Weightwatchers Android App is out!

I honestly never thought that I would be able to do a post about the weightwatchers android app, purely because Weightwatchers has never seemed to care about any customers that use phones that are not apple. They have had a very poor calculator only available to those on only some android phones and nothing, to my knowledge available on blackberry.
Over 2 years I have sporadically emailed weightwatchers asking when will the android app be released (keeping in mind it has been available for a long time in the states) to be told "soon", and even once advised I can use the apple app. I giggled at that, I have a Samsung Galaxy S2, why would I downgrade to an iphone for one app?

So, nearly two years on I nearly drop when I leave work, check twitter and see that the android app is available!
And, amazingly, not just on my Galaxy S2, but my HTC Wildfire too! Excellent. Well done weightwatchers! Wee tick for you there! And the old calculator app is now available on my wildfire where it wasn't before! Another tick!
It's not available for my Tablet though, which is odd as it has better hardware and more up to date software than the wildfire, but apparently they are not supporting android 3. So a wee X there.

Installation was, like all apps very easy.
Accept the user agreement, and, if you are a weightwatchers online subscriber (which I am because I can't make meetings anymore) sign in so that you can track.
This is the part that I was most excited for, I have been craving the day where I no longer have to carry around an actual notebook, pen and calculator. I have just wanted to be able to track easily on the go.
You can of course use the app if you do not have a subscription online, but it is a little bit more limited.

Disappointingly, the app itself is just a copy of the one available for iphone/pod/pad. I have used that app in the past and it's a good one. It hasn't translated well to android. It looks blurry on my (large) screen and just isn't as sleek looking as I hope it will be some day.

After a few days of use I've found it not at all practical. Despite my phone being pretty awesome with speed and my network being great with good all you can eat data and again brilliant speed, if I want to put in a food item manually, I have no problem. It's not until I go to actually look an item up in the data base that we encounter major problems, normally where the app crashes and when I boot it up again I have to sign back in and the item I am trying to track never seems to make it into my tracker. Most infuriating, especailly when the ability to track on the go is my reason for using the app, and renewing my subscription to weightwatchers online (which without mobile capability has always been a bit useless for me as I don't manage to get onto my laptop much).

 

Something else I guess I got to mention is the size of the app itself, quite large, large enough where I won't keep it in my HTC, but because my Galaxy has an obscene amount of room compared to the wildfire, I'm keeping it on that.

Keeping positive about it all, at least there finally is something out there for android users. And it is essentially a first draft, I've sent an email to the developers with the tracking issues I have encountered, and I am hoping that they will be fixed with an update soon.

I will update this review when the app improves.

You can get the app for yourself here, on the android market / play store, and I haven't been asked or paid to do this post. Hate that I have to add that in.