Offical phpbb.com mobile app

[CaNNon_]

Yes, arty = cyber allen sorry for using his old handle.

[otseng]

I've been working on an Android app to access my phpbb2 forum. And it also has the ability to read the phpbb.com forum.

It's on Google Play called P4um. Right now, it's in active development beta mode (ie, things might not work 100%).

[Phil]

I've decided to start working on a JSON API for phpBB (that could eventually be used to create some sort of phpBB-specific mobile application). See this topic if you'd like to get involved.

[xptoast]

I would like to say that I got caught off gaurd today by a guy I met with in a business meeting about my forum being used with his business.

I am running my site as a citywide community platform. I was unaware of the popularity of apps. I wasn't sure why they were so popular as I don't own a smartphone. He then showed me the facebook app.

Turns out everytime you get a new post, etc. you get a ding or vibration or some sort of notification on your phone alerting to new stuff going on.

With forums it would be nice to be alerted when you get a new pm, a new topic is opened up in a forum you subscribe to, a new post is added to a thread you are watching, etc.

Tapatalk does this but costs a fortune if you want it unbranded. I need mine to be unbranded. I do not want some app that people have to pay for (seriously why would they) in order to use my forum.

I currently am using the seo mobile app we have here on phpbb styles database. It looks nice but isn't app nice. It reads well and compact but doesn't alert me when things are going on. The alert portion of an app is what I want. I want people to be able to automatically have their login going and be able to be alerted when things are going on.

I may go ahead and start a kickstarter project on this. I hope someone will jump in and give some funds so we can pay a full on developer to push this out in a hurry so we can all have a nice free app to use.

[tbackoff]

With forums it would be nice to be alerted when you get a new pm, a new topic is opened up in a forum you subscribe to, a new post is added to a thread you are watching, etc.

You can already do this (without the need for some app). Set your notify settings in the UCP to notify on PMs. Then for each forum/topic, scroll down to the bottom and click "subscribe". On your smartphone, setup your mail application with the e-mail address for the forums. Now, when you receive new PMs or there is activity in the forums/topics, you will get an e-mail which will be delivered to your phone. A mobile style would allow you to browse the forums via your mobile web browser.

[xptoast]

With forums it would be nice to be alerted when you get a new pm, a new topic is opened up in a forum you subscribe to, a new post is added to a thread you are watching, etc.

You can already do this (without the need for some app). Set your notify settings in the UCP to notify on PMs. Then for each forum/topic, scroll down to the bottom and click "subscribe". On your smartphone, setup your mail application with the e-mail address for the forums. Now, when you receive new PMs or there is activity in the forums/topics, you will get an e-mail which will be delivered to your phone. A mobile style would allow you to browse the forums via your mobile web browser.

A nice work around however it still makes it so people have to get in their mail then go to the website instead of a shortcut button on their phone that goes straight to the site and dings at you and tells you how many things are going on. People are picky and like that feature... shame we don't have a simple app that plugs into the mobile forum.

[tbackoff]

People are picky and like that feature

Maybe, but I don't see what's wrong with a mobile style. Contrary to what Apple says, there doesn't need to be an app for everything. Plus, this would require our developers to learn iOS, Andriod, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry - taking away more time from what they really should be working on, the actual software. A mobile style is HTML/CSS/JavaScript, stuff they already know.

[xptoast]

People are picky and like that feature

Maybe, but I don't see what's wrong with a mobile style. Contrary to what Apple says, there doesn't need to be an app for everything. Plus, this would require our developers to learn iOS, Andriod, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry - taking away more time from what they really should be working on, the actual software. A mobile style is HTML/CSS/JavaScript, stuff they already know.

I personally don't care however a lot of smartphone users want an app for everything even if it is on an android phone.

I imagine the code wouldn't be too hard to write to just plug it into the notification codes that are already present and a shortcut. I know that each platform requires a different set of codes but with all the people we have here it seems like it would not be an issue.

I already am using artys seo mobile theme with smartphone detection and think it is pretty neat but the notifications part is what people are wanting and without having to open their email to get it.

[Lumpy Burgertushie]

I keep coming back to the fact that phpbb is a web based app. that means that if you want to access it and find out what discussions are going on, you must visit the website it is on, that is the whole point of a web based application.

people currently visit their facebook pages everyday, their twitter accounts everyday, etc. they don't wait for an email or anything else.

if you want a button to click on to visit a phpbb board, that is as simple as creating a shortcut on the desktop or whatever it is called on a smartphone.

I also feel the same way about regular computers, if you want to know what is going on you should visit the site without needing some kind of prompt to do so.


robert

[xptoast]

people currently visit their facebook pages everyday, their twitter accounts everyday, etc. they don't wait for an email or anything else.

See facebook app...

[tbackoff]

Facebook is one site serving millions of users. What you're asking for is phpBB create an app for every single phpBB board out there. That's impossible!

[xptoast]

What you're asking for is phpBB create an app for every single phpBB board out there. That's impossible!

I am not asking this. Look at tapatalk. It does what I am requesting. The only reason I feel it important for phpbb to do a version all on it's own as a plug and play mod is because tapatalk and other companies with this app tech have made it very expensive to brand one white label. For instance tapatalk asks for nearly $800 per forum if you want a white label version and even more if you want their heavy duty version.

You don't have to make a new one for each board. You make 1 app code that is able to be branded easily. Arty has made a site to colorize all themes. It would be similar to that concept for the branding of your own app for your forum.

Not impossible, because otherwise tapatalk wouldn't have been able to do it. They even have it working on all the other forum platforms with an easy plug and play code.

[DionDesigns]

I am not asking this. Look at tapatalk. It does what I am requesting. The only reason I feel it important for phpbb to do a version all on it's own as a plug and play mod is because tapatalk and other companies with this app tech have made it very expensive to brand one white label. For instance tapatalk asks for nearly $800 per forum if you want a white label version and even more if you want their heavy duty version.

Do some checking into the cost of developing an iOS app. Crappy ones start at $25,000, and the price goes up from there. You seem to want phpBB to spend time developing something so you can save money. That time should IMO be spent on MUCH more important things, such as modernizing an ancient user interface and adding some actual user-based features into the product -- neither of which is the case for the upcoming 3.1 release (other than a few AJAX modal popups).

You're more than welcome to develop the iOS app yourself and donate it to the phpBB Group. In that way, EVERYONE will save money, and you will be a hero. Are you up to the task?

[Erik Frèrejean]

people currently visit their facebook pages everyday, their twitter accounts everyday, etc. they don't wait for an email or anything else.

See facebook app...

The most pathetic app ever written, the normal website blows it out of the window.
Really if you want to make a point about mobile apps you really shouldn't include that thing in the discussion
[/rant]

Building an decent phpBB app isn't a trivial task, especially if you want to serve the same thing cross platform. Yes I do believe in mobile apps for phpBB, no I do not think that with the current infrastructure it is possible to build a decent one (besides picking apart the request as facebook does). First the backend of phpBB has to be improved to handle small bits of information and send only specific information back rather then entire pages (if requested). Once that is possible, it makes sense to start discussing building a mobile app.

[laceyhearts]

You can get a mobile theme and then it would work better on the site for mobile phones