First look at Version 3 of WORK[etc]’s Android app

You've seen the preview for our upcoming iOS app release. Now, feast your eyes on Version 3 of WORK[etc]'s Android app. Pretty soon, you'll be enjoying a faster, cleaner, and more intuitive mobile app on your Android device. Read on for details.

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A few weeks ago we unveiled the massive improvements we’re making in Version 3 of WORK[etc]’s mobile apps. That particular preview was geared more towards iOS users, though, so today we’re doing the same for Android users.

All of the performance enhancements we’re building into the iOS app are also present in the Android version. The navigation is more efficient, loading times are faster (at least ten times faster than the older version!), and the crisp, clean design is pure eye candy. The Android version actually looks better than the iOS app when we viewed it on a Samsung Galaxy S5!

The Android version is fast catching up to the iOS app, so we should have more news on a possible beta in a few weeks’ time. WORK[etc] Insiders will get first dibs on the beta (as well as any other future betas), so if you’re not one yet now’s a good time to sign up for our Insiders program.

For now, here’s a rundown of the features that come packed with the new and improved WORK[etc] app for Android.

Create anything from new leads to support tickets from virtually anywhere in the app via the new side panel menu. Just swipe, tap, and you’re good to go.
Get a quick view of what you’re working on and what you have scheduled via the new and improved dashboard.
Further refine and filter search results with more advanced filtering options.
The activity history feature has been overhauled, so you can now keep track of any contact’s activity including correspondence.
The new project module will include both Activity View and Nest Tree View. Custom fields, which allow users to add and collect more niche and industry-specific information to objects in WORK[etc], are also in the Android version.
Keep your discussions going even when you’re out of the office with the new Discussion feature brought over from the web app. This feature allows users to start and attach threaded, forum-style discussions to contacts, leads, projects, tasks, and more. No more email ping pong.
Launch a timesheet from practically any screen. The feature is further enhanced with the new “Start / Stop” timer (which, by the way, is already in alpha).
Snap a pic and attach it to a project. Very useful for when inspiration strikes while you’re out in the field or when you have to charge a receipt against an expense.

Android users, if we’ve missed anything for this next release (be it a fix, a feature, or whatever else), tell us. You can do so via the comments below or through our feature suggestions forum here.

Michael

I really like the new look. I will be trying this out as soon as it is ready – please make sure it’s available for the KINDLE flavor of android. Unfortunately, I don’t use android as much. Are there similar iOS changes coming too?
- Steve Westrop | WORK[etc]
  
  Yes Michael, iOS update was reported in a previous blog post. I’ll mention Amazon Appstore internally and see what we can do there – no promises at this stage, though may at least be able to make the apk available directly.
Michal Brenneman Wahli

I’m really excited about the new look and the features with this update. One of my peeves with the old versions is the timesheets feature, so I’m looking forward to using the start/stop timer and timesheet launch from pretty much anywhere. I think the overhaul and upgrade on this is going to revolutionize using Worketc in the field. It’s hard to find any missing features right now without using it!
- Daniel Barnett
  
  “I think the overhaul and upgrade on this is going to revolutionize using Worketc in the field.”
  
  That is absolutely the plan! Also just double confirming that the start/stop timer is definitely in this release.
Thomas Lawler

Excited to have this version for our Android users in the office. (Although few) I’m sure they will be happy with the update! Thanks for keeping us updated with all of the improvements & updates!
David Jones

This app looks great. We are an iOS shop by default but we do have some BYOD employees that carry android phones. This app will be very helpful in keeping everyone communicating despite the device.
David McGarry

Can’t wait for the updates, I didn’t really make use of the previous Android version, but this looks significantly improved and I will definitely install it.. the UI is really nice and cleanly presented and those speed increases will be more than appreciated!

I think I am more likely to actually use this on my Nexus 7 as I’m not a fan of using my phone for anything other than basic tasks. I have my Nexus with me most of the time anyway and it will be nice to have the extra screen real-estate. Means that I can manage my TODOs while pottering around the house – which for me is always a bonus!

I wonder if an offline mode would be useful??
- Daniel Barnett
  
  “I wonder if an offline mode would be useful??”
  
