There seem to be some bugs in Android 2.1+ installations. I’ll be taking this as an opportunity to rewrite the entire application, given how much I’ve learnt about Android in the last few months. I’ll also be stepping up my support and responsiveness which, I have to admit, haven’t been great.
Thanks for supporting Wind-Up.
Stay safe out there.
Wind-Up (née Aviary) is once again available on the Android Market!
To find it, simply search for “wind-up”.
A big thank you once again to Adam for the name suggestion. Who loves you, big-guy? We do.
New features and updates coming soon!
The guys at Aviary.com have asked very politely that I not use the name ‘Aviary’ as they feel it’ll only lead to confusion for both ardent tweeters and users of their web-application suite. I’ve happily agreed and will shortly be renaming and rebranding the app. For the moment, The App Formerly Known As Aviary will be unavailable from the Android Market and anything published from it will seem to have been published from ‘Carrell’. I’m hoping to get everything back up over the weekend.
But now, of course, I now need a new name. Something that isn’t a lame attempt at foisting ‘droid’ onto the end of some innocent word, nor attaching ‘And’ to the beginning of one like some cheap prop-moustache.
Any thoughts?
What is Wind-Up?
Wind-Up is an Android-based notepad for Twitter. It’s a place to store, craft and publish your tweets.
So it’s a Twitter Client?
Not exactly. Wind-Up doesn’t show you your timeline as a standard Twitter client would. Think of it more as a place to store and publish those ideas you have for tweets. Wind-Up is designed to be used alongside your normal Android client.
This sounds familiar.
Yes. It is largely based on Birdhouse, a beautifully conceived application for the iPhone, created by Adam Lisagor and Cameron Hunt. They’ve graciously allowed me to create an Android-based approximation of their baby under a somewhat different name.
How do I download Wind-Up?
The quickest way is just to seach for ‘Wind-Up’ on the Android market on your phone.
What’s it going to set me back?
It’s free! Wind-Up is, at its core, a personal foray into Android programming that I decided to put out to all of the other Android users I know. All 3 of them.
Why is it free?
While I believe that a multi-carrier, cross hardware-vendor mobile application market should beat the closed Apple application market in the long run, there’s a while to go before charging for something so niche would do anything but harm the market. (For a better explanation, see John Gruber’s thoughts.) This is me chipping in my two cents for something I believe in.
How can I help?
First and foremost - feedback. Email me (ryan.bateman at gmail) with your suggestions, comments, critiques or rambling stories.
Secondly - expertise. Are you an icon designer / UI guru? I am not. Put together what you think Wind-Up should look like and drop me some sketches. I may use it. There’s no money in it but you’ll get thanks from me, a note in the app and the recognition from your peers.
Thirdly - money. You can, if you feel it’s worth something, drop me a tip via Paypal. Your contributions will help me set up a simple website, create new features and allow me to keep up my decadent lifestyle of store-brand coffee and fish-finger sandwiches.
So… what’s next for Wind-Up?
Nicer UI, the ability to sort drafts, a widget and… well, we’ll see.
A big thank-you to Daniel Benson and Ben Marvin for help with testing and feedback and, of course, to Adam and Cameron for Birdhouse, the application that spawned Aviary.
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