Options
Do you own a PDA or would you if...
kajdg657
Posts: 242 ✭
First off, who here owns a PDA, Iphone, or something comparable? Also, I was wondering if anyone thought it would be useful to have a program that worked with these electronic devices?
I am a computer programmer and have been annoyed at the fact that I have to go to 30,000 different places to find info, prices, variety attribution, and other information about a single coin. Being at a coin show, unless I am carrying a bookbag or have somehow memorized all this different information I almost feel unprepared.
Which of these features would be most helpful to you in a program run from a PDA:
1.) Prices
Price Guide from PCGS, NGC, and other (inflated) price guides
Prices from grey, blue, greensheets.
Prices realized from heritage, ebay, and other auction sites.
Also a place to jot down which other grades and prices you have seen at the show that day, week, year, lifetime?
2.) Grades
Photograde-esque grading structure
redbook grading by way of a written description
For Iphones and PDA's with a built in camera a place to store pictures for later review
Where grading might be different throughout the series, maybe a list of weak or worn dies.
3.) Attribution
Cherrypickers guide-esque
Also help from individual experts on series(e.g. vamlink.com or other sites dedicated to a series)
4.) Features
Link with excell or another program so that when exporting the file from the PDA you can choose the order of the columns so that the information can be uploaded into whatever program you are currently using to keep track of your collection
Well thats about all I have for now, any help with Ideas, criticisms, or even a program that already does this will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for reading,
Russ(Not that Russ, but the other Russ)
I am a computer programmer and have been annoyed at the fact that I have to go to 30,000 different places to find info, prices, variety attribution, and other information about a single coin. Being at a coin show, unless I am carrying a bookbag or have somehow memorized all this different information I almost feel unprepared.
Which of these features would be most helpful to you in a program run from a PDA:
1.) Prices
Price Guide from PCGS, NGC, and other (inflated) price guides
Prices from grey, blue, greensheets.
Prices realized from heritage, ebay, and other auction sites.
Also a place to jot down which other grades and prices you have seen at the show that day, week, year, lifetime?
2.) Grades
Photograde-esque grading structure
redbook grading by way of a written description
For Iphones and PDA's with a built in camera a place to store pictures for later review
Where grading might be different throughout the series, maybe a list of weak or worn dies.
3.) Attribution
Cherrypickers guide-esque
Also help from individual experts on series(e.g. vamlink.com or other sites dedicated to a series)
4.) Features
Link with excell or another program so that when exporting the file from the PDA you can choose the order of the columns so that the information can be uploaded into whatever program you are currently using to keep track of your collection
Well thats about all I have for now, any help with Ideas, criticisms, or even a program that already does this will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for reading,
Russ(Not that Russ, but the other Russ)
0
Comments
1.) Prices
Prices realized from heritage, ebay, and other auction sites.
I think this one would be the most helpful. You could instantly see what each coin was actually selling for.
2.) Grades
redbook grading by way of a written description
On a small screen, I'd say a written description is the way to go. Something like the ANA grading standards broken down by series would be nice.
3.) Attribution
Cherrypickers guide-esque
Also help from individual experts on series(e.g. vamlink.com or other sites dedicated to a series)
Both plausible. VAMWorld would be great for morgan and peace dollars, and Cherrypicker's would be great too.
4.) Features
Link with excell or another program so that when exporting the file from the PDA you can choose the order of the columns so that the information can be uploaded into whatever program you are currently using to keep track of your collection
There are a few applications like this that already exist for iPhone - you can import your Excel spreadsheets and view them on your phone. Comes in very handy for inventories, etc.
To support LordM's European Trip, click here!
That said, I think that such a program would be very useful for collectors and dealers alike.
I think you should get to work making it happen!
<< <i>I was just issued a new crackberry this week and haven't yet figured out how to use the damn thing. arg... >>
get yourself one of those 2 gig micro memory card thingies, you can fit all your images on there easily
<< <i>
<< <i>I was just issued a new crackberry this week and haven't yet figured out how to use the damn thing. arg... >>
get yourself one of those 2 gig micro memory card thingies, you can fit all your images on there easily >>
We need to write up a digital quick attribution guide for the crackberries with images.
you then take the stylus and draw on the picture, to point out die breaks, doubling, etc. From there you type in the date and the program suggest VAMS that would correspond with these attributes. Would this function be helpful or more of a pain in the gluteus maximus?
