iLOCi2

Reply to Dissapointed:
Funny I have received e-mails from friends asking me to join and I have asked friends to join and they got my invite e-mail???

Seems to work for me, perhaps you have a wrong e-mail address for your friend or it got lost in spam…..

SO much easier to see where someone is instead of trying to figure out via text. Also great for tracking yourself! (Parked car, tracking miles for business, etc.) Parents LOVE this, too because it keeps track of where the kids REALLY are!

Although this application works well and is an interesting concept, I don't understand it's purpose. Originally, I thought that it would be good to locate your teenage children, but you can only locate people if they ACCEPT (each time) and it doesn't give you exact locations so you can't make sure they are where they said they would be. I also thought it might be useful in finding a person when you are trying to meet up with them, but that too doesn't work because, again, you cannot get their exact location, only a general area. Also, you have to know the exact email address the person used and, like myself, most of us have more than 1.

The only reason I didn't give this app 5 stars is because the validation was a frustrating, error prone process. But when I finally got the app validated on my iPhone, I found it to be a fun and enjoyable app to use. I can definitely see where the developers worked hard to produce such an app without compromising privacy concerns, and yet still provide as much pertinent information to the user as possible in as few menus as possible. So you don't have to drill down into too many menus to accomplish what you want with this app.

The process is fairly simple. It doesn't just let you track anyone - because then it would just be a frightening stalker's playtoy. Instead, you must first set up the app using valid email information of people you know. The app sends that person a communication via email that lets them approve or deny their placement in your app contact list. Once there, if they also use the app, their contact item gives you a dynamic status update as to when they have validated their app and can now use iLOCi2 as well. (not a crucial feature, but one that did not go un-noticed - very nice.)

Once a contact has been set up, you can simply bring them up in the app menu and send them a location request. On their phone, they recieve an alert regarding your request. (The app puts alerts and badges to good use here.) They can choose to approve or deny the location request - which is very nice to know. It allows users to retain their location privacy, if they so choose.

Once a request is approved, the app provides you a pin locator placed on a Google Map that you can then zoom in on to pinpoint their location more accurately. Furthermore, if you tap on the locator pin, a small contextual banner also provides a little more detailed information about the specific location (such as address or cross street information if it is available. - also a nice feature that was added without undue menu complexity.) The Google Map that is displayed in presented "in-app" which means that it doesn't offer all the viewing features the iPhone native Maps app includes (such as hybrid or satellite view), but the huge benefit of the "in-app" approach is that iLOCi2 doesn't have to quit in order to open the Maps app (due to the iPhone's limitation of running one app at a time). You are still working within the iLOCi2 app when viewing the map, which means you can simply and quickly return to the iLOCi2 app menu for other searches. It makes the whole process quicker and more intuitive.

It is important to note here that this app is not intended as a dynamic tracker, but as a static locator. If the location of your contact has moved, you will need request a location update from them in the app to get an updated fix on their location.

So this is not necessarily designed as an app for following someone, but rather for confirming the location of a contact, or to help determine a meeting spot. A great example of how this might be used would be if you are on a metropolitan or tourist outing with your family or a traveling group, and everyone has gone in seperate directions for various purposes. This app would be beneficial to help determine how best to meet back up in the quickest and simplest way possible. Or even more simply, if you are supposed to meet someone in an unfamiliar location, and they are uncertain as to how to direct you to their location, this app would make such a task a very simple endeavor.

So, in a nutshell:

validation - buggy
menus - fairly self-explanatory and not overly complex
usability - easy to understand and use
performance - great use of alerts and badges, interface is snappy, location requests are processed very quickly, and location & map info is streamed to my phone as quickly as I had hoped for.

To be honest, I know that the whole App Store pricing structure has really changed or skewed consumer price/value perceptions, but even so, this app is a lot more than I would have expected possible for under $3. Money well-spent, my opinion.

I've had this app since it came out and the upgrades just keep getting better and better. An issue I had was that I couldn't have more than 8 contacts and I needed more. Problem solved with version 1.3! Now I can meet up with more than just 8 of my friends and co-workers. Thanks GTX Corp! (On a side note; who's that girl on your home page? Does she have an agent?)

