Forum Client Apps Review

[Mojo]

Hi all,

Following from this thread, i have tried a few forum clients, i will give you a quick review with screen shots of each.. There is still one i want to try but it requires another code to be added to the forum.. I'll list it anyway and see what your thoughts are..



First up is Kaytri. This is a free app (only limited to 1 forum), you can upgrade it for £1.79 and that gives you more functionality (like multiple posts display etc)..

Here's some screen shots.. (and for the eagle eyed of you, yes i took the screen shot of the 1st page 4 min later )



Posts can be previewed in multiple formats



And with the free version you can reply to posts



Nice interface, basic and there is no way of checking new posts or PM, now that might be a functionality with the full version, however, it was not mentioned in the features so i gave it a miss..

Second up is Forums.. This costs £1.79 and the interface is similar to Kaytri except that within the sections it shows when the last post to the thread was made (useful??)..



The thread format itself has a sleeker look to it, however, as you may have noticed, you can't see attached pictures and its not very good at processing emoticons..



The only other thing worth mentioning is you can see the recent threads you posted.. BUT! You can't login to the forum, hence.. No posting.. No replying and certainly none of the simple functionality that Kaytri offers.. And you can only see 10 posts per thread.. Not good value for money i'm afraid..

[Mojo]

Next up is Tapatalk.. That costs £1.79 for the full version.. And it works perfectly with the forum after Stuart added the needed code..



You can see that the graphics are improved compared to the earlier 2 (even in the sections and thread screens).. One annoying feature is that everytime you start the app you have to login to the forum, it would be nice if it remembers your login (if someone knows if it could be done, please let me know ).



As a logged in member you can see that latest posts and you have full access to your private messages. One really nice feature is listing the unread posts under its relevant section..



The thread structure is very nice and it displays users avatars. When replying to a topic, you have a range of options and the attached images within a post are displayed as a thumbnail.



Under more options there is 3 menus as you can see, you can see who's online, edit your profile or see the site statistics. Unfortunately i seem to have a problem with my app.. So i'll re-install it and see if that solves the problem. (if anyone has Tapatalk, could you let me know if this feature works for you?)

[Mojo]

Now to the next App.. myBoards vB costs £2.39, which is almost 50% more expensive than all the others, so i expected good things..

Dissapointingly (if that is a word! ) it doesn't work straight away with our forum and i haven't managed to figure out the exact address it needs to do it. So i went on HF instead (for research purpose only i would like to add )



Thread structure and screens are not up to the expectations to be honest. The fonts is too big, there is no option or setting menus and as seen on an earlier app you can't login, hence all the functionality is missing..



The posts are ok, it handles emoticons well but attached photos are not scaled to the screen and it distorts the thread..

As you might have guessed, it was a disappointing app and definitely not worth the premium.

Finally TouchBB, this one cost £1.79 (and there is a lite version too), however, i have not got this to work with RCHA as it requires that piece of software.. However, i can access the support forum and here's a few shots of the interface..



Neat look and nice interface were my first impressions. The home screen has good tools (who's online, member list, unanswered topics and active posts)



There is also full access to the private messages (didn't have any to demonstrate) but again it looks like a good interface.



Finally a couple of shots of a thread (no avatars, but that might be specific to that forum) and emoticon and image support is good..

All in all , i think it could be a up there along with Tapatalk.. It has most of the functionality that Tapatalk has and looks good.. I'll have a word with Stuart to see if he would be willing to give this one a try and add that piece of code onto the forum. If it happens i'll update the thread with some screen shots of the results..


Cheers,

Mo

[Geek]

I don't understand
On my I phone the forum works fine as if I am on a pc
so why do I need a app plus it's not as good?

[synergyn9]

Good work Mo

As you know, I only use Tapatalk and I don't seem to have the login problem, once a site is added to Favorites and I have logged in, I go straight in everytime.

Like you I do get the network error on 'Who's Online' and 'Profile' pages, but strangely not on the SCHA site but always on HeliAddicts. Need to investigate further as to whether it is just Heliaddicts that has the problem.

[simm0]

im really impressed with that
good work
regards craig simmons

[Weebl]

I don't understand
On my I phone the forum works fine as if I am on a pc
so why do I need a app plus it's not as good?

It is because it basically strips out the unneeded info such as sigs, and formats it to fit the iPhone screen perfectly. You can do all the same stuff using safari but you have to pinch and scroll to see everything properly and it takes a bit longer to load. If you are a regular forum user on your iPhone (or even more than once in a blue moon user) it is worth it.

Unfortunately i seem to have a problem with my app.. So i'll re-install it and see if that solves the problem. (if anyone has Tapatalk, could you let me know if this feature works for you?)

Never had that problem? Did a search for RCHeliaddict, tapped the result, logged in and it has stayed logged in every time I tap in from favourites?

[Mojo]

I don't seem to have the login problem, once a site is added to Favorites and I have logged in, I go straight in everytime.

Never had that problem? Did a search for RCHeliaddict, tapped the result, logged in and it has stayed logged in every time I tap in from favourites?

Thanks guys,

I didn't realise that adding the forum to the favourite would make the login automatic

Like you I do get the network error on 'Who's Online' and 'Profile' pages, but strangely not on the SCHA site but always on HeliAddicts. Need to investigate further as to whether it is just Heliaddicts that has the problem.

As you say Nick, the error need to be investigated further, maybe Stuart would have an idea what it could be??

Cheers,

Mo

[Mojo]

Re: Forum Client Apps Review

I don't understand
On my I phone the forum works fine as if I am on a pc
so why do I need a app plus it's not as good?

It's the same as using the facebook or eBay app.. You can get it on the browser but the app just makes it simpler..

As Weeble mentioned above.. It makes it really simple to browse the forum.. I am using it right now and it just saves me pinching and zooming in and out on the pages..

For me if i am at work or out and about, just loading the app gives me a full view of the forum.. There is a free version available, give it a try and see what you think..



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jamin_00]

I gonna try this tapatalk too.

Looks good

[heliTV]

So the conclusion is tapatalk is the one to go for?

[Mojo]

I think it is the best out of the lot.. I really like TouchBB as well, but i have not tested it with RCHA and it requires Stuart to add yet another piece of software for it to work..

I am quite happy with tapatalk and going to keep on using it..

[RotorSmiths]

Thanks for doing all the research - - I'll give this Tapatalk a go too. Just downloaded the app.

[Jamin_00]

Its very good.

I like the way it lists all unread topics by forum etc

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