Today, we’re very happy to announce the Open Beta release of Gaia GPS for Android. You can download it from Google Play now.
Going forward, Google Play will have two versions of Gaia GPS – Beta and normal. Anyone who wants to can participate in beta testing, and the normal version will always get updates when they are finished and fully polished. We plan to update the current “normal” version of Gaia GPS to the new code towards the end of the summer. Most users will probably just want the production version of Gaia, but if you’re eager to check out our new cutting edge stuff, you can get the beta, and help us iron out the bugs.
This release is almost a total rewrite of Gaia – the maps are fast and smooth, and the UI has been overhauled on both phones and tablets. By the time this new app leaves beta, it will be extremely similar to the iOS app.
In the past, we have done all beta testing through private distribution. We are releasing a beta version on the Market because:
- it’s much easier to manage adding new testers
- we think we’ll get an order of magnitude more eyeballs on it
- we noticed larger apps like Chrome do it this way
- we’re eager to get the new release out, but can’t overwrite the old one until it’s fully cooked
Any feedback is much appreciated!