It's also more accurate and let you add new requests for your location to your contacts list. If you iLOCi a friend and they don't have the app installed it sends them an email to let them know how to get the App and connect with you. It gets better and better.

As the Founder of CodeAmber.com I have made it my business to help find missing kids. Every parent's nightmare is having a child go missing, under any circumstances. Now when you want to know where your children are you can simply request their location with iLoci2. When they respond you will see a Google map with their location pinpointed. End of worry! If they do not respond, then call, text, whatever. The beauty of this app is that they can let you know where they are without letting their friends know that they are "on a leash" with mommy and daddy. Brilliant!

There are many more uses in the business and social world for locating friends and colleagues but keeping track of the kids is at the top of the list for me.

I am a mom of 3 kids. 9 11 &. 12. being a parents is the hardest job I've ever had. The worry aspect is over. I've always said I wish I could put a chip in my kids. With loci2, all I had to do is get my daughters iPhones and the problem is solved. This is FANTASTIC!

Does not work, do not purchase. I purchased this twice hoping that it worked as it would be great for many things but it just does not work. I hope that they get all of the bugs worked out as it would be a wonderful app but even with a very friendly tech staff they do not have a clue on how to make it work. Sorry GTX Corp, but I now regret spending my money on this one.

This is exactly what I've been hoping for to check on my teenagers without the hassle of phone calls and texts. they like it better too because their friends don't know they're responding to a "parent check". Win-win all around.

iLoci is way better than Loopt because Loopt has to run in the foreground, what a problem, and iLoci runs in the background PLUS Loopt has no privacy -- everyone on your list sees where you are all the time. iLoci is opt-in for every time you send someone a request so only the people you want to see you see you.

It's already changed how my family interacts. We're on vacation and it's made the kid-wrangling WAY easier and more accurate (since they can't "fib" about where they are like they could on phone or text). I'm picking up iLoci2 but just wanted to share this.

Neil

I really like how fast the app is to reach out to someone without having to send a full text message to them and get back a quick map (I've used it for personal and work contacts). I don't need all the other passive social location goop in other apps and prefer being selective over who I want information from.

I just wrote a review for the free version, but for real, the paid version is actually even better. I love having more users, first of all, and just the simplicity of it is fantastic. Seriously, I just got iLOCi2 today and I pretty much can't live without it. I never realized how many of my text messages were "where are you?"

An easy to use App which I find extremely useful and reliable. I have a 14 year old daughter and I love the ability to easily send her a page and she can respond within seconds no matter what she is doing. Looped was my first program I ever downloded with my 2G, that was one of the main reasons I got one for my daughter as well. But I stopped using the program after a few weeks as I was very disapointed that it never worked well for me and was extremely unreliable.

This is fantastic! I am a mother of three kids. My oldest is 13 has an iphone has ILOCI2. I used to say i wish I could chip my kids. We'll, you've made it easier. Just having that extra PEACE of mind. Knowing that i can always know where my girls are..It's the best app out there.

It might be good for the family. But if your sending an authorization to a friend, he must have it installed otherwise no SMS or notice that someone is trying to ask for authorization to locate him. Not even a message that would explain what to do. All your friends must have the app before being located. Waste. Loopt can do it.

This is an excellent application for parents as well as for kids. Parents can locate their child at the click of a button and kids can locate their friends at the click of the button.

Does not work on the background. Does not use push notification. So, you have to ask for your kids to tell you where they are. For that you can simply send an email and ask. Why bother about a fancy app? And about privacy, if someone added you, then he/she is ok about you knowing where he is, no? So, I simply don't understand why not having a push notification service to what could be an amazing app!! That's why it only got 2 stars

Nice simple concept however does not work... I made sure to add the email to our whitelist just in case spam filters may be catching the request.
also tried using gmail not working requests are sent but never answered and I receive loc requests and respond but the other end never receives them.

My search continues for a simple effective personal location app... sorry I paid for the app maybe one day it will work out.