Reachme, a simple Windows Phone app for sharing your location

Reachme

Reachme is a Windows Telephone app that offers a simple means of sharing your location with others. The app is a Microsoft Garage project and lets y'all send your location, along with plow-by-turn directions to get to that location. While sharing your location with Reachme is presented in simple fashion, to share your location the recipient will need a Microsoft Business relationship, be listed in your contacts and take Reachme installed on their Windows Phone.

All of which does requite Reachme a rather restrictive feel that will likely tarnish any appeal the app has to offer. The app has potential and I can see it coming in handy, only Reachme needs a option of sharing your location without the demand for the recipient to take a Microsoft account and Reachme installed.

The layout with Reachme is laid out rather simple with your principal page pinpointing your current location and options to share your current location or live location displayed across the lesser of the screen. At that place is a bluish map pointer icon displayed in the upper right corner of the map that will take you to your send/receive history.

Reachme Map and Location Share Screens

Reachme does have a few requirements for utilise that may concur the app back a footling. For starters, the recipient needs a Microsoft Account and be in your People's Hub contact listing. They will also need to have Reachme installed on their Windows Phone.

When everything is in place, sending your location is like shooting fish in a barrel. Just choose to send your current location or a live location (updates as y'all motility), choose your contact recipient, choose any landmarks yous want to note and tap send. If yous are choosing to send your live location, you can set the elapsing for how long the app will track your live location.

Reachme live sharing and Favorites

Locations can be saved as favorites for piece of cake reference and named accordingly (work, home, campsite, beach spot, etc.).

Overall Impression

I like the foundation that Reachme has established but experience information technology may be too restrictive for many. In that location are enough of location sharing alternatives that are non as restrictive to the Windows Phone platform that may be more appealing.

However, I practise like the alive location sharing abilities that Reachme offers. It offers you the ability to go on track of friends or family while traveling, out hiking or exploring holiday spots. I tin can see this characteristic coming in handy with those Windows Telephone users who have teenage or pre-teen children who want the freedom to go off on their own but yous still demand to go along tabs on them from a altitude.

I think Reachme would accept greater appeal if information technology would include a feature to allow yous to send your current location over electronic mail or SMS, regardless if the recipient had a Microsoft Account and has Reachme setup on their Windows Phone. Information technology would add to the versatility of the app.