Become a Pocket Sergeant Champion!

Okay, so how would you like to become a Pocket Sergeant Champion?

Becoming a Pocket Sergeant Champion is a perfect opportunity to become part of the team.

What are the benefits and responsibilities of a Pocket Sergeant Champion?

Being a champion will allow you a full refund of the app amount so you will effectively have the app for free. As a champion you will get to have a say in any future features and how the features are implemented.  You will also be the first to receive future Pocket Sergeant updates before they are officially released.

What do I need to do to become a Pocket Sergeant Champion?

Simply follow the below 3 steps:

1. Download the app from the Google Play Store (or Apple Store when it is released)

2. Leave a review on the Google Play Store (or Apple App Store ) once downloaded

3. Invite friends / family / colleagues to “Like” our Facebook page

Out of those who complete all of the above, several users will be offered the opportunity to become Pocket Sergeant Champions.

So far Pocket Sergeant has sold between 10 – 50 on the Google Play Store yet we only have 1 review. Remember,  this is YOUR app and you will have a say in how we take Pocket Sergeant forward. Please leave us a review at the earliest opportunity.

We have also received LOTS of enquiries about when Pocket Sergeant is to be released for Apple IOS. Please allow us a couple of weeks for Pocket Sergeant to make its way onto Apple IOS. There are many hoops to jump through at Apple before an app can be accepted (unlike Google).

This is all very positive and the interest generated in Pocket Sergeant is fantastic given there has only been coverage on social networking websites up to now.

Not Just An App -The Start Of An Online Community

Lots of debate over the £3.99 Pocket Sergeant price tag this week and there are mixed feelings but most remain upbeat and positive. I don’t think some realise just how much native apps cost to build or that Google take 20% of the fees before the developer receives a penny!

Others have described an app priced at £3.99 as a”punt”. We have to disagree with those views. That’s like saying you wouldn’t try a new type of food or drink because you didn’t know if you would like it or not. At least with an app, you have plenty of information about the features and content.  If you have no need to review the content then Pocket Sergeant clearly isn’t for you.

If you are one of those who is happy “using Google” – that is up to you but you will never have a say in how Google operates and holds its information!!

Pocket Sergeant on the other hand is different. Being a user of Pocket Sergeant will allow you to put forward ideas to help direct where we go with it. If there are features you use less than others we can take out or just simply add further features which many will will use. We are here to listen and to action what suggestions we here but we need you and your friends / colleagues not just to buy Pocket Sergeant but to buy into the idea of an active online community to get Pocket Sergeant to the best it can be.

A big thank you to those have downloaded so far. Please leave us a review when you get the chance!

Pocket Sergeant Now Available – Pricing explained

Good morning and thank you for your patience and for keep coming back!

Pocket Sergeant is now available on the Google Play Store and will be followed by the Apple IOS version in the coming weeks.

The app is priced at £3.99. This may come as a disappointment to some but we want to explain why it isn’t free or priced any lower.

Why £3.99?

Pocket Sergeant is a native application. These applications are way more expensive to develop than “web apps”. Pocket Sergeant will also give users a better experience in terms of needing no internet connection to find the information they want. This is a great feature when you have run up your data allowance or stuck somewhere you cannot connect to a mobile network. Pocket Sergeant will also be able to move with the technology mobile devices have offer. For example, in future we can use the GPS or camera functions on a mobile device with our app. Web apps cannot do this.

Also, due to the vast amount the application cost to build we would like to be reimbursed most of those costs.

Questions asked about advertising – Please don’t be alarmed!!

There is nothing more annoying than pop up or banner ads which take you to places you would never go usually. This is why we aren’t including these types of adverts.  There would be nothing worse than trying to use features within Pocket Sergeant and not being able to find what you want because of this.

Instead,  we would like to build into each section of Pocket Sergeant at the very top of the section an sponsor advert.  It would simply be an image that would not take you anywhere if you tapped on it. Instead there would be a link to their website in a sponsor tab in the main menu should anyone want to visit the site. Here at Pocket Sergeant we do not believe in taking users to places against their will!!

We would like to incorporate this style of advertising eventually. This is likely not to happen for the first 6 months at least. This takes us back to cost. Every time changes are made to app whether it be new content or features added – it costs money. We had considered in app purchases for updates but we decided against it as we felt a one off fee of £3.99 would be sufficient.

We would like to add content and features based on the user’s experience and make Pocket Sergeant the best it can be. We can only do that with YOUR help.

Thank you.

Patronised and Nearly Gave Up

Funnily enough, the name of the app and how the logo would look were decided before the app was anywhere near development. It took weeks to get down on paper what the Pocket Sergeant should look like and what functions it should have.

Prior to finding a developer, a meeting was arranged with a high ranking police officer to get their opinion on the Pocket Sergeant design.

Well, it was all very positive and they even offered to have Pocket Sergeant developed to put on their police force’s mobile handset. This wasn’t really an option as it would take so long to develop and no doubt we would have little control over what content was included. The officer then stated frontline officers don’t carry their new smart phones around with them at work (which isn’t true)and how the force could develop a similar app if they wanted to (not true either). They later told us it could take the force YEARS to develop due to other priorities in relation to mobile data! Admittedly, the idea of developing Pocket Sergeant was about to be shelved……..

……….Then we thought, actually we are going to do it………

Having developed the app, another high ranking officer stated Pocket Sergeant was almost like the modern equivalent to the Beat Officers Companion book they carried around in their tunic in the 1980s. After meetings with various police forces throughout England and Wales they can see just how Pocket Sergeant would help police officers and staff on the frontline.

Pocket Sergeant has nearly 100 followers now in 2 days on Twitter which is phenomenal. This has prompted positive feedback about Pocket Sergeant from numerous people.

The lesson? Don’t let one opinion of a higher rank / position put you off. You could argue that people occupying higher positions sometimes lose touch with what people want / need.

How Will The Police Family & Public React To This?

They often say today is the day but in this case it is tomorrow. What will police officers, PCSOs, Special Constables, Detention Officers and curious members of the public make of Pocket Sergeant? Well, we will see.

Of course, Pocket Sergeant won’t be for everybody. Some may not have smart phones, some may begrudge paying for an app like this, others may just prefer doing things the old fashioned way and read books. However, we are hoping many buy into what we are trying to achieve. That, by the way is not to make a load of money. That won’t happen because of the amount of money which has been invested into Pocket Sergeant in the first instance.

So what do we want to achieve then if it’s not about the money? Well, we want to give people a mobile application they want and keep it updated as regularly as possible. To keep Pocket Sergeant as up to date as what we would like, it would prove beneficial for sponsors to come on board in exchange for advertising space within the app. Without sponsors is possible but for Pocket Sergeant to reach its full potential we would like as many as possible on board.

At some point in the near future we would like to support a charity with a percentage of any profits going straight to them. Why? Pocket Sergeant is about helping the police family and helping the public understand why the police make the decisions they do. If we can help a charity along the way too that would be great.

Pocket Sergeant should be available on Android from tomorrow onwards (all being well) and will be followed by Apple IOS within the next couple of weeks.

If you’ve not yet read about Pocket Sergeant or if you’re interested in sponsoring then do get in touch.

You can view our website here: http://www.pocketsergeant.co.uk