Marketing

Sounds like a good plan indeed. Can you sync with Cloph when the next major release is due, so we avoid going live with "old" material?
I think there's no major revamp planned, but he knows better than I do

Adding Cloph -- do you plan another major release of LO Android Viewer soon? I probably won't be able to work on the video this month, but it's best if I make a video after a new feature release so that it's up-to-date.

I'd like to get started on this now, although I note that GSoC students are doing some great work:

https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/ReleaseNotes/6.0#Android

I'll talk to them about their further plans, so that my video doesn't get outdated quickly, and try to find out when the next release is planned.

I'd like to get started on this now, although I note that GSoC students are doing some great work:

https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/ReleaseNotes/6.0#Android

I'll talk to them about their further plans, so that my video doesn't get outdated quickly, and try to find out when the next release is planned.

I propose to reschedule this to Q4 then. Q3 is nearly over, and other tasks are more important IMHO (unless this one is close to finalization already anyways).

Some updates on the Android situation from the dev@ mailing list – posting here mainly for my own reference:

Generally there are 2 major bugs that need to be fixed. One that causes the problem with rendering (discussed in the ESC), which we know the commit that caused it [1]. The second one is related to fonts/text, where freetype for some reason dereferences a null pointer and the app crashes. This happens mostly when the "wrong" font is used (doesn't happen with all fonts) and is probably related to some change done when we transitioned to common text layout or it could also be a bug in freetype. I need to track this one down but currently I have my hands full.

And regarding simultaneous releases with the desktop version:

Reason is that we don't maintain branches for the Viewer/ all stuff of relevance for the Viewer is on master

I'll revisit the situation after LibOCon and see if we're closer to an updated version (or something in time for the LO 6.0 release), in which case I'll make the video.

Mike Saunders wrote:

So an update on this: a new version is available on the Play Store (at least, for my new-ish Samsung A3): 6.1.0.0.alpha0+

It still has some glitches and editing is experimental, but it's up-to-date. So I think it's worth going ahead with the video. Here are some tips from the Android developer website:

Create a video of your app in action to show off the app's main features, either by using screen capture software and filming a physical device running the app. Try to keep the video concise; aim for a run time of somewhere between 30 and 120 seconds, and highlight the most important or compelling features first.

I'd go for something short, with a voiceover and quiet music track in the background. My draft outline for the script (will share with the marketing@ list for feedback):

• (LibreOffice logo) LibreOffice is the most popular free and open source office suite – and now it's available for your smartphone or tablet.
• (Animation of scrolling through a document) With LibreOffice Viewer, you can access your documents, spreadsheets and presentations in many formats, including Open Document and Office Open XML.
• (Animation of spreadsheet) LibreOffice Viewer is based on the the same engine as the desktop application, for maximum consistency across platforms.
• (Animation of editing mode) In addition, an experimental editing option is available, so you can update your documents on the go.
• (Picture of the icon) So try it today! Download it, use it, and give our community feedback to help us improve it!

As what we've discussed in the marketing call, we can also think about other interesting ideas and let the Michael Wu, my friend and expert 3D animation artists to generate a "general" short cartoons for this. IMO since it's as short as only 30 seconds, we don't need (and it would be difficult and boring) to use real operation screenshots in the video, rather than using some attractive, interesting, abstract animations.

Franklin Weng wrote:

As what we've discussed in the marketing call, we can also think about other interesting ideas and let the Michael Wu, my friend and expert 3D animation artists to generate a "general" short cartoons for this. IMO since it's as short as only 30 seconds, we don't need (and it would be difficult and boring) to use real operation screenshots in the video, rather than using some attractive, interesting, abstract animations.

Thanks Franklin -- it would be great to get Michael involved. Here's a concept for him:

At the start of the video, the voiceover says "LibreOffice is the best free and open source office suite for your desktop. And now you can take the power of LibreOffice with you, on your smartphone or tablet." (I'm still working on the wording.)

The animation could show a desktop computer with the LibreOffice logo on the screen, and then the logo jumps out and into a smartphone or tablet. The phone/tablet could shake or bulge to show all the power inside it. What do you think? Do you want to mention the idea to Michael? Otherwise just let me know his address and I'll talk to him...

Here I attached the storyboard of the video. The main concept is to break the bondages (chains and lock marked with patent, money, ...) and liberate all kinds of things including documents, music, ... etc. Then the logo of LibreOffice and TDF appears (as a hero) with happy acclaim of "Liberty!".

This heading can be used in all videos from TDF, as a corporation identification of TDF. For the Google Play Video, after the 25 seconds headings, the remaining 5 seconds a (humanized) mobile devices will jump out happily and brings the words "LibreOffice Viewer" out.

The happy acclaim of "Liberty" is also an important identification of TDF, which fits our vision, to liberate documents and initiative freedom and open standard. I've told Mike to launch a campaign collecting the acclaim from kids all over the world. It can be an interesting campaign IMO.

The estimate complete time is around bottom of April or early May.

BTW, I don't want designer Michael Wu to do this for free, so I'll pay him as a donation to TDF. If you are happy with his artwork, we can have further cooperation.

Any feedback is appreciated, just that please give it as soon as possible.

So to add the video to the Play Store listing, I need to upload it to YouTube first, which I've done (unlisted at the moment):

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIDFFLre08I

I've added it to the Play Store listing, but it may take a few hours to be available everywhere. Meanwhile, to track the effect that it has, here are some recent download statistics:

• Installations in the last 30 days (20 May to 19 June): 36,800
• Installations in the last 90 days: 110,390
• Installations in the last six months: 249,490

So on average that's around 38,000 installations per month. Let's see if the video improves these numbers...

So some updated stats from the Play Store, now that the video has been included in the listing for 30 days:

• Installations: -31% since previous period
• Average rating: +11% since previous period

play_store_lo_viewer_stats.png (attached) shows the installation trend over the last year; we're on a downward trend at the moment.

Still, the video is great and we can use it in the long term, to ideally encourage more people to get involved and work on the app. And now there's a fantastic 10 second version to use as the intro for other LO videos (such as the 6.1 New Features).

Thanks to Franklin and everyone else who worked on this! Franklin, shall we close this ticket now? I can get updated Play Store stats at any time later...