A few weeks ago everyone discovered the app called Glympse after it won several Best Of awards for 2011. There were people reviewing it on different sites and blogs everywhere even though it has been out for a few years. I have been using the app and I thought I would give it a long term review.
- Glympse Map View
For those of you unfamiliar with Glympse, it is a real-time location sharing app. You start the app and put in an end point then share it with select people, Twitter, Facebook and a host of other communication and social sharing apps. The app sends out a link that will let the other people see your location and even the speed at which you are traveling. There is a map to show where you are during the trip. You share the trip for a specified amount of time. Since I drive 45 minutes each way to and from work I normally share my Glympse trip for an hour to my wife. You can select as little as 0 minutes which is just a check-in or up to 4 hours. Obviously, this is not meant to be a full on tracking app because the time you share is limited.
When you create a Glympse to share you are given the option of where to send the information. There is Facebook, Twitter, email, SMS, a clipboard or share via the sharing link found in most Android context menus. This would let you share it through Google Voice texting or Google+. I know that this could be a privacy concern for many people so please think about who you are sharing this data with. For instance, when I selected Google+ it does give the option of which circles I should share with, but you could easily share it publicly. I also have my Twitter account tied to my posts in Google+ and it would be shared there as well. This is something to think about for sure.
The sharing is really extensive in this app. It is also the most important piece. You can share this to so many different sites and in unique ways. They have added a "share to calendar" event option to share your locations with any meetings that are in your calendar in the next 24 hours. This way as you travel to your meeting it will be part of the meeting notes. The other participants can click on the link to see where you are. I like that anyone with permissions can see the links even if they don't have a smartphone or the Glympse app.
After you select who to share the Glympse with you need to pick a duration. You can also add a message for the Glympse and select a destination, though these fields are both optional. Once everything has been filled out you send the Glympse and start on your way. I shared my Glympse through Google Voice since I use that for all of my texting. Once I was finished setting everything up it opened the app and let me fill in the destination for the text message. There was a link already in the message body for the recipient to click and open to view the map. I filled in the TO field and send the message. It is really quite simple.
As you view the trip the data is updated real time until the time expires. At that point you can see the trip in its entirety. There are many uses for this app. Say you want to know where your teenage drivers are when they leave the house. Glympse will not only let you see where they are but how fast they are driving. As a parent of 2 teenage drivers I would like to know when they are leaving the house that they are being safe and responsible drivers. Another possible use could be if you want to meet up with someone or a group of people. You could each find one another and know when they arrive. Since there is also a history option you could save your trips and keep track of them for expenses.
In my testing of the app I find that it works very well. I have created shortcuts to Glympse's that I send frequently and put them on my phones desktop. With one click I can send a 1 hour Glympse to my wife or share it with Facebook. It is very convenient to be able to quickly send a Glympse. As the sender you can see how many people viewed your trip. All of the real-time reporting is very good. I do notice that the speeds can be a little off at times but it is fairly accurate. The maps also can show you traffic data. Since they are using Google Maps, the traffic layer has been added in to show not only your speed and location but why you may be only going 15MPH on a highway. You also can cancel a Glympse at any time. If you arrive early or change your mind about sharing the trip you can cancel it to control what people can see.
I like that this app allows me to share my trip information without having to answer calls of people wondering how far away I am. I send out my Glympse before I leave and forget about it. Since my family lives on Facebook I can send the information there and my kids can also check it. I could also see this being a great tool for the perpetually late traveler. Never again would you have to wonder when they will get there.
Try out Glympse and see what you think. It is a good mix of privacy and sharing data.
- Glympse Send Screen
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