My Mobilinc Wish List

[Jimbo]

Here is my Mobilinc wish list for Android. For the most part this is in order of preference.

1. Button press feedback. Show that the command is being sent, I think I heard the iOS version has this?
2. The My thermostat page is non intuitive when there are multiple devices. You swipe left or right but there is no indication of where you are at or which way you can swipe. Need page indicator or tabs? Also animation goes up or down after the swipe which is weird.
3. Global indication showing remote, local or mobilinc connect moved to header instead of just in the menu
4. Auto set ISY variables based on SSID, e.g. s.MyPhone.Wifi.Home = 1, when I MyPhone's Wifi is connected to SSID Home. I do this in Tasker already, but seems simple to add
5. Favorite a folder
6. Set and view variables and be able to define them as boolean so they could be toggled on/off, with ability to have Favorites
7. Share profiles across devices. If this was available across devices I would buy this for other phones in my house, but currently it's not worth the pain of updating the other devices.
8. Option to maintain an ISY connection always for devices that are always plugged in
9. Google cloud messaging service with ISY plugin to push device status changes to devices, and messages. Ideally this would be configurable on a per-device basis, and with shared profiles.
10. If the above is done, then enhance the Tasker plugin to allow triggering off of those status change events
11. Add support to link other system. This would run on the Android device, not in mobilinc connect, but could be in app purchases. Support communication between devices like cameras, security systems, and other devices that are painful to interface to the isy. Simple example would be enabling/disabling a variable in ISY when a foscam detects motion. Currently this requires a small php script.

[jeffl012]

One more item should be on this wish list. Match the features found in the IOS version. Android version is very limited in comparison.

[Jimbo]

I agree, but since I don't have an iOS device, I don't really know what those features are.

Also, I asked what features were planned for Android and was told that they do not publish it, so ask for what you want to see. Which I did here and didn't get a response. I pay for mobilinc connect because I like to support developers, not because I need it, but I will not renew if Android does not start getting better support.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[erkorb]

I agree with Jimbo.

Also, I'd like to see better support for X10 (yes, I know, I know) status. I'd like to know if the light is on or off and have the icon show that on my screen.

Erok

[AdminWes]

Hi Erok,

X10 doesn't provide a status query response. If you have the X10 module for the ISY and your X10 devices are added to the ISY, the ISY will remember the last status it heard for your X10 device unless the ISY is rebooted.

That gives you a "real" status that's reflected in MobiLinc.

Wes

[melvy]

I am stunned how ugly and feature poor the Android version is! With Android having 82.5% of the mobile market share it is really a mistake to let Android development slip so far behind the competition. Facebook learned that just in time, I hope MobiLinc will learn it in time as well. I hope it is not already too late.

[AdminWes]

melvy,

We are open to specific feature requests or changes. Please keep in mind that the MobiLinc/Android base app is very nearly feature matched compared to the iOS base app. Where iOS is ahead is in some of the optional paid plug-ins.

However, we did add in support (for free) for Tasker integration that gives MobiLinc/Android users quite a lot of power and options that iOS won't have.

Wes

[mwareman]

Wes,

I've basically mostly stopped using Mobilinc (Android) because it was painfully slow and the lack of plugin support. The slow is actually caused by ISY taking a long time - and Mobilinc (by using the SOAP and not the websocket subscription method) cannot be proxied by a higher speed SSL acceleration proxy. This is proven by the ISY Portal, since Mobilinc is very usable against that, causing me to start using it again. Granted, websocket is fairly new.... You should definitely switch to it though since its a standard supported by proxies, where the SOAP method cannot be proxied.

So, as to features needed to advance the app:

1) Switch to websocket. This will allow the communication to be proxied - and better performance obtained. Initial status of devices is sent in a far more efficient way, and you'll get all devices initial status much quicker.
2) Camera plugin. Need the ability to see a camera image and control devices in the same room.
3) Elk plugin. I'm doing this currently using a Tasked scene via the ISY API. One app for all would be beneficial, and not everybody wants to do Tasked.

I'm very happy variable support is now in the Android version. I do agree that functionally the base app is now basically the same.

Michael.

[AdminWes]

Michael,

Just so you have all the facts, we can't switch to websockets for a number of reasons. One of which is support for older ISY firmwares still in use in the field that do not have support for this. Also, we don't support the ISY Portal, so MobiLinc is sending the exact same (SOAP and subscription) requests to whatever endpoint you point MobiLinc to regardless of that endpoint.

Regarding speed, yes, a portal solution (including our own MobiLinc Connect portal we've run since 2012) is going to be much faster in some cases than a direct IP connection if you have a high-strength cert installed and also solves the speed reason you cited for looking at a proxy initially.

Agreed about the two plug-ins cited. These are on the to-do list, but I don't have a timeframe.

Wes

[mwareman]

Wes,

Would it not be possible to call the websocket endpoint, and if it fails revert to SOAP? I suspect the performance of the app will increase for ISY users that have upgraded to a version supporting websockets. There is much less data sent on the network to initially populate device state on application start as compared to a SOAP initialization and this would especially be noticed on a cellular network.

When I say 'performance', what I'm referring to is the amount of time it takes between starting the app and being able to control a device. Control appears blocked until device state has been received - and it takes a long time to populate initial state. Even on HTTP (locally) it takes altogether far too long. This is an area of the app that would benefit significantly from some deep analysis and tuning.

As to proxy, not everybody wants their ISY control and status data to be sent to a third party, and I for one would prefer to keep that data on proxy servers that I control. This is why I wish to proxy on my own server if possible. Currently, I proxy the REST API to the ISY and Tasker calls it fine. I really, I'd be able to use Mobilinc thru the proxy as well.

Michael.