29 replies to this topic

[Legorski]

I'm often away from a computer, and have to rely on my smartphone to check whats new on the web.
With all the images and the general layout of eurobricks, I often find myself waiting for the site to load.
Would it be possible for a mobile version of the forum to be launched?
Profile pics and other icons could be removed, leaving only the name of the poster and his/her post.
Pictures could be replaced with links, or reduced for the general compactness found on mobile versions of sites.
The forum itself would be the main aspect, and the subforums would have short and simple links, to reduce the bulk of the content.
A good example is the mobile version of brickset, reduced from the usual format.
I love this forum, but recently with me being often away from home I find it hard to keep updated with everything that is going on,
A mobile version of this forum would help me stay connected with the lego community, and I really hope such an addition can be made,
Legorski,

[Bonaparte]

In my mind these mobile devices - which would require a 'special version of the site', like the various smart phones - are not well suited for typing a lot of text and comments (small keyboard, hard to type more than one sentence). So I don't see them as ideal devices for participating on a site Eurobricks. In my mind these smart phones and alike are good for the 'mobility aspect': when you are out of the house for checking train schedules, shop directions,... . If we tune the site for being more 'smart phone friendly', wouldn't this open the door for shorter posts? (remember: short reply - send from Blackberry...).

[Peppermint_M]

It isn't absolutely impossible to use the site on a phone, it just isn't as engrossing as on a computer. However a mobile version would be greatly reduced creating the same problem as using the regular site....

I managed well enough during my week in London. The Cloud let me connect and I was able to read what I felt was important and post in a Heroica quest with little problem. Then again my android is pretty nifty for that.

[surrideo]

I too have an android and you can check everything fairly quickly, only if a topic is picture heavy does it struggle and keep returning you to the top of the page. Typing on a smartphone is a matter of how dextorous you are, a failure that could be levelled at me  

[Big Cam]

Legorski , what kind of phone do you have?  I ask because I am on the site on my Android phone quite often and I have no issues.  Modern smartphones are becoming so advanced that mobile versions of webpages aren't really necessary anymore.

[Sinner]

The short answer is; probably not. Why? Well EB (like all Invision boards) does have a mobile version), but it's disabled. Why? Because people complained about it! The mobile version is obviously limited, and I find it annoying myself. In the times I visit EB on my phone (Samsung Galaxy SII) I want all the images and the mobile version is forced on all based on browser. Thus all Androids and iOS devices, regardless of screen, gets it. This is why it's off.

[LEGOman273]

I almost never go on EB on my computer. I use my phone (Motorola Electrify on Android network), and never have problems loading.
Please no mobile version. I always go to the normal version of Flickr, because I don't like the mobile version.

Edited by Legoman273, 30 January 2012 - 05:32 PM.

[Jedi master Brick]

I use my mobile often and I hate mobile sites, and then you have to scroll down to change to normal.

[CallMePie]

If you're away from your/a usable computer, websites aren't going to be as accessible. It's a fact of life until IPads and similar devices start replacing cell phones permanently. You're not going to be able to make giant posts. If you really need to post something, suffer through the load times and make it a good post. It's always going be limited capability on a phone, whether the site has a mobile version or not.

Big Cam, on 30 January 2012 - 02:08 PM, said:

Legorski , what kind of phone do you have?  I ask because I am on the site on my Android phone quite often and I have no issues.

There is that one problem with your spellcheck, but I suppose that's not a huge issue...

[Big Cam]

Siegfried, on 30 January 2012 - 03:00 PM, said:

The short answer is; probably not. Why? Well EB (like all Invision boards) does have a mobile version), but it's disabled. Why? Because people complained about it! The mobile version is obviously limited, and I find it annoying myself. In the times I visit EB on my phone (Samsung Galaxy SII) I want all the images and the mobile version is forced on all based on browser. Thus all Androids and iOS devices, regardless of screen, gets it. This is why it's off.

I'm jealous of your SII,  that's a badass phone.

Mobile versions suck, plain and simple.

Siegfried if you visit other sites that force the mobile version you can solve that with either another browser or with a little bit of advanced settings in the Android browser.

I use dolphin hd as my main browser and in the settings you can choose how it identifies itself to webpages.  Android, iOS, or desktop.

In the Android browser if you type about:debug  then hit enter, and then go to settings in the browser you'll notice a few more options one of which is to change the UAstring,  you can choose from iphone, Android, ipad, desktop, and my phone even has a froyo option, not sure how that is different from gingerbread,  but the options there.

CallMePieOrDie, on 30 January 2012 - 08:51 PM, said:

There is that one problem with your spellcheck, but I suppose that's not a huge issue... :look

As much of a name that I've made for myself being a victim of spellcheck Tom foolery, you may have noticed that's not the case lately.  I switched keyboards to one that is a tad slower but much more accurate.  I involuntarily was representing EB in an unprofessional way, at least in my opinion, so I did something about it.

[basbase]

I have had my first smartphone for just a few weeks now. One thing that really annoys me is having to scroll horizontally to read text. I've made a quick test page to ease following my favorite forum (Technic). It shows just what I need: a list of topics and in a topic it shows just the posts and the user that posted. Images are set to fit the screen.

It can be found here:
http://basbase.com/eb

(Siegfried, I you don't approve of this I'll take it down ofcourse)

[LEGO Guy Bri]

I've used my iPhone to view EB, as well as a few others (i.e. eBay). I'm not sure how it compares to other phones, but viewing and typing are no bother to me. I honestly hate the mobile version of eBay... I have a much more difficult time going through my profile or managing things. Then again, I only use it if I am trying to win something and don't have my computer, otherwise I wait til' I get home  

[Flipz]

basbase, on 01 February 2012 - 12:13 AM, said:

One thing that really annoys me is having to scroll horizontally to read text....Images are set to fit the screen.

