Guest Paul [MVP] Posted September 30, 2003 Report Posted September 30, 2003 Tesco.com, The DAT Group (http://www.datgroup.com) and MoDaCo Smartphone (http://smartphone.MoDaCo.com) are proud to announce that 'Tesco Phone Shopper', a brand new grocery shopping application for Microsoft Smartphone, has now entered the beta phase, currently for MoDaCo Plus members only. Tesco Phone Shopper allows Tesco customers to utilise their existing Tesco.com online shopping accounts - which are free to set up - and enjoy the same high quality online shopping experience without needing a conventional PC-based internet connection. MoDaCo Plus members can see full details on how to start using the application by visiting the 'Tesco Phone Shopper' area of the forum. Non-MoDaCo Plus members, keep an eye on the news area to find out when the application enters public beta! ;) P
Guest Simon Desser Posted September 30, 2003 Report Posted September 30, 2003 This is well cool! It's lazy enough to do your shopping sat at your PC, but I've just been shopping in bed ;) Posted from my SmartPhone!
Guest Brody Posted September 30, 2003 Report Posted September 30, 2003 Wow! I've been waiting for this one :D Its sooo convenient! ;)
Guest Coucou Posted October 1, 2003 Report Posted October 1, 2003 I'm not at all happy that you're keeping this to plus members. That condition was never mentioned when i signed up for the beta, and more to the point www.lansley.com/betatest clearly states that the beta is available to anyone who is signed on to modaco on a free subscription. When will this promise be met? I'm annoyed because it seems that you're trying to use this beta to try to get more plus subscribers without first agreeing that restriction with the originator of the beta test. Posted from my SmartPhone!
Guest Simon Desser Posted October 1, 2003 Report Posted October 1, 2003 This email has just been sent which helps clear things up a bit:- Further to my message sent a few minutes ago, I have already received messages from a couple of you eager to start the beta test but find that you register but cannot access the Tesco Beta Forum. I have contacted the powers-that-be and have discovered that I did apparently agree that, between 1st October to 31st October 2003, only “Modaco Plus” subscribers could successfully access the Tesco forum, and that it would become free to everyone from 1st November 2003. I am upset that I forgot about that decision, and I was going to be upset about that decision (made some months ago) until I was reminded of the reasons: Firstly, the first month of the test is about the technical stability of the software rather than its user-interface, look and feel. Modaco Plus subscribers tend to be developers with deep knowledge of the Smartphone and that, however stable the first beta of Tesco Phone Shopper may be, should something go terribly wrong and wreck the phone (or potentially create a massive phone bill) they can sort out the problem. The first month was given to DAT to work with these types of tester so that anything horrid could be sorted out before November. The sort of thing cited here includes continuous looping to get info from the Tesco servers that might cause a huge GPRS bill to be run up, or a clash of application files occurs that stops other parts of the phone from working (so-called “DLL Hell”).. Secondly, MoDaCo have put a lot of work into creating and hosting the Tesco beta test forum - and they should be at least compensated for their work. So my apologies if I have misled you about access to the Tesco Beta Forum being immediately available to everyone. I did not mean to do so. If you do not feel you are the sort of person who would benefit from Modaco Plus then can I ask you to wait to access from 1st November 2003? If there is any good news it’s that by then we should have a guaranteed technically-stable piece of software for you to try out. For more news check out http://www.lansley.com/betatest .
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted October 1, 2003 Report Posted October 1, 2003 Indeed, as the message above states, from our point of view, the first section of the beta was always going to be Plus-only, for many reasons. P
Guest Coucou Posted October 1, 2003 Report Posted October 1, 2003 Ok, thanks for the clarification. Wish it had been clear from the word go though.
Guest davidhorn Posted October 1, 2003 Report Posted October 1, 2003 Does that mean I have to be a Plus member to shop at Tesco, too? It can hardly be a tremendous technical strain to host the beta test forums.
Guest awarner [MVP] Posted October 2, 2003 Report Posted October 2, 2003 Does that mean I have to be a Plus member to shop at Tesco, too? :-({|= :roll: ](*,) only until November ;) :D
Guest Coucou Posted October 3, 2003 Report Posted October 3, 2003 Thinking about it more carefully the first reason Nick gave in his e-mail doesn't stand up. There may be more developers in the Plus area but that's not how it's sold to us. There is no reason to suppose Plus members are technically more competent than non-plus members, even if that is often the case. There is no technical level you have to reach other than being able to use paypal. Presumably people who go in for beta testing go in with open eyes - I realise that this one in particular will have attracted a more diverse crowd but there were still plenty of disclaimers etc. - so the risk of damage to phones is not really a genuine consideration. This leaves MoDaCo being rewarded for hosting the forum as the only genuine reason, now I realise that's a legitimate reason but i think you've missed a real opportunity here. This Beta test has, by the sound of Nick's e-mail, pulled a lot of smartphone users into the MoDaCo forum who would otherwise never have visited. Their first contact with the forum is now tainted because they didn't get what they were expecting. I think you may have stood to gain more members, and potentially therefore more plus members, if the trial was open to start with. End of rant. Posted from my Bed!
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted October 6, 2003 Report Posted October 6, 2003 This Beta test has, by the sound of Nick's e-mail, pulled a lot of smartphone users into the MoDaCo forum who would otherwise never have visited. Their first contact with the forum is now tainted because they didn't get what they were expecting. I think you may have stood to gain more members, and potentially therefore more plus members, if the trial was open to start with. End of rant. I'm not sure this IS the case (new users), but also, from our point of view, the first part of the beta release was always going to be Plus only, and any indication otherwise has not come from MoDaCo, but from other sources. In addition, any indication that this is for technical reasons are also incorrect - and did not originate from us. P
Guest Coucou Posted December 5, 2003 Report Posted December 5, 2003 Not that I've got a bee in my bonnet, but will this be entering public beta anytime soon? The date mentioned above was 1st November... :roll:
Guest samo123_uk Posted December 6, 2003 Report Posted December 6, 2003 I hope so to , iit would be great to do my shopping while im waiting for the train :lol:
Guest Gorskar Posted December 7, 2003 Report Posted December 7, 2003 It looks great, but I'd vary rarely be home when they try and deliver :roll: - And yes, surely its time for everyoenelse to get to try this now??
Guest blueflash Posted December 10, 2003 Report Posted December 10, 2003 Gorsak, if you not used tesco deliver before you can pick a 2hr time slot for the deliver. I use it all the time now if only i could try this beta for me xmas shopping
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