Airgram
Infrastructure
push notification service
SHOW HN2012
121points
54comments
#164of 1,677 in 2012
Top 10%of 2012 by points
How HN took it
CuriousMostly questions and neutral comments
1 positive, 13 neutral or asking, 4 mixed, 6 critical, out of 24 comments about the project. Thread score -0.20.
Idea: 1 for, 2 againstDesign: 0 for, 1 againstPricing: 0 for, 1 againstExecution: 0 for, 1 againstDocs: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Simple to use and looks nice
From 3 comments
I'm running it on my Android phone now. It works pretty well. I wish it uses Facebook/Google/etc. for user accounts though. The last thing I want to have to do is have another…
mirsadm on HNthere, I like your design better, since I am comparing to Airgram right now: immediately I can see how it looks on the mobile device screen because you provide an image, AND I…
joering2 on HNCongrats on the app, it looks nice. I launched Pushover (https://pushover.net/) this week, which looks to be pretty much the same exact product as yours: an HTTP API to push…
there on HN
Fills a need for services without mobile apps
From 1 comment
I would really like to send mobile push notifications to users of my service. (I send emails and/or SMS right now.) Developing an iPhone & Android app - even a simple one that…
Roedou on HN
Objections
Users reluctant to install another app just to receive notifications
From 3 comments
And I wouldn't install another app to receive a third-party implementation of push notifications. If I install any app, I do not expect to have to download dependencies to make…
FuzzyDunlop on HNI am really skeptical (though I'd be more than happy to see someone prove me wrong) about these "framework" apps, that doesn't actualy do anything by itself, except to provide an…
godfreykfc on HNusers are not gonna download the app unless many services are using his api, and not many services are gonna use his api unless there is a big user base ... sounds like a prime…
nchuhoai on HN
Chicken-and-egg adoption problem
From 3 comments
I like the idea of unified notifications, but ultimately you have the chicken-egg problem, and for that you need to find an entry point. I'm working on the same problem and…
nchuhoai on HNusers are not gonna download the app unless many services are using his api, and not many services are gonna use his api unless there is a big user base ... sounds like a prime…
nchuhoai on HNThis is not as easy as it sounds (speaking from experience). The chicken-egg problem is huge in this type of service.
jazzychad on HN
Unclear how the service makes money; worry it will be free and disappear
From 3 comments
Congrats on the app, it looks nice. I launched Pushover (https://pushover.net/) this week, which looks to be pretty much the same exact product as yours: an HTTP API to push…
there on HNThanks! It's refreshing to have such an open conversation and you deserve high praise for it. I can now look for an alternative. As to Airgram, I'm worried because I don't see…
jwr on HNCharging for the app will work for the DIY hacker types, but it'll be hard for other services to convince their users to purchase your app.
LokiSnake on HN
No quiet hours setting
From 1 comment
Ok, so having tried the app — I won't actually use it until there is a "quiet hours" setting. Notifo got that perfectly right: there are certain hours where I do not want to be…
jwr on HN
Requests
Quiet hours setting
From 2 comments
Ok, so having tried the app — I won't actually use it until there is a "quiet hours" setting. Notifo got that perfectly right: there are certain hours where I do not want to be…
jwr on HNYes, absolutely. Quiet hours will show up in a day!
navneetloiwal on HN
Subscriber count visibility for service owners
From 2 comments
would be nice if I, as a Service Owner, could see how many subscribers the service has.
rasmusbe on HNThis first version is light on management features for the service owner because we wanted to get it out early to get feedback. What you suggest is absolutely on our list of…
navneetloiwal on HN
Login via Facebook or Google accounts
From 1 comment
I'm running it on my Android phone now. It works pretty well. I wish it uses Facebook/Google/etc. for user accounts though. The last thing I want to have to do is have another…
mirsadm on HN
Ability to delete notifications in the app
From 1 comment
Bug report: I created my own service (couldn't update the image because I can't be bothered to resize an image to 84x84 myself, can't you do that?), and subscribed myself to it.…
jazzychad on HN
Questions
How does this differ from Notifo?
From 2 comments
Can you explain how Airgram compares to (now deceased) Notifo?
huhtenberg on HNI'm running it on my Android phone now. It works pretty well. I wish it uses Facebook/Google/etc. for user accounts though. The last thing I want to have to do is have another…
mirsadm on HN
What is the privacy policy and are messages stored?
From 2 comments
Just curious - what's your privacy policy? Are you storing any of the messages that get pushed through this service?
Splines on HNTommy here, Airgram co-founder. Currently, we are storing these messages, but if our users have some use cases that require messages to not be persisted, we'd be happy to add…
tommytsai1984 on HN
How will the service make money?
From 1 comment
Congrats on the app, it looks nice. I launched Pushover (https://pushover.net/) this week, which looks to be pretty much the same exact product as yours: an HTTP API to push…
there on HN
Alternatives named
Pushover
From 1 comment
Congrats on the app, it looks nice. I launched Pushover (https://pushover.net/) this week, which looks to be pretty much the same exact product as yours: an HTTP API to push…
there on HN
Notifo
From 2 comments
Can you explain how Airgram compares to (now deceased) Notifo?
huhtenberg on HNSo did Notifo actually shut down or not? I mean, it still works for me, and the web page is up. I offered many times to pay for the service.
jwr on HN
Boxcar
From 2 comments
Boxcar?
joshu on HNBoxcar is great. It was very cool to be able to curl the Boxcar API and have a notification on my phone in a fraction of a second. My startup uses Boxcar for deploy…
mnutt on HN
Prowl
From 1 comment
Congrats on the app, it looks nice. I launched Pushover (https://pushover.net/) this week, which looks to be pretty much the same exact product as yours: an HTTP API to push…
there on HN
NotifyMyAndroid
From 1 comment
Congrats on the app, it looks nice. I launched Pushover (https://pushover.net/) this week, which looks to be pretty much the same exact product as yours: an HTTP API to push…
there on HN