But if Numismedia/CU/Grey Sheet would actually have online price guides that were usable in a practical way on an Internet-enabled PDA/phone, that would be KILLER. Just hook up to the internet and search multiple price guides (without having to clumsily navigate the full web page on them).
Prices realized from heritage, ebay, and other auction sites.
2.) Grades
Photograde-esque grading structure
3.) Attribution
Also help from individual experts on series(e.g. vamlink.com or other sites dedicated to a series)
4.) Features
Link with excell or another program so that when exporting the file from the PDA you can choose the order of the columns so that the information can be uploaded into whatever program you are currently using to keep track of your collection
A nice program that allows info (price paid, bought from, bought on, notes, sold to, sold for, sold on, additional fees paid for grading or conservation) to be stored with a photo would be good. The tool should have an easy to use index.
I have an iTouch flavored iPod. We also us the iPhone.
The Iphones already have full Internet. The app store is where folks are making money. Old style PDAs are a niche market and virtually no one buys new software for outdated hardware.
Maybe a Iphone data fetcher App, where a person inputs a coin (denomination/date/mm), and the fetcher gets the most relevant pricing information. Add a filter where a person can just check one or two sources top sources if they are in a hurry, and do a more in depth search if there is prep time. Store the data in a simple database. Even if a person has all this information handy, if it slick enough, many would prefer to use the app over going to different sites and digging up the information.
Seriously though, I have an iphone and love it. I would pay for a program that did some of the features you mentioned. Ideally, it all sounds great but it also sounds like a considerable time investment on your end. If you go the iphone route, you could sell your program in iTunes on the app store and maybe make a few bucks.
"The computer can't tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact mathematical design, but what's missing is the eyebrows." - Frank Zappa
iphone users can technically pull up the price guide via Safari and use touch screen gestures to navigate to prices but it would be a long process and not very usable. Write an app that runs locally and uses a local data store (SQL Lite in the case of the iphone). Take advantage of the UI and capabilities of the device so people can get to the data they are looking for very quickly.
It only costs $99 to get into the iphone developer program and once your app is approved by apple it can be seen by everyone in itunes. The app store has had over 500k downloads since its inception 4-5 months ago and I think its currently the most effective way to put your app in front of millions of mobile users.
I'm also a programmer but I'm working on a game and not a coin app
"The computer can't tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact mathematical design, but what's missing is the eyebrows." - Frank Zappa
Ive been working on the same thing on my own (Java ME).... so you've got some competition
good luck trying to distribute anything like this with greysheet, pcgs or heritage pricing information... I believe they all OWN thier pricing information and if you try to distribute it ... you MIGHT get away if it's shareware (but 99%, most likely not)... and absolutely NOT if it's a per-fee basis. The more attention you receive for the app, the most likely you are to get a letter from a lawyer. Also, beware including any information which is copywrited, etc..... be prepared to back up your sources in a court of law.
my recommendation is to keep it as a fun excercise for yourself. provide the user with the ability to store whatever kind of data they like... stick with superimposing structure, navigation, (images if you're really shooting for the stars) over that data, with collector search "niceities"... SPEED and clarity of navigation is CRITICAL....
let the user import thier own data content... provide the ability to sync the app itself and the data content separately.. at worst, you can wind up providing the app and sample templates. (it's possible people might want to superimpose thier own data over the top of your pricing data anyway).
This gives you an "out" on where the user gets their data. be mindful of revision control going into the future.
and.. have fun
<< <i>Now lets say there is a picture on the screen of a peace dollar:
you then take the stylus and draw on the picture, to point out die breaks, doubling, etc. From there you type in the date and the program suggest VAMS that would correspond with these attributes. Would this function be helpful or more of a pain in the gluteus maximus? >>
I think you on to something here. As a collector I would welcome this concept and I would pay for it. It would pay for itself several times over.
Tom
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>I was just issued a new crackberry this week and haven't yet figured out how to use the damn thing. arg... >>
get yourself one of those 2 gig micro memory card thingies, you can fit all your images on there easily >>
We need to write up a digital quick attribution guide for the crackberries with images.
the quick attribution guide is already written (in my brain...for the rarer die marriages anyway)