A reason why XenForo is so bad in mobile devices

Rigel Kentaurus

Rigel Kentaurus

Well-known member
I think it's a good time as any to revisit the topic. Without a mobile skin, XenForo in mobile devices is ... well, not good.

It is not something to ignore, the emerging market is not computers, it's phones. More people are using their smartphone to do things now. And XenForo is not embracing the times, but rather focusing on the old web model.

My last poll went somewhere from 5% to 25% for mobile usage, http://xenforo.com/community/threads/share-your-mobile-devices-usage.22040/ I expect that to go up. I also think this is a chicken and egg problem and people don't load the forum in a smartphone because it's so bad.

The first thing to focus on is the content, the rule of thumb is, if the page cannot be read once it opens, it is not mobile device ready. If I have to zoom to read content, it failed

This is a screenshot from my iPod touch. Look at the size of the title bar, look at the size of the location bar. Now look at the size of the text. Remember that the iPhone is 3.5 inches. I guess you *could* read it. If you really try. Hardly. Straining your eyes. And just one line.

Not everybody uses a mobile device. A lot of people however do. XenForo needs an edge in this. In it's current incarnation, xf is not mobile-ready.


IMG_0282_v2.webp
 
Hmm...I don't disagree with anything that can make the experience better. And I would love to see a fantastic mobile style offered. That said, I fairly often browse the site on mobile devices (iPhone 4, and iPad2). I have no idea about the experience on the iPod Touch, but my browsing experience is pretty good. I would not want to write a lengthy post (but that is basically the case with most writing on these devices- I don't think the solution they have is up to par on keyboard entry).

So, I like the idea of bringing up the topic as anything that makes things better is a good thing. That said, I don't think the default site is that bad- at least not in my experience (a quick two finger "reverse pinch" or whatever they call it, usually works- maybe some sort of auto default magnification would help? If that is even possible).
 
Just re-read your post- sounds like we are thinking the same way. Some sort of default larger text/magnification would not be bad. Not sure if the magic elves inside the talking and looking machine can do this, but worthwhile Christmas gift list item.
 
Rigel Kentaurus said:
I think it's a good time as any to revisit the topic. Without a mobile skin, XenForo in mobile devices is ... well, not good.

It is not something to ignore, the emerging market is not computers, it's phones. More people are using their smartphone to do things now. And XenForo is not embracing the times, but rather focusing on the old web model.

My last poll went somewhere from 5% to 25% for mobile usage, http://xenforo.com/community/threads/share-your-mobile-devices-usage.22040/ I expect that to go up. I also think this is a chicken and egg problem and people don't load the forum in a smartphone because it's so bad.

The first thing to focus on is the content, the rule of thumb is, if the page cannot be read once it opens, it is not mobile device ready. If I have to zoom to read content, it failed

This is a screenshot from my iPod touch. Look at the size of the title bar, look at the size of the location bar. Now look at the size of the text. Remember that the iPhone is 3.5 inches. I guess you *could* read it. If you really try. Hardly. Straining your eyes. And just one line.

Not everybody uses a mobile device. A lot of people however do. XenForo needs an edge in this. In it's current incarnation, xf is not mobile-ready.


View attachment 22246
Click to expand...
Kier has stated he has plans for a mobile style, but there are things that he has to prioritize (The core software) before it.
 
the iPod touch has an amazingly vivid display.. but on most other handheld devices not so much.. My iPod blows my Samsung Transform ultra out of the water in terms of display.

I cant wait to see the mobile style the devs have planned.. Haha actually glad i read this i was considering other options. :D
 
A branded app that you could sell to forum users to browse on their phones is a LOT better idea than a mobile style. ;)
 
While I agree on some points, I completely disagree on many ..

The experience I have using the browser on the mobile devices and tablets is just fine.
Safari has great support for html5/css, and it's working just fine.
I enjoy browsing around on xenforo sites on the ipad for example.

3g is fast enough, most have at least 2 mbit, some even 14mbit.
 
This isn't about the tablet market, its about the mobile phone market of which most people use. Not everyone uses a tablet at this point, although it is growing.
 
Floris said:
While I agree on some points, I completely disagree on many ..

The experience I have using the browser on the mobile devices and tablets is just fine.
Safari has great support for html5/css, and it's working just fine.
I enjoy browsing around on xenforo sites on the ipad for example.

3g is fast enough, most have at least 2 mbit, some even 14mbit.
Click to expand...

Most people on my board i have seen them surfing with Ipad , Iphone , Andriod .

Simple question ... Will mobile style let users upload pictures from their phone direct ?
 
Hmmmm .... I wonder what a Xenforo APP would be like ?

Might be fun if your members could break out there mobile phone ... film a quick video "Fishing is great today ... the Pike are biting ... woohooo "and basically almost auto-post it.

Go to Xenforo Mobile Content App.
click Post video
it records
click Stop.
click Post.
- it is automatically posted !
[Your xenforo Login/Pass are already added - Videos are always posted to a default forum].

Is there a generic content posting app ?

edit: seems Posterous might be an option.
http://mashable.com/2009/06/23/posterous-iphone-video-upload/

http://picupapp.com/
Upload Photos from Web Forms

Picup is a native iPhone Application that facilitates photo uploads to the web. Since file-upload form fields don't work in Mobile Safari, a webapp can instruct Picup to choose and upload a photo. Once the upload is complete, Picup returns control to the webapp with information about the upload.
 
iTuN3r said:
Simple question ... Will mobile style let users upload pictures from their phone direct ?
Click to expand...
That's unlikely, as the biggest mobile market (iOS) has no capacity to upload files through the browser, but after the mobile style is done, we could take a leaf out of Facebook's er... book, and create an app that wraps around the mobile style (which is what the Facebook app does with http://m.facebook.com) and provides those facilities that the browser can't support.
 
Kier said:
That's unlikely, as the biggest mobile market (iOS) has no capacity to upload files through the browser, but after the mobile style is done, we could take a leaf out of Facebook's er... book, and create an app that wraps around the mobile style (which is what the Facebook app does with http://m.facebook.com) and provides those facilities that the browser can't support.
Click to expand...


Thanks kier for answer ! That would be awesome.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Digital Doctor
is there a reason why Xenforo Tabs in addons don't have real URLs ?
Replies
10
Views
1K
Digital Doctor
Digital Doctor
Back
Top Bottom