Mobile compatible version?

[Invader3K]

Hey all. Just wondering if there's ever a chance BF.net will have a Windows mobile compatible or "lo-fi" version available? It would be pretty sweet to be able to read and post on BF.net from my smart phone. Just an idea.

[Brian the Automator]

It is something we're working on for the next version of Brewerfan... which is unfortunately stalled, as the last few months have been hell for me as far as time goes. It's definitely in the forefront of my mind, tho... the current setup sucks for my smart phone, and it drives me nuts.

[rluzinski]

I read BF.net on my smartphone and it works pretty well. The text box is just very narrow, as the avatar part of the box takes up a lot of width.

[Invader3K]

Yeah...well, I think a big problem is all the graphics take quite a while to load, including the avatars.

[benji]

It works well to read from my iphone, but posting is difficult from a size standpoint.

[RightFieldCoder]

I've read and posted from my not so smart phone (Motorola Razor). I would love a mobile version.

[Invader3K]

Anyone know if the site (or websites in general) works better on a Blackberry, like the Curve? I have option to go from my Moto Q to one of those pretty soon.

[PeaveyFury]

It's still pretty rough on my Blackberry Pearl, mainly because all the forum jumps and such at the top have to be scrolled through first before you can get to any posts.

[Invader3K]

Ah, I see. Well, I'm not going to rush into changing phones at this point anyway. It's just a shame because another forum I frequent has a lo-fi mode you can access and even though that site is much more graphic intensive than BF.net, it loads extremely quickly in the lo-fi version. I think you can post from it as well.

[1992casey]

The good news is that when Brian has the chance to work on the main portion of the site, there'll be a lot he can do on that end for mobile compatibility. The bad news is that for the boards, we're at Yuku's mercy.

 

I know that mobile compatibility is on the table at Yuku, and I know it's a feature frequently requested by admins and members of other boards. However, I haven't heard anything in months. And unfortunately, the two staff members who seemed to take interest and talk publicly about the issue have left Yuku.

 

Out of curiosity, are those of you using mobile devices seeing the featured topics? I think those are supposed to be hidden from certain gadgets. That wouldn't do much for bandwidth, but it would help a little with scrolling through vertical real estate.

 

[Featured topics are the ones that appear above the page numbers at the top. They would currently include the "2009 Brewerfan.net Winter Meetings" topic here in Issues and the "Brewers Acquire LHP Chase Wright" and "Powell leaves for the Braves" topics in Major Leagues. All three would be on the main board page.]

 

I was playing with an iPhone last fall and saw exactly the opposite problem with menus. Instead of hanging open, they were closed, and many wouldn't open.

 

If I remember correctly, the "LambeauLeap Forum Jump" and "Brewerfan Forum Jump" way at the top worked. Other menus didn't (e.g. the Forum Jumps next to the top and bottom page numbers.) "Posts in last 24 hours" (way down at the bottom) is relatively new; it wasn't there for me to try at that point.

 

As far as speed, I think the bigger problem is that Yuku is slow to begin with. It's bad on broadband connections. Addressing speed issues in general would help everybody.

 

Specifically regarding mobile, I can assure you that if Yuku gave us the capability to make special adjustments (e.g. reduced graphics or eliminating certain graphics), we'd jump at the chance.

[adamb100]

Posted below are what the forums look like on my iPod Touch using Safari:

 

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn281/adamb100/IMG_0003-1.png

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn281/adamb100/IMG_0004-1.png

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn281/adamb100/IMG_0002-1.png

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn281/adamb100/IMG_0001-1.png

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn281/adamb100/IMG_0005-1.png

 

The images are sideways, have to wait for photobucket to update the file so there rotated correctly.

[Invader3K]

Looks pretty nice.

 

Sadly I have US Cellular as our cell provider, so the iPhone isn't an option.

[And That]

That's what it looks like on my iPhone too... navigating the message board is ok, but typing in the reply box in nigh-impossible. If you quote anything, the markup code is parsed into the reply and typing has always been really slow into the reply box. Occasionally, Safari has even shut down as I've tried to type something out. So iPod/iPhone viewing = ok, typing = not good, at least for me.

[1992casey]

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a244/casey1992/boardpics/bfnet/lastpost_iphone.png

 

It's interesting that the member "last post" information is showing up on the main board page. Brewerfan members asked that we hide it at the board level to cut down on vertical scrolling. Putting it back, of course, causes more scrolling. That would be worth avoiding on an iPhone. (As an aside, Firefox, Flock, and Opera users can put back "last post" information at the browser level if they choose.).

 

I see the "LambeauLeap.net Forum Jump" and the "Brewerfan.net Forum Jump" at the top of the page hang open. If I remember correctly, the links worked, though.

 

What happens with the other menus (e.g. the Forum Jump by the page numbers and "Share This")? Are they open or closed? Do they work at all?

 

The post editor that Toby points out is the plain text editor; it's the same as the Quick Reply editor. It's what you're gonna get if you use Safari, Safari variants like Google Chrome, or older browsers. Unless you're typing something very simple, it's a pain on a full-fledged computer. I can imagine what it's like to use on a mobile device.

 

I wonder what happens with the bbcode editor on mobile devices. You can try that preference by hitting the Account link in the navigation bar, hitting the Preferences link in the Settings box, choosing bbcode as your editor type, and hitting the Submit button.

[rluzinski]

i have a windows mobile device and while I have some insane amount of vertical scrolling to have to deal with, I can reply just fine.

[homer]

It's still pretty rough on my Blackberry Pearl, mainly because all the forum jumps and such at the top have to be scrolled through first before you can get to any posts.

Same with my blackberry curve.