# Is there sufficient interest in a PB iPhone/Droid App?



## Semper Fidelis (Mar 12, 2011)

On March 15th, vBulletin will be releasing its vBulletin Mobile Suite that I can purchase to build a PB-branded app for the iPhone and Droid. It will set me back $199 for the first year and $99/year thereafter. If you're a user of the Droid or iPhone please respond so I can get a sense of raw numbers. The app would be free but I would like to see if users of this app would be willing to throw in a few dollars per year in donations so I don't have to pay so much out of pocket.


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## Semper Fidelis (Mar 12, 2011)

Joshua said:


> What would its distinctive functionality from, say, the others? Would it be where we could upload pics from the phone, etc.? If so, I say "yes" and would contribute.


 
vBulletin Community Forum - vBulletin Mobile FAQ

It'd be like Tapatalk.


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## fredtgreco (Mar 12, 2011)

Would it be iPad native? That is, would it give full screen view?


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## SolaScriptura (Mar 12, 2011)

I'd love an app by which we could search for confessionally Reformed churches by confession of subscription.


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## Semper Fidelis (Mar 12, 2011)

fredtgreco said:


> Would it be iPad native? That is, would it give full screen view?


 
It's not going to have native iPad functionality.


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## rbcbob (Mar 12, 2011)

I would be interested in an iPhone app.


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## Herald (Mar 12, 2011)

If it's not more feature-rich than Tapatalk I wouldn't use it.


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## SolaScriptura (Mar 12, 2011)

It should have the ability to contain various reformed confessions so they can be read from the app, search for confessional churches, etc.


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## LawrenceU (Mar 13, 2011)

I'm with Bill, if it is not more feature rich and flexible than Tapatalk, I would not see the need for it.


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## beej6 (Mar 13, 2011)

I see the app lets some basic moderation functions happen from the mobile app, that may make it an advantage over Tapatalk?


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## jfschultz (Mar 14, 2011)

I voted 'No" because it does not fully support the iPad. Why not Forum Runner which supports both iOS and Android OS devices. It works with vBulletin with no cost to the BBS and a nominal $2.00 for the mobile app.


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## Semper Fidelis (Mar 14, 2011)

jfschultz said:


> I voted 'No" because it does not fully support the iPad. Why not Forum Runner which supports both iOS and Android OS devices. It works with vBulletin with no cost to the BBS and a nominal $2.00 for the mobile app.


 
Your response makes no sense to me. The vBulletin app supports iOS, it just hasn't created a dedicated iPad app. In other words, the iPhone app will run on the iPad. If by "fully support the iPad" you reject the vBulletin mobile app because it is an iPhone app then, by logical extension, why would you want to pay money for Forum Runner, which has the same limitations?


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## fredtgreco (Mar 14, 2011)

Semper Fidelis said:


> jfschultz said:
> 
> 
> > I voted 'No" because it does not fully support the iPad. Why not Forum Runner which supports both iOS and Android OS devices. It works with vBulletin with no cost to the BBS and a nominal $2.00 for the mobile app.
> ...


 
Rich,

I don't know about Forum Runner, but I can explain one thing, I think. If the app is not iPad native, it shows up in the middle of the iPad as the size of an iPhone with black all around it. Therefore it really does not take advantage of the iPad's capabilities (for example, I don't believe it rotates with the display, and therefore you can only hold the iPad in one direction, portrait).

That means that Tapatalk is just as good (since it is an iPhone app also) or even using the Safari browser works better (because there is a decent amount of screen space). It does not make sense it seems to me to pay that much money (even with donations) for what is essentially an iPhone app.


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## Semper Fidelis (Mar 14, 2011)

fredtgreco said:


> Semper Fidelis said:
> 
> 
> > jfschultz said:
> ...


 
I understand all that Fred but it is the same problem that Forum Runner has. In other words, if the problem is that there is not going to be an iPad native app then why say: "I won't pay for this because it's not iPad native but I will pay for this other app that's not iPad native either...."

