Nature's Notebook

Im at school felt like writing a review its trash

Sucks

It is awesome I love nature and hope you will to

I downloaded this app (v 2.1.2)to my Motorola Razr Maxx HD (running Android 4.1.2) and went out to collect some data. The app is simple consisting of just a few windows. First you're asked to enter a network name and a site and then you can submit a plant or animal observation. Once you have a list of phenophases to choose from you can press "Circle All No" and then just click "Yes" for the phenophases you observe which is convenient. I have found that the app occasionally times out making you go through the initial screen again. Also, once you enter an observation it does not really give you a confirmation that your data has been entered but instead automatically advances you to the next plant on the list. This is usually good but once you've gone through all your plants it circles back to the first - a little confusing. One thing I like about the app is that you can work offline -- important if you're collecting information far from cell phone towers. I also like "i" feature that lets you view the phenophase definitions. This is a relatively new app that I think will get better and more easy to use over time. Right now, it is a definite improvement over the paper data sheets.

If you use a nexus 10 tablet, go to settings and turn on sync over wifi only otherwise the app will crash when you try to submit observations. Not sure why settings is forced into landscape mode, but the app works good after I found this trick.

Great pheno app! Record data and upload at the same time. Saves lots of time and is fun!

Easy interface for scientific data collection

I downloaded this app (v 2.1.2)to my Motorola Razr Maxx HD (running Android 4.1.2) and went out to collect some data. The app is simple consisting of just a few windows. First you're asked to enter a network name and a site. After doing that you can't really read what you selected because it displays them as white text on a white background which is virtually unreadable indoors and absolutely unreadable in the field. Forging ahead I clicked on "Enter a plant observation". That brings up a new window where you must enter one of your previously entered plants, a date and the phenophase data. This does not work well either as clicking on "date" often makes the app hang while a message saying "loading protocol" occupies the middle of the screen. It's also unclear as to whether if date is omitted it defaults to today's date. Undaunted by these problems I went ahead and collected data! I did this in situations where I had internet connectivity through 3g and when the phone was in airplane mode because I was out of my cell carrier's range. My data never made it to the web and eventually was lost. The app also crashed a couple of times. This is not a functional app and is not recommended.

If you use a nexus 10 tablet, go to settings and turn on sync over wifi only otherwise the app will crash when you try to submit observations. Not sure why settings is forced into landscape mode, but the app works good after I found this trick.

Great pheno app! Record data and upload at the same time. Saves lots of time and is fun!

Easy interface for scientific data collection