks again for participating in the Android Developer Challenge. We have had a lot of constructive feedback from our developer partners who have contributed to the success of the challenge. In listening to the feedback, we heard that participants would like more visibility into the ranking of their entries. As you know, entries were judged on the following criteria:...(read more)

Wizi Twitts

2008-05-15T16:59:00Z

For those who don't know Twitter, it is a service that allows people to communicate small sentences (up to 140 characters) to their friends, family and co-workers. The followers can receive the posts in many possible ways, including free sms. This microblog lets people quickly answer to the question ' What are you doing?' in a easy way. And soon users will be able to twitt in a Wizi way! Wizi will include a new feature where users may publish Twitts including their location automatically. By posting...(read more)

Programming Android

2008-05-14T21:47:00Z

A Portuguese well known computer magazine has just publish this article in their magazine and Website: http://exameinformatica.clix.pt/multimedia/video/997202.html It's me demoing Wizi for Android (in portuguese sorry...) Miguel...(read more)

Chasing a cab in Lisbon (powered by Wizi)

2008-05-13T15:23:00Z

A few days ago our web developer, Susana, was working at Wizi Headquarters when Miguel, our Chief Software Architect asked her how could she be moving away.That was really odd, once she was sat at her desk and Miguel was just in front of her, but they could watch her driving around in Lisbon. They were perplexed wondering how this strange new bug could be happening. But then she searched for her mobile phone and realized that it had been left in the cab. They were seeing where her missing phone was. Susana first tried to dial her number but no one answered. Then she called the taxi company but the operator did not succeed on locating the driver. Then the chase began.

Miguel jumped to his car and Susana followed him using Wizi to tell the directions. They followed the taxi for around 30 minutes, always a few seconds behind. Until Wizi told them they were there. They saw a taxi stand and Susana recognized the driver, looking very happy while playing with her phone.

'Please give me my phone back'

He was really surprised when he suddenly saw Susana holding out her hand and asking her phone back.

Started a mashup with Twitter

2008-05-08T23:46:00Z

We just begin the mashup with twitter, you will just have to invite "Twitter" as a friend and then when you send "Geo messages" (Ex: miguels @wizi) to this friend, it will Twitt them on your profile (you will have to set your Twitter credentials off course).

Check an example here:

http://twitter.com/miguels

Our Twitter Bot is here:

http://twitter.com/wizibot

Please tell us what you think about this idea?

Miguel - wizi.com/miguels

PS: Thank you Guillaume for this idea - http://webtopmania.blogspot.com/

Wizi for Android

2008-04-15T18:59:00Z

We proud to announce the launch of Wizi's first Android version, created in the framework of the Android Developer Challenge.

You can download it here:

http://download.wizi.com/android/wiziandroid.apk

Miguel

Find Me @ http://wizi.com/miguels

Can You Talk Now?

2008-04-07T08:50:00Z

One of the most useful things about Wizi is something I never expected. I thought my main use would be to keep track of friends to link up for social purposes, or to let my wife know if I'm on the way home, saving me and her all those extra, "when are you coming home?" calls.

But the most frequent thing I do with Wizi is glance at the screen to see where my business partners are before I call them.

If it's early in the morning, or late at night, I want to know if Peter is still burning the midnight oil at the office, or if he's at home with his daughter. For routine calls, I won't bother him at home, but maybe if he's commuting, or working late at the office, that's a good time to catch him for a chat.

I keep myself visible to all my business partners, too. At first, I thought it was a little strange to let them know where I was every minute of the day or night, but now I actually find it very convenient - for me - that they can find out where I am at a glance. If I'm late for a meeting, or on my way, they know. If they want to call me, they know where I am at the time. Maybe if I'm at my favorite restaurant, they're going to postpone the call. And if I'm still at work, they can call even if it's late.

I admit it took a mental leap to set Wizi to show my location so often (and sometimes I do turn it off), but now that I've done it, it seems completely natural, and I wish more of my friends and colleagues used Wizi to find me.

Wizi for Nokia very soon

2008-03-25T17:19:00Z

Some users have asked us why have we suspended the download for Nokia compatible devices. Well, the fact is that this platform is our priority at the moment. The features in the preview version were very limited and the user experience poor. We are developping fast the new version of Wizi for Java 2ME compatible devices (such as Nokia mobile phones) and prefer making you wait a few days and deliver an application that will meet your expectations.

Current Wizi versions (BlackBerry and Windows Mobile)

2008-03-25T13:39:00Z

BLACKBERRY

Our BlackBerry preview version is much more battery friendly and can be used with no fear in your BlackBerry 8310 or BlackBerry Pearl. Believe me, I use it everyday. It also supports Cell ID in case you are indoors or without GPS signal. Our Cell ID database is created by our users’ community, so we all are helping each-one finding our way.

WINDOWS MOBILE

Our Windows Mobile version is the most developed one and has been recently updated. Here are its main new features:

Cell ID – This new release already supports location without GPS, automatically activated when the device can not detects GPS signal. Note that this feature is still restricted to certain regions and operators. You may notice a target composed by circles centring you on the map. That represents the probability of your actual location.

"Me" on map – In this version, besides your avatar on the map, you will also see a blue circle (blue arrow if you are moving). The blue object represents your real location, while the avatar shows how other users see you. For instance, if you enter in "Keep Me Here" feature, your avatar will stay in the assigned location.

Visibility – Users are now able to change very easily their visibility, switching between "Share Actual Location", "Keep Me Here" and "Invisible" mode. You may find this feature by pressing the small icon on the right corner of the lower bar (Earth for Actual Location, Earth with Pushpin for Keep Me Here and Ghost for invisible mode).

Offline Friends – When clicking on an friend which is invisible or offline, a new screen will appear where you will be able to ask him to share his location. This way he will receive a message on Wizi and e-mail notifying him that you want to see him on the map.

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We have detected some bugs in this new version and I can describe two of them that are quite annoying:

- If we select a person or a place to see on the map, it happens to appear with a twin brother, or something. We call it the twin brother bug.

- The Cell ID feature also insists on constantly placing us in different locations once we’re indoors. This bug will be corrected and in the future, if you are out of GPS signal but inside the same Cell ID radius, Wizi will keep you in the same location.

Those bugs and more will be fixed in the next build. Please report more bugs you have found or suggest the feature you would like to have in the future. We may include them in next release.