Also, with a 10" screen, doesn't the board look pretty decent in Safari without the need for an app? This thread is really asking iPhone/Droid users if they would like a dedicated app.


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## fredtgreco (Mar 14, 2011)

I understand. I was under the impression (and I could be wrong) that Tapatalk was free to the board, and the cost was for the individual user. You are correct about Safari working pretty well.


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## Semper Fidelis (Mar 14, 2011)

fredtgreco said:


> I understand. I was under the impression (and I could be wrong) that Tapatalk was free to the board, and the cost was for the individual user. You are correct about Safari working pretty well.


 
That's true. Tapatalk does license its software so board owners can brand their own Tapatalk-like app but the normal plugin is free for board use. Looking at the Forum Runner software, it seems less capable than Tapatalk.

The main advantage of the vBulletin mobile apps is that it's going to be free for end users but cost me some $$ to load. I think it might end up being more feature-rich in the long run as it's made by the board software vendor itself.


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## jfschultz (Mar 14, 2011)

fredtgreco said:


> Semper Fidelis said:
> 
> 
> > jfschultz said:
> ...


 
The difference is that while Tapatalk is an iPhone iOS app, Fourum Runner is a universal iOS app. This means that it will take advantage of the increased screen space of the iPad instead of just showing a "virtual" iPhone in the middle of the screen.

BTW, if Tapatalk is properly coded and rotates on an iPhone, it will rotate on an iPad.


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## Semper Fidelis (Mar 14, 2011)

Thanks John. I've enabled Forum Runner for the forum if a Droid or iPhone user has the app installed. It supports Tapatalk as well. If anyone has both I'd be interested in their opinions of the strengths of Forum Runner compared to Tapatalk.


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## fredtgreco (Mar 14, 2011)

I have not run Forum Runner, but I can confirm that Tapatalk does not rotate, and neither do any of my other iPhone apps on iPad.


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## fredtgreco (Mar 14, 2011)

Ok, is there a way to turn off the annoying Forum Runner pop ups now? Every time I visit a page on the forum using my iPad, it wants to tell me about Forum Runner.


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## Semper Fidelis (Mar 15, 2011)

Fixed.


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## jawyman (Mar 15, 2011)

Semper Fidelis said:


> It's not going to have native iPad functionality.



This is the only reason why I voted no.


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## jfschultz (Mar 15, 2011)

fredtgreco said:


> I have not run Forum Runner, but I can confirm that Tapatalk does not rotate, and neither do any of my other iPhone apps on iPad.



This rotation issue seems to be mostly true. A quick check of my iPhone apps maybe a third do rotate but most do not.

---------- Post added at 06:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:07 PM ----------

There is a free, read only, version of Forum Reader that one can use to try it out.


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## jfschultz (Mar 19, 2011)

Semper Fidelis said:


> Thanks John. I've enabled Forum Runner for the forum if a Droid or iPhone user has the app installed. It supports Tapatalk as well. If anyone has both I'd be interested in their opinions of the strengths of Forum Runner compared to Tapatalk.



Thanks, I found, at least on the iPad, that Forum Runner works very well. In fact I find it more reponsive than using a browser. The down side is that it does not display the member's signature on their posts.


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## Elimelek (Mar 21, 2011)

I would definately be interested in an Android app.


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## Augusta (Mar 21, 2011)

Cool! I recently aquired a wp7 and I just installed the free Tapatalk. I am new to the whole smart phone thing so I think it's awesome! I don't know what I am talking about though.


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## fredtgreco (Mar 24, 2011)

Tapatalk is now updated for iPad (and free if you bought the iPhone app).


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## Semper Fidelis (Mar 24, 2011)

fredtgreco said:


> Tapatalk is now updated for iPad (and free if you bought the iPhone app).


 
Updated...


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## fredtgreco (Mar 24, 2011)

Thanks, Rich. Hopefully that will keep you from having to install another app.


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