Author Topic: Is FT USA Going To Have A How To App (Read 3170 times)

jobsworth · « **on:** November 10, 2020, 11:34 AM »

I was watching Festool international TV yesterday and they had a new video with some FT honny speaking perfect English talking about how to download the Festool How to App.

It looked pretty slick.

A App that we can access all the FT videos on our phones Ipads etc.

I tried to find it to download and couldnt find it.

Im guessing its a Euro thing.

So my question to festool is are they going to develop a simular app for us NA users ?

Bob D. · « **Reply #1 on:** November 10, 2020, 11:54 AM »

Sounds interesting.

I wonder if it will have links to tool manuals too.

Would be nice if you could use it to register your tools and view what you have registered.

DeformedTree · « **Reply #2 on:** November 10, 2020, 12:22 PM »

Hope they put focus on manuals/documents, not apps. An App can only be used by a subset of the population (and even then they have to be willing to use it).

Alex · « **Reply #3 on:** November 10, 2020, 01:32 PM »

Quote from: DeformedTree on November 10, 2020, 12:22 PM

An App can only be used by a subset of the population (and even then they have to be willing to use it).

Apps can be used by anybody with a smart phone. I think the larger part is in the actual willingness of folks to get into it. Mostly an older generation (55+) problem, and their problem only.

Funny thing, my old mother once wanted a computer so I got one for her, but she never bothered to use it. But when I got her a mobile phone, she was on it 24/7.

Svar · « **Reply #4 on:** November 10, 2020, 01:37 PM »

Why do you need a special FT app to access FT documents and videos? Keep it simple.

usernumber1 · « **Reply #5 on:** November 10, 2020, 02:07 PM »

they replied in the comments: uk and germany only for now

DeformedTree · « **Reply #6 on:** November 10, 2020, 04:33 PM »

Quote from: Alex on November 10, 2020, 01:32 PM

Quote from: DeformedTree on November 10, 2020, 12:22 PM
An App can only be used by a subset of the population (and even then they have to be willing to use it).

Apps can be used by anybody with a smart phone. I think the larger part is in the actual willingness of folks to get into it. Mostly an older generation (55+) problem, and their problem only.

Thats the whole issue, not everyone has smart phone (or cell phones for that matter), and even then it doesn't mean they want to deal with an app and such.

Make manuals, good ones. Ship with tools. If not shipped with tools, make PDFs on website and easy to download (don't make folks jump thru hoops to get them).

Making stuff via an App is a great way to have someone stop buying your stuff.

Apps just isolate more people.

jobsworth · « **Reply #7 on:** November 10, 2020, 05:46 PM »

@Bob D.

Yea it should be able to do all that pretty slick.

Someone posted a link, Pretty cool huh

cpw · « **Reply #8 on:** November 10, 2020, 08:11 PM »

Scanning the barcode and getting the manual seems like a gimmick, but is maybe kind of useful. The counterpoint is that I can search for the tool by model number pretty easily. I would much prefer they spent the money on better PDF manuals. Like the supplemental manuals Rick Christopherson wrote, not the lean manuals included with the tools.

SRSemenza · « **Reply #9 on:** November 10, 2020, 08:19 PM »

Options for access are good. Better print manuals included with the tools should have always been a thing. But it won't hurt to have an app.

Seth

Don T · « **Reply #10 on:** November 10, 2020, 09:06 PM »

The app looks pretty good. It would be nice if you could register a tool or see all of your tools that are registered.

Festdewalkita · « **Reply #11 on:** November 10, 2020, 09:21 PM »

Maybe use a VPN? Emerge from the tunnel in London, and download/use?

Bob D. · « **Reply #12 on:** November 10, 2020, 09:23 PM »

Make manuals, good ones. Ship with tools. If not shipped with tools, make PDFs on website and easy to download (don't make folks jump thru hoops to get them).

^^I agree PDF copies of manuals should be available and should remain available for a long time. Knowing how to safely operate or adjust a tool comes from the manual (and experience). Memory can mislead or fail. But being able to review the manual is always good. I can go to the manufacturer websites for any of my Ham Radio gear and find manuals for gear that has been out of production for over 20 years. If they can do it without declaring bankruptcy so can Festool I'd wager.

Making stuff via an App is a great way to have someone stop buying your stuff.

^^ Can't agree with this completely. If the app were the only way to access the information then maybe yes. But which is worse, no access at all which is the current situation or having a choice to use an app.

Apps just isolate more people.

^^ This goes along with #2. If there are alternate choices offered in parallel with all the same features then you'd have the choice to use the app on a smart phone or tablet or on a computer. This should not be a problem. Basically all this 'apps' would need to be is a customized web browser set to access a particular site and retrieve content stored there. They can build in a PDF viewer to read the manuals and a database. The website(s) can easily be set to query the browser of the site visitor and respond with the correctly formatted information. Most webservers need to do that already. On the back side is all the same information (text, photos, etc) that you see when you visit the site using Chrome or Edge or Safari browsers, just formatted for smaller screens like smart phones and tablets. Being able to access a manual or other information about a tool when you're in the field and away from your stash of manuals can be very useful.

Or do you drag around a four drawer file cabinet full of manuals with you wherever you go? That's how big my manual library is, and probably about the same as most of us.

Alex · « **Reply #13 on:** November 11, 2020, 01:21 AM »

Quote from: DeformedTree on November 10, 2020, 04:33 PM

Making stuff via an App is a great way to have someone stop buying your stuff.

Please wake up in 2020. It is the exact opposite.

Birdhunter · « **Reply #14 on:** November 11, 2020, 01:56 AM »

They should hire New Brit Workshop of HalfInchShy to do videos on all their tools instead of manuals. I’m 77 and extremely proficient in computers so not all “old people” are dolts with technology. P.S. I can bench press my weight in iron. No stereotypes please.

