[Thomas Mullaly]

TECHNICAL ISSUE

Problem Title

Mobile Site Not Working

Specified Browser

Safari

Description of the Problem

The mobile site says it isn't available, and redirects me to the full site. One possible solution is a native mobile app which could be purchased with {UFP} discretionary funds and modded by SCE.

https://www.vbulletin.com/mobile/

My specs:
IPhone 3GS - 16 GB
Safari Browser
iOS 4.3.3

User's Operating System

Other

Confirmation

Yes

[Christopher Halsey]

Sharpkiller would probably be the best person to resolve your issue with the mobile site so I will leave that to him but newer smartphones that have good internet browsing should be able to display the full site very well, an iPhone 3GS should be able to display the full site although obviously without the flash content.

We had considered the vBulletin Mobile Suite however at $199 it is quite pricey and equates to about a month and a half of donations. Whilst it is by no means out of our price range it we would need to make sure that such a purchase represented real value for money. That sort of expense is scrutinised very heavily so we are keeping an eye on mobile usage to see whether or not purchasing the Mobile Suite would indeed represent good value or not. There are other, cheaper alternatives to the vBulletin Mobile Suite that have been considered and we may look at doing more with our mobile site in the future.

[Thomas Mullaly]

Part of the issue with the full site is first of all bandwidth, and then second is the unsightly boxes where flash doesn't work for IPhones. Also, ease of use is another issue. With such small screens you often have to zoom, etc. to read, write or perform other functions, and it feels as if I'm using dial-up to lead each page.

With a mobile app, it would make everything so much easier which would likely increase my mobile usage. As they say - build it and they will come! A mobile app would greatly improve the user experience for the mobile users, making posting, reading, and moderating much easier on a mobile device. It would certainly make it easier for busy users such as me to get work done while we are on the road with work and away from our desktops/laptops.

If all else fails:

pretty please?

[Sharpkiller]

Like Chris said, it is something that we have considered purchasing for the fleet. However, the mobile style is perfectly good for mobile devices - and more importantly, it's free. The price for the mobile app is ridiculously high - it's more than what we originally paid for vBulletin 4. While I'm sure people would use, I don't think enough would use it to justify the cost.

If you're having difficulties viewing the forums via the mobile style, use this link. It'll force your browser to load the mobile style. The actual website portion of the mobile style is disabled; only the forums are accessible.