day·dream
/ˈdāˌdrēm/
noun . a series of pleasant thoughts that distract one's attention from the present.
Settings > Display > Daydream > Zappos > “Start Now”
Daydream was released to the world as part of Android version 4.2 – a minor update to Jelly Bean that also included lock screen widgets, multiple users, nested fragments, and RTL layout support (for all you non English speakers out there!). Basically a screen saver, Daydream runs on your phone or tablet when you’re not using it. There are a few options worth knowing about once you’ve decided that you’d like to Daydream…
First off, you’ll need to pick a Daydream to use. To do so, open up your Settings app and look for an option called “Display” – or similar. Under there, you’ll find a Daydream option that lists all of the apps you’ve got installed which support Daydream. You can select each and hit “Start Now” at the bottom of the screen to see what they do. Once you’re done, pick Zappos – but I’m sure you were going to do that anyway ;)
Another option that’s worth pointing out is “When to Daydream”. This is pretty obvious, but without going into this menu and picking “Either” you’ll only see a Daydream when your device is docked. If you’re like me and don’t own a dock… you’ll never see anything! So, make it easy on yourself and choose “Either” from this menu. That way you’ll see your Daydream whenever you’re docked or charging.
Some Daydreams also allow you to configure their settings – these will have a settings icon near their names where you can configure various attributes. Zappos allows you to pick the gender of product you’d like to see. Want to daydream about women’s shoes? Now you can!
When we first set out to include a Daydream in our app, we were not quite sure of where to begin. We wanted to produce a screen which was useful, but which also highlighted our products, which are sometimes not the easiest requirements to satisfy. During our brainstorming session one thing that kept coming up was weather – and so we ran with it.
While the Zappos Daydream is running on your phone we’ll be going out to the National Weather Service and loading in the current conditions for your area. From that, we’ll apply some super secret matching and find products that we think would match your weather. So for example, right now when it’s a hundred below zero you might be seeing snow boots or sweaters. When it’s mid July, you’ll instead see sunglasses or sandals (unless it’s a hundred below in July – in which case you’ll still get snow boots!).
Our android engineers worked up some fancy animations to swap between products, giving you a nice hands-off view of our product catalog. Like something you see? Just tap the image and you’ll be taken into our app where you can find out more details about the product.
We’d love your feedback if you’d like to see more features in the Zappos Daydream. Till then, pleasant dreams!