That actually sounds like something that would be good for the site in general (not just for mobile devices).  It doesn't happen often, but occasionally if there is a large picture in a post and/or if there is a broken picture link in the thread, my fail computer will think it's super big and make me scroll horizontally.

The automatic resizing of overlarge pictures would be nice as well (preferably accompanied by some sort of PM to the user reminding them to resize to stay within the rules--let's save the mods and admins some work while we're at it! ).  I've seen some forums use auto-resize software, so I know it's out there, I just have no clue if it would be useful to Eurobricks or not.   Just my two cents.

[Ricecracker]

Flipz, on 02 February 2012 - 04:31 AM, said:

The automatic resizing of overlarge pictures would be nice as well (preferably accompanied by some sort of PM to the user reminding them to resize to stay within the rules--let's save the mods and admins some work while we're at it! ).  I've seen some forums use auto-resize software, so I know it's out there, I just have no clue if it would be useful to Eurobricks or not.   Just my two cents.

EB does use it...

[Jay Sathe]

I often try to access the site from my Galaxy Nexus, and I when I do, I always wish there was some sort of mobile site. Brickset does the mobile - non-mobile conversion brilliantly, and I think a version formatted for smartphones could really help.
(Then there's that issue of remembering the password from desktop version to mobile version...)

[Big Cam]

Jay Sathe, on 02 February 2012 - 07:01 AM, said:

I often try to access the site from my Galaxy Nexus, and I when I do, I always wish there was some sort of mobile site. Brickset does the mobile - non-mobile conversion brilliantly, and I think a version formatted for smartphones could really help.
(Then there's that issue of remembering the password from desktop version to mobile version...)

I find that odd. I have a 4.3 inch screen and Android 2.3.4, your phone is 4.65 inches with Android 4.0, your phone should look even better than mine,  and everything displays fine on my phone.

[Piranha]

yeah a mobile version wouldn't be great.

Edited by Macoco, 02 February 2012 - 11:14 PM.

[Jay Sathe]

Big Cam, on 02 February 2012 - 03:04 PM, said:

I find that odd. I have a 4.3 inch screen and Android 2.3.4, your phone is 4.65 inches with Android 4.0, your phone should look even better than mine,  and everything displays fine on my phone.

The text is very tiny at default zoom, and since the page formatting is wide, you have to scroll left to right for every line of text. Pictures work fine though.

[Legorski]

I've only gotten back to checking this topic now, I'm sorry for the delay.
I have a Nokia E71, and I admit it's browser is horrid, probably why I asked.
I can understand the arguments against, and I can live without a mobile site,
Legorski,

[Flipz]

Ricecracker, on 02 February 2012 - 04:39 AM, said:

EB does use it...

Must've been the comp issues on my end then--my computer was way messed up a few weeks back, and I had that problem.

[WhiteFang]

Legorski, on 03 February 2012 - 02:55 AM, said:

I've only gotten back to checking this topic now, I'm sorry for the delay.
I have a Nokia E71, and I admit it's browser is horrid, probably why I asked.
I can understand the arguments against, and I can live without a mobile site,
Legorski,

I also used to own a Nokia E71 and I understands where you are coming from. To overcome this, try and download a browser app such as Opera Mini. It helps alot and increase the effectiveness of browsing EB.

[Legorski]

WhiteFang, on 03 February 2012 - 07:09 AM, said:

I also used to own a Nokia E71 and I understands where you are coming from. To overcome this, try and download a browser app such as Opera Mini. It helps alot and increase the effectiveness of browsing EB.

Thanks I'll try that out,
Legorski,

[distortme]

I'd also put in a yes for a mobile site. I use my phone 95% of the time to access EB (looking at new subscribed posts) and it's challenging to continuous zoom and try and hit the tiny buttons.

EB isn't alone - MOCpages screams out a need for a mobile site and Brickshelf I don't ever look at as it's not usable on a mobile. And Rebrick just isn't usable on anything (I wont get started on that site). I use Brickset mobile and Bricknews app religiously as it provides a decent user experience on a device, and it's easy to switch to full sites if needed.

And yes some mobile versions do suck, but there's also ways to do it properly.

Are there stats of mobile usage? That might be interesting to know how many people are accessing the forum via a device.

Sorry to preach a bit, it's been top of mind tonight while I look at sites. And this is the sort of thing I do for my day job to pay for my bricks :)

Edited by distortme, 10 July 2012 - 04:43 PM.

[posades]

A mobile site would be useful for the reasons distortme mentioned.  I also tend to visit Eurobricks on my phone 95% of the time (no internet at home), and zooming in to "click" the tiny arrow buttons can get tedious.  There is also the issue of picture heavy posts that could eat up someone's data plan, though I'm not sure if a mobile site would automatically make the pictures lower res or not.  Finally, using markup on a phone is anything but simple, especially trying to change text color; I haven't had experience with the mobile version of other Invision boards, but I'd imagine there could be a more streamlined way of incorporating markup for mobile devices.

Another thing that irks me is when clicking the button to read first unread post on my phone, it starts at the top of the page no matter what.  Is this an issue with the phone itself or is it something that happens no matter the phone?  By the way I typed this message via mobile.

[LEGOman273]

I would not like a mobile version of the site. I spend 99.9% of my EB-time on my phone, and don't have any problems. When I am on Flickr, the site opens in mobile, and I must switch to the desktop version before I can use the site. This is annoying, and is not something that I would like to see from EB. Perhaps, if a mobile version is deemed necessary, it could be made in such a way so as to allow members the option of choosing whether or not the site opens in mobile when not on a computer.