I spend a lot of time on the internet during my downtime at work browsing forums, blogs, etc. I was never a fan of the mobile version of the forum (Sorry Carl!), so was really excited to try this out.
Blackberry BETA version (free)
It took me a few minutes to figure out how to search for the forum, it has to be the exact website address, i.e: carls-sims-3-forum, with the dashes but can leave off the “.com”. If I remember correctly it asked if I wanted to log in as a member or guest. In hindsight I should have played around as a guest before signing, oh well.
After choosing the forum from the main page, the app immediately takes you to the unread posts. At first I thought this was all the app offered until I figured out how to get to the “Forum” view by pushing the Blackberry key to bring up the menu. I was able to see the main forum sections (general discussion, etc).
Without turning this into a novel here are my opinions:
Pros:
· Better separation between topics/posts/replies with a dividing line making it easier to read.
· See more replies to a topic per page. On the mobile version you could only see five, on the Tapatalk you get to see 10. Forum topics per page are still the same at 10.
· Large box for replies so you can see most of what you typed.
· Seems easier to navigate with seamless/fast transitions to the new pages.
Cons:
· The Unread Posts page only shows the first 20 unread posts. You can refresh but can’t see past the first 20 posts.
· There is no New Replies to your posts page.
· Sometimes the last sentence of a post is hidden by the separator, cutting of the words.
· You can read your PMs but can’t reply or send a new one, it keeps telling me recipient unknown.
Other:
· Under the menu button there is an option to view subscribed topics. I can’t subscribe to topics from this app and it doesn’t show my bookmarked topics from the main site either. Not sure if this is still in development.
Overall:
I really like this app, but based on the current features at the time of this writing I would only download this app for the Blackberry if it is still free. Since it is only a BETA version I imagine it can only get better. I’ll update this in the future in the event they change anything.
iPhone version ($2.99)
I also own an iPad and decided to buy this version because I really liked the Blackberry one. Searching for the forum is the same as the Blackberry, you have to have exact website name. As with the Blackberry the first page takes you to “Latest” page with the unread posts, but it is a lot easier to find the Forum view.
Pros:
· It’s pretty! I don’t care, I’m using that as a pro. I can see most avatars, which makes it easier to recognize members. The topics/posts/replies are separated in their own box as well making it easier on the eyes to read.
· The Latest page not only has unread Posts (with a mark as read feature), but also Participated post (threads you’ve replied to) and All which I think is a combination of both.
· I can see the topic title in bold and underneath the first sentence of the topic in smaller print making it easy to decide if I want to read that thread or not.
· You can change the number of topics/posts to show. As much as 50 per page!
· There’s a search feature and it works! Although it does have to be a tad specific.
· You can check your PMs and reply and send new ones.
· You can see who is online if you want to chat with members via PM.
· You can change the font size.
· You can enable BBCode, Smiles, and Signatures (although you can’t see photos only text).
· You can enable clicking on URLs to open up in a Safari window.
Cons:
· The price tag. I’ve purchased a lot of apps for my iPad and $3 seems a lot for the tapatalk app, but this is not a reflection of how the forum looks/feels on this app.
· I really can’t find anything negative about this version of the app. Did I mention it’s pretty? J
Other:
· It doesn’t show your booked marked topics from the forum, but that is easily fixed by tracking down your favorite threads and subscribing to them. The subscribe feature actual works on this version of the app.
Overall:
I loooved the version of the app! Although I won’t use it as much when I’m on the go because I have limited internet data on my iPad as opposed to unlimited on my Blackberry. As you can see there were a lot more pros than cons, the only being the price of the app. If you don’t mind paying the price or you belong to other forums that offer Tapatalk you won’t be disappointed with the features.
My hubby has a Droid. I might be able to convince him to let me buy that version of the app to complete my review. We’ll see.
P.S. I typed this up on my iPad so if it looks funky sorry!
