How to install APK / APKS / OBB file on Android
What it does: Monitors Uber for cab availability based on constraints set by you and notifies you whenever a cab matching your constraints is available.
How to use it:
- Launch and wait for the app to determine your location and show you the available Uber categories for that location.
- Enter parameters suitable for your needs. These parameters include:
* How much time you're willing to wait for a cab (any category).
* Which cab categories you're interested in (select/deselect the check-boxes beside each category as applicable)
* The maximum surge pricing you're willing to tolerate for each category (modify the value in the text box to the right of each category). Note that Uber surge pricing starts from 1.0 (normal price, no surge) and goes up in increments of 0.1. If you leave the value for a selected category at its default of 1.0, it means that you're only interested in that category at normal price and nothing above that. If, for example, you enter a value of 2.0 for a category, it means that you're willing to pay up to double for that category, but nothing above that.
- Press the 'Check' button to instantly check if there are any cabs currently available which fit the parameters you've set. The information will be displayed in a text pane below the button.
- Press the 'Poll' button to periodically monitor Uber for cabs which fit your parameters and notify you as soon as a match is found. The frequency of polling can be set in the text box beside the button. Once the app enters polling mode, you can soft-exit it (by pressing the phone's Home button) and start using another app, or you can just leave the phone lying around close by and work on something else. Polling will continue in the background, and you will be notified once a match is found. Polling stops when you click 'Stop' or when you hard-exit the app using the phone's Back button.
When is it useful: In high-demand/low-supply scenarios, the app saves you the trouble of having to manually check the main Uber app every minute or so to find out if a suitable cab is available nearby. The app is not useful in high-supply scenarios; there it's highly likely you can just open the main Uber app and get a suitable cab immediately.
Why is it so plain/ugly:
- Because it was put together over a few hours on a weekend.
- Because I'm a server-side developer, not a UI/UX expert.
- Because being a server-side developer, I believe in functionality over form.
Tips:
- In polling mode, do not exit the app using the back button. Use the home button if you need to switch apps. Using the back button will cause polling to stop. Note for the technically competent: I know relying on Android to keep the app alive for a while once it is no longer in the foreground (after the Home button has been pressed) is a terrible idea, and this should have been implemented using a proper background Service, but I've taken the easy way out for now. Hope your phone isn't that constrained for resources that Android decides to kill the app the moment it's hidden.
- The app notifies you using your default notification ringtone and by vibrating for 1 second. In polling mode, keep your volume up and your phone nearby so that you actually get the notification.
- The app only notifies you when a suitable cab is found, and does nothing else on your behalf. Once you receive the notification, you must quickly open the official Uber app and book the cab.
- Location and network connectivity must be enabled for the app to work.
- The app gives up if it cannot find your location within a few seconds of launching. Just exit using the back button and try again.
- The app assumes you aren't moving around too much and works with the location it finds upon launch (unlike the main Uber app, which constantly monitors your location). If you need to update your location, exit using the back button and launch again.
