VegasMate

Support / Frequently Asked Questions

How do I buy Vegas Mate?

Vegas Mate is available through the iTunes App Store.

What is the current version of Vegas Mate?

The current release is Vegas Mate 3.7.1, released December 11th, 2012. You can view the version number by opening the Settings app and scrolling down to the Vegas Mate section, where it is listed along with a few settings options.

How often is the content updated?

Our goal is to update all of the content every four weeks or so. You will receive a notification in the app when new content is available. The upgrade process typically takes a few minutes to complete and works faster if you're on Wi-Fi (though it also works on 3G). If you cancel an update, you will be notified again later. Content updates include information on hotels, restaurants and activities. Other data, like news and comments, are updated continuously, in the background.

Does Vegas Mate use Location Services? Will this kill my battery? What do you do with this information?

Yes, Vegas Mate uses location services for a variety of features, if you as the user give us permission. We use GPS and other location technology while you are running the app to determine how far away you are from hotels, restaurants and other attractions. This is signified by the solid indicator in the device status bar. The GPS-based location services can use a lot of power so we are very careful to shut them down after we get the information that we need.



To enable special features for people that are actually in Las Vegas, we use 'geofencing' to determine if you are in town. This is signified by the hollow location services indicator in the status bar. Geofencing is a very low-power mode to detect if you are near certain areas. Your location information is not sent back to us.



If you want to use Location Services with Vegas Mate but don't like geofencing, you can visit this link on your device: disable geofencing. If you later change your mind, to re-enable it, use this link: re-enable geofencing.

You can disable Location Services using Settings -> General -> Location Services or Settings -> Privacy -> Location Services (iOS 6). You will see a list of all apps that you can adjust as necessary.

Vegas Mate NEVER sends your location information to us or anyone else.

How do I update Vegas Mate?

There are two types of Vegas Mate updates - features and content. Feature updates are posted through the normal iTunes App Store update process. Content updates come more frequently than feature updates. You will be notified of content updates inside the app itself, as they are available.

Where does your content come from?

The content in Vegas Mate comes from several sources including the hotel operators, the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority's quarterly publications for the travel industry, hotel Web sites and the growing community of other Las Vegas related Web sites. Beyond that, we hire freelancers to write new content, exclusively for Vegas Mate.

What kind of content is in Vegas Mate?

Vegas Mate is targeted at tourists and thus focuses on The Strip, Downtown and other areas such as Boulder Highway. For a complete list of hotels, restaurants, shows or nightclubs in the app, check the aforementioned links.

Does Vegas Mate work without a Wi-Fi or cell connection? Can I use it on an airplane to plan my trip?

Most of the features in Vegas Mate work just fine with out any connection to the Internet. The exceptions are access to the maps, photos, news, restaurant menus, unlocking trip templates, and the sending and receiving of reviews to our servers - any reviews created when there is no network connection will be saved and sent once a connection is available. All of the other content is stored on the device and can be used in 'Airplane Mode' or other situations when you have no coverage. We want you to have a great offline experience.

What about the iPad?

Vegas Mate is a Universal app, with the full feature set to both the iPad and iPhone. You only have to purchase the app once!

How do I sync trips between my iPhone and iPad?

As of version 3.5, Vegas Mate supports trip sync via email and iCloud. Email sync sends the trip as a specially formatted attachment that Vegas Mate can import.

iCloud Sync

• As long as both devices are signed into the same iCloud account, you don't have to do anything special. Need iCloud sync support? There's a page here or feel free to email us.

Email Sync

• On the sending device, navigate to your trip, to the screen where you can see it's contents.
• From the action button (upper right), choose 'Share via Email'. You will see a standard email form - address the message to an email address that the receiving device can check.
• On the receiving device, check the email. When you see the incoming message, open it up and scroll all the way down. You'll see an entry for 'importable-trip.vmtrip'. Tap the item and choose 'Vegas Mate' to open the attachment. Opening this attachment will import the trip into Vegas Mate.

Happy tripping!

What about printing?

Vegas Mate allows printing on supported hardware.

What's your background?

We've been publishing our site, RateVegas.com, since 1998 and participating in the independent travel writing community surrounding Las Vegas.

I downloaded a content update in the app and now it crashes on me!

If you are encountering app crashes after applying a content update, you can follow these instructions to get back up and running.

What about Vegas Mate for my Droid or other Android device?

Vegas Mate is an iOS application - it is not available for Android at this time. I make apps for the platforms I use and right now that means iOS. If you're a crack Android programmer and want to talk about a port, contact me.

I'm using Vegas Mate on the iPad and I don't see any poker info... What gives?

Poker listings are currently an iPhone-only feature.

I unlocked a bunch of trip templates but I had to replace my device or re-install the app. How do I get them back without paying again?

There's a 'Restore Templates' button on the screen that lists the available options. Tapping this will contact the App Store and re-download any previously unlocked templates. Keep in mind, you need to be using the same iTunes ID that you used when you purchased the templates. If you have trouble with restoring your purchases, email support.

Can I change the alarm interval for trip events?

Yes, you can. Open the Settings app and scroll down to 'Vegas Mate'. You can change the alarm interval there. The default is 15 minutes prior to the event time.

I'm from the UK. Can I use kilometers instead of miles?

Sure thing. Open the Settings app and scroll down to 'Vegas Mate' to adjust the units.

Your rating for xyz hotel/restaurant/club/show is totally off! That place is way better than your score. What gives?

We base our ratings on a combination of factors and try to account for outliers but no rating system is perfect. We're constantly updating our records with each content update as conditions change. If you want to add your two cents, submit via the app or visit our ratings site, RateVegas.com.

Some info in your database is just plain wrong. Fix it!

We are constantly reviewing the information included in the application. Perhaps something slipped through. If you find something you think is an error, please email us.

What do the dollar rankings mean?

Vegas Mate has a price ranking scale from '$' to '$$$$$'. Typically, this breaks down as follows: '$' - up to $10 per person (inexpensive), '$$' - up to $20 per person (average), '$$$' - up to $30 per person (moderate), '$$$$' - up to $40 per person (pricey), '$$$$$' - $50 or more per person (very expensive). Prices are for an average meal and do not include alcohol.

Vegas Mate crashed on me. Arghhhh.

We spend a lot of time on testing and debugging but maybe we missed something. There is built-in crash reporting in the app - the next time you launch, it will ask if you want to submit that to us. That's very helpful information so please do consider doing that to help out. You can also contact us via email.

Does Vegas Mate collect any information about me?

Vegas Mate doesn't collect any information that can identify you. To facilitate nearby searches, we check your location but that data isn't sent back to our servers - ever: Vegas Mate does not send your location information anywhere or to anyone. Beyond that, we track anonymous stats, such as the most frequently viewed hotels and how many iPhones or iPads are running the software. This lets us optimize future feature updates and improve the most popular parts of the app first.

How do I get my content into the 'Featured' area?

Drop me an email and we can discuss.

I'd like to write a review of Vegas Mate. Will you send me a copy?

Probably. Drop me an email with the details.

How do I reach you? I have questions/complaints/praise/Wynn gift certificates to send you.

Send us email - we check it all the time and respond as quickly as humanly possible. We want you to love Vegas Mate. Alternatively, feel free to contact us on Twitter.