AstroKeith · « **Reply #15 on:** November 11, 2020, 03:56 AM »

I have the "Festool Work App" which has been relatively handy and I used it to request a Carvex repair, which went extremely smoothly.

It is linked to the MyFestool online pages where I have registered all my tools. So the App knows what tools I have, serial numbers, warranty status, who I bought it from, etc.

The "How to" app only contains videos and is in no way a replacement for manuals.

It doesn't have videos for all Festool products, but those it does are highlighted at the top of the App.

However this misses some good links. For instance while there isn't a Carvex product video, there is lower down a Carvex blade adjustment 'tip' video. I watched this and actually found it very useful. (I have been tightening and backing off half a turn - apparently you should have the pendulum in position 3, and back off 3/4 turn)

There doesn't seem to be a direct link to manuals from either Apps.

threesixright · « **Reply #16 on:** November 11, 2020, 12:26 PM »

Quote from: Alex on November 10, 2020, 01:32 PM

Quote from: DeformedTree on November 10, 2020, 12:22 PM
An App can only be used by a subset of the population (and even then they have to be willing to use it).

Apps can be used by anybody with a smart phone. I think the larger part is in the actual willingness of folks to get into it. Mostly an older generation (55+) problem, and their problem only.

Funny thing, my old mother once wanted a computer so I got one for her, but she never bothered to use it. But when I got her a mobile phone, she was on it 24/7.

Anybody? Don’t think so. Its called geo-fencing.... and its full of apps and services a like.

Praise the day those limitations are removed (its truly utter BS).

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

DeformedTree · « **Reply #17 on:** November 11, 2020, 01:38 PM »

Quote from: threesixright on November 11, 2020, 12:26 PM

Quote from: Alex on November 10, 2020, 01:32 PM
Quote from: DeformedTree on November 10, 2020, 12:22 PM
An App can only be used by a subset of the population (and even then they have to be willing to use it).

Apps can be used by anybody with a smart phone. I think the larger part is in the actual willingness of folks to get into it. Mostly an older generation (55+) problem, and their problem only.

Funny thing, my old mother once wanted a computer so I got one for her, but she never bothered to use it. But when I got her a mobile phone, she was on it 24/7.
Anybody? Don’t think so. Its called geo-fencing.... and its full of apps and services a like.

Praise the day those limitations are removed (its truly utter BS).

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It has nothing to do with age. Not everyone wants to do things with apps, and a lot of folks can't, they have no phone, or even if they wanted one, they live a place where they don't work. An APP doesn't get you any more people, just less. Everyone is served by "no app", but only a fraction of the population is served "with an APP".

COVID has brought this to more peoples attention. Doing things online, or via apps and such sounds great to some folks, but the reality is large swaths of the population have no access to this even if they want it, and within those that could access it, doesn't mean they want to.

Companies don't support multiple paths of information well. If they go for the App, they will let the previous information paths fall apart. Just look at websites, look at how many have now turned their websites to be optimized for smart phones, making normal usage terrible.

Send manuals and such with product was the way. Internet made skipping that and having people download a PDF an option so now lots of stuff comes with little to no documentation, and tells you to go online. Now with Apps, the online support has gone down as they punt people to an App.

There is no such thing as "more options", it's just a path to make things easier/cheaper for businesses, and less good for consumers.

Joe Bob out in some rural area may like Festool Tools, but when the day comes that to find anything out about them, or get support he needs to go thru and app on a cell phone, and he doesn't own a cell phone and their is no reception there, that will be the end of that relationship.

Alex · « **Reply #18 on:** November 11, 2020, 02:38 PM »

Quote from: DeformedTree on November 11, 2020, 01:38 PM

It has nothing to do with age. Not everyone wants to do things with apps, and a lot of folks can't, they have no phone, or even if they wanted one, they live a place where they don't work.

My bad, thinking like a person from a 1st world country. Everybody here has a smartphone. Everybody here has internet. Only the old folks still on their landlines only.

Quote from: DeformedTree on November 11, 2020, 01:38 PM

COVID has brought this to more peoples attention. Doing things online, or via apps and such sounds great to some folks, but the reality is large swaths of the population have no access to this even if they want it, and within those that could access it, doesn't mean they want to.

Heard of the huge sales increase of Amazon in these COVID times? Though I'm sure you're right that lots of Americans have very bad internet accessability. Things are very uneven there.

Quote from: DeformedTree on November 11, 2020, 01:38 PM

Companies don't support multiple paths of information well. If they go for the App, they will let the previous information paths fall apart. Just look at websites, look at how many have now turned their websites to be optimized for smart phones, making normal usage terrible.

True, and I sincerely doubt anybody will praise Festool's current online presence.

I also doubt an app is going to take anything away, ROFL, what's there to take away from Festool right now, it will only add.

SouthRider · « **Reply #19 on:** November 11, 2020, 07:45 PM »

Smart phones aren't always that smart. Apps are dumbed down versions of software that are generally missing quite a bit (tried using a microsoft office app? Pale version of the real thing). Glib videos instead of detail in print just don't cut it, and they take FOREVER to get to the part you are looking for.

There ARE huge swaths of the US where adequate internet speed and/or cell phone coverage is NOT available. I live 45 minutes from New Orleans in a Parish (County) of over 250,000 people, and my home is on the "edge" of decent cell service. My daughter who lives 15 minutes further out has ZERO internet available (except crappy satellite service) and cell service so bad that she cannot stream, skype, zoom, or facetime most of the time.

Many people of ALL ages still have landlines out of necessity. Drop the ageist ..., and quit generalizing.