  Possibly in a future release, but we didn’t look at this on either the iOS of the android apps at this stage, as it would have added significant time to the release cycle. Google has put significant work into off-line Apis in the next version of the android operating system so also made sense to wait for this android release.
Ryan Powell

Being an Apple focused solutions provider doesn’t give me much time in the Android world. I do have a device for testing and now that I’ve moved into primarily cloud consulting, I do see the huge benefits that using the business focused stance of Google in integrating so many aspects of interconnectivity for the cloud focused business. I applaud taking on an android app and reaching out to users for advice since I know the device fragmentation can create headaches for end users and for developers. Keep up the good work!
Jason Royals

Personally, I find the refined search results to be of the most importance. It would help with the accuracy of comments and my workload. Having activity view and nest tree view is very beneficial when being able to dissect business matters in a productive fashion. Everyone knows skypes inaccuracy in updating comments in a timely fashion with multiple devices. The discussion ability moved over from the webapp will allow you to communicate on specific issues with real time data right in front of you, while you are on the go. That’s innovation. That’s the best all in one crm on the market. I could go on more about all of this but I think overall we are looking at possibly the most efficient software on the market.
- Daniel Barnett
  
  “The discussion ability moved over from the webapp will allow you to communicate on specific issues with real time data right in front of you, while you are on the go. ”
  
  You are absolutely right, this will be a major change to how and when people are able to work.
William Mullane

We have a few Android users on our team so we are very excited about the improvements. Looks like the app is full of useful features. My android users will have no excuses for not making full use of WORKetc.
Ricardo

Most of our employees use Android phones. I already like the old app which made the neccesary things possible to do on your phone. The new interface makes it more like we are used to. Compare it with the interface from Facebook when they changed; easier in use and it just look nicer.
- Daniel Barnett
  
  Thanks for the great feedback Ricardo!
guillermo

when , when , when ?????????
guillermo

IOS version please , now is imposible to work , we need the new version , as soon as posible. brilliant job
- Steve Westrop | WORK[etc]
  
  soon – very soon…..
mumof2

looks great!
Steve Westrop | WORK[etc]

From the inside, and as a stalwart Android user, it’s been great having Sherie on the Team and seeing this develop and progress so quickly. Great to see all the positive comments on here too – thanks all.
Barry Gibson

As android users we are very excited by this update (and can’t wait to get it), the thing that would/will be most useful to me will be able to see the same lists I see in the web version. Also improvements in timesheet entry. Good to see a more intuitive interface is on its way. Is the dashboard going to be customisable (and hopefully aligned with the new web based one)?
- Daniel Barnett
  
  “would/will be most useful to me will be able to see the same lists I see in the web version.”
  
  Yup – this a major requirement; the sort/order/filtered views that you’ve applied on the web app which you end up using 90% of the time is mirrored exactly on the mobile app. Microsoft is actually planning something very similar with its Windows 9 release whereby the “view” of your desktop follows you to your Windows phone and tablet.
Yahutsadak Wahli

I mainly use the app for on the go task checking and time sheet management. Looking forward for the stop watch feature. Would save me from having a separate note pad for time management. Thanks!
- Daniel Barnett
  
  “Looking forward for the stop watch feature”
  
  I’m just triple confirming that the stopwatch is in place and works beautifully on both iOS and android!
Mark Van Ree

Will there be any widgets coming with the new app? It’d be great to have a task and calendar widget so that you can quickly see what jobs you’ve got for the day
- Daniel Barnett
  
  “Will there be any widgets coming with the new app?”
  
  The first release will be the for WORKetc app, after that we may look at making smaller widgets available as discrete apps – or alternatively allowing users to create their own custom dashboard, so they can choose what pieces are most important to them. There has been no firm decision on the direction we will take.
Brad Crowley

This appears to be a much needed improvement of the current app which is nearly unusable. We appreciate the hard work!!! A widget showing messages, calendar, etc would be an excellent addition as well.
- Daniel Barnett
  
  “A widget showing messages, calendar, etc would be an excellent addition as well.”
  
