Introducing Magpi Plus
Introducing Magpi Plus: A Completely New Magpi
We’re incredibly excited to announce a completely new, written-from-the-ground-up, version of our Magpi mobile app, called Magpi Plus (or Magpi+). As we move forward Magpi Plus is going to be the center of Magpi’s app-based innovation (while we will continue to support the existing “Magpi” apps for Android and iOS).
Right now Magpi+ is available as an Android beta release (please use for testing only) for anyone who is interested in helping us test prior to full release in December 2017. We’ll release an iOS version shortly, too. Just install the app (note that installing Magpi+ won’t disturb or affect your existing Magpi app installation), and log in with your Magpi username and password. All your forms will download instantly. The app is very easy to use, but you can also download a one-page quick start guide.
Why a Completely New App?
We had several reasons to make a completely new app, but the most important was that technological advancements have finally made it possible for us to have a single app that runs on both Android and iOS.
For years, we’ve had teams working in parallel on an Android app and on a completely separate iOS app. Two separate apps means double the apps, double the code, double the resources, and double the support requirement — basically double the work.
With Magpi Plus, the iOS and Android apps will work exactly the same on both platforms, making development, training, and support much easier — both for us and for our Magpi users. It also means that it’s faster and cheaper for us to address bugs, and to add new features — and keeping our internal costs low is the secret to how we’ve managed to never raise Magpi’s subscription prices. Ever.
New Ways to See Data
For Magpi Plus, we looked at how our users utilize Magpi for data collection, and streamlined the process to make it faster and more intuitive all around. For example, we realized there’s was an easier way to review collected data in the existing app. We’ve addressed both issues: in Magpi Plus, we’re replacing the simple record review list with three views: list, image, and map (click to enlarge the image).
Collect New Types of Data
Besides the benefits of having a single app for our users to train their teams on, we’re taking the opportunity of this launch to add on a bunch of things we’ve been working on, including new question types available right now:
1 — barcode questions — yep, you can now scan both traditional (line) barcodes and also modern QR codes in Magpi Plus. Read more.
2 — signatures and sketches — Magpi Plus now supports the ability to draw on-screen and save those drawings — which could be sketches, notes, or signatures. Read more.
3 — drag-and-drop ranking — thanks to help from Magpi users DCA, we’ve introduced drag-and-drop ranking: a type of multiple choice question where the user can re-order items in a list to reflect. Read more.
4 — NFC questions — a late addition to the beta test, we’ve now added NFC (near-field communication) tag reading to Magpi Plus. NFC tags are a subset of RFID: lightweight electronic tags used to track stock, for ID cards, etc. And now Magpi Plus can read them! Read more about NFC.
And later this year, we’ll be adding “grid questions” that allow users to group related questions more easily.
We hope you love the new app!
Please make sure to let us know of any issues (or compliments) at support@magpi.com
Originally published at Magpi.
