Meadowlands Festival App

As a group we will be making either:

•  A native app for iOs

or

• a web app, that works across multiple devices and mobile browsers (most likely)

It's for Meadowlands Festival. It's a music festival that is in it's second year, and is held at Glynde Place.

There are a few festival apps already available, the best known is probably Glastonav, the free Orange app available on most smartphones for Glastonbury festival.
Last year's version had an augmented reality feature exclusively on the iPhone version, where users could hold up their phone and see the view from the camera with overlaid location pointers:

I don't think this would be as useful at Meadowlands because the festival is on a much smaller scale. Also the app is likely to use a LOT of battery, using GPS, camera and is probably heavy on the processor. The normal map would be handy though, and so would the 'now and next' feature for each stage.

Looking at a review of last years app and last years iPhone app it looks like the software was rushed and consequently buggy, lacking features and not well thought through.


James Whatley on The Really Mobile Project reckons:

[At a festival] The only good piece of software is one that SAVES BATTERY. Full stop. End of. If your mobile app depends on any of the following things, forget it:

• GPS to find out where your mates are? Forget it.

• Connecting to your online database of musical choices and downloads your pre-planned schedule? Forget it.

• Interacting with other people using a specific app or mobile website? Forget it.

At any festival, the ability to make and receive phone calls and text messages is literally THE ONLY THING THAT IS OF ANY VALUE.

http://thereallymobileproject.com/2010/06/festival-season-and-mobile-the-ugly-truth/

Hmmmmm

Orange provide a solution to this at Glastonbury, they have a 'Chill 'n' Change tent' where people can go to top up their phone for free. It's still a bit of an inconvenience though, especially as you'd have to wait in the chill n charge tent while your phone fills up. Maybe you could chill though and it would be well good. ?

People have made unofficial apps for Reading and Leeds and there's one called iFest that can do all the festivals! It doesn't have any reviews on the app store though, so I don't know how true that is.
Features of existing festival apps:

• Up to date Schedule
• Now and Next for each stage
• Tent finder
• Map
• Friend finder
• Weather
• festival tips
• links to band sites/youtube/itunes
• 'Check in' at acts with Facebook integration
• Bar Guide
• Augmented reality map
• Publication (eg. Q)'s recommendations

Other Features that could be included (Virtual lighter and torch already exist as standalone apps)

• Torch (screen goes white)
• Photo / video submission to Meadowlands site OR could go on big screen
• Reviews / ratings of acts
• Virtual Lighter!
• Scheduler with alert 30 mins before for acts you choose. (idea from a user review)
• Webcam showing stage, could have different angles (not live streaming, just every few minutes)
• Free mp3 downloads
• Tweets from the bands

In class we talked about competitions that could be entered using the app.  These could be the best video / photo submissions to win merchandise or access to VIP areas. Uploaded photos and videos can go on the desktop site as well to make it look hap nin.