  In-app alerts will be coming after the initial release. Unlike with the previous apps, we now have full time and permanent teams working on both platforms meaning we’ll be in a process of constant iterative improvements post release.
Stan Zaslavsky

Look forward to the update. Hopefully the search facility is going to work better on this version – currently a lot of settings need to be set up to get the right contact.
Also is there going to be a way to sort leads chronologically based on the latest leads rather than the first ones?
- Daniel Barnett
  
  “Hopefully the search facility is going to work better on this version ”
  
  Agree – and yes a lot of time is going into testing search on mobile, in particular the speed. Leads will also be sort-able by chronology.
  - Stan Zaslavsky
    
    Hi Daniel,
    That’s awesome news – thanks so much and can’t wait for the release!
Juuso Salmu

I hope that this version supports tablets as well. The previous version did not allow for a horizontal view of the app which made it a drag to use on an Android tablet. I hope that this is updated in this version
- Daniel Barnett
  
  Hi Juuso – this first release will be vertical mode only, we needed to make this sacrifice so that we could do a faster a release. Its highly likely we’ll be building dedicated tablet versions from the same code base – just not an eta for this year though.
Joe Harris

One of the main reasons my company adopted WorkETC last month was so that field sales personnel could view account activity before visiting current clients – and they all use Android devices. This is the last piece we need for our implementation. Looking forward to it!
Brittany Thompson

While i do not have an Android device as of yet, it is good to know there is an app that’s just as nice as the iPhone and iPad app if i ever do decided to use an android device!
Biljana

I still don’t have this version in google play. Hmm..
- Daniel Barnett
  
  Yes – because it is still being built and tested, as per this post! We’ll announce a limited beta release over the next 6 – 8 weeks.
Harald

The new app seems to be more clear and tidied up. It could be a full substitute for the desktop version, as it seems that all functionality is included. Great work, go ahead!
- Daniel Barnett
  
  I think you’ll still miss the extra screen real-estate that you have on the desktop/web app versions. Tablets might be a different story however.
Dwight Snow

I really like the look of the APP. My favorite additions are the Start/Stop timer, and the Snap a Pic features. Could we also look at a white label customer app that we could use to keep in touch with our customers.
- Daniel Barnett
  
  ” Could we also look at a white label customer app that we could use to keep in touch with our customers.”
  
  Interesting idea. Next year we’ll be looking at making the Tablet versions to include a build-your-own dashboard type feature and with the extra screen real-estate there is enough room to include Logos.
Robbie Crenshaw

Most of the people in the company i work for use iPhones and we love the iphone app, so i have no doubt that the droid app is just as amazing! I just hope its not better!. Im sure we have clients that use this app since not all people have iphones.
James Hartley

In parallel to the iOS version – the boys and girls in our office on the dark side (android) are over the moon that thy aren’t being neglected. As a previous comment stated – the current app in both configurations is well below what one come to expect from WETC – so the new app (which looks fab on so many levels) will be a breath of fresh air.
Yeah guys – that’s the price you pay when you set the bar so high with everything else – it really shows when one part drops behind the rest of your fabulous offering.
Roll on the new release. I cant wait for direct photo attachments to projects… who would have thought such simple things would give such pleasure!
Kevin Pemberton

Easily the most useful item for us is the ability to continue discussions from the app. We use the discussions attached to projects to promulgate info to our consultants on the ground. The start/stop timer against a timesheet/project can not come soon enough, that will be a great help with time and billing.
Allen Bayless

Looks as good as the IOS version!
Matthew Bauer

The app looks great! I would agree with Dwight Snow that an End User portal version would also be a great idea. I can see a lot of our customers interested in this to keep up to date on projects, support cases, and allow us to interface with them in Chat or even Discussions. Great idea Dwight!
Joey Gilbert

Great illustrations of the app, I would still be curious to see the display differences between the Android and the iOS versions. The app looks fantastic though! It’s very cool to see it unfold. I look forward to trying it out at some point. The new additions sound wonderful. Anytime you speed up an application I think everyone can agree to cheer. We live in an instant world with an upcoming (already here) instant generation, so this is always a plus. The feature that sticks out to me that would help our business the most is the “Snap a pic.” This is such a simple way to portray what you mean when you have a discussion with an employee or a client, without having any back and forth. Very cool. The only thing I would be concerned about is the “Delete Project” button 🙂 I understand its needed, but if someone accidentally pushed that, I could see that being a headache. As always great stuff Worketc, we always look forward to what’s next with your software!
Kris Jorgensen

Looking forward to the new app. The old one is handy, but rather confusing, and to be honest, looks ancient.

Would be nice to be able to enter a simple timesheet on the go – currently I can enter a timesheet, but it isn’t in the correct time format and I can’t add any details.
Martin Mills

As an iOS user I can’t comment much on the way the android app behaves but from reading the article and looking at the screen shots made available I’d have to say that the android app shows potential in the following areas.

The app appears to have a great workflow built into it and I think that this will benefit it’s users greatly. I also think that the interface and overall design of the app look to be on par if not better than many of its competitors.