According to an April 4, 2013 Gartner report, sales of mobile devices continue to go up, while desktop sales are going down:
Worldwide Devices Shipments by Segment (Thousands of Units)
Device Type
2012
2013
2014
2017
PC (Desk-Based and Notebook)
341,263
315,229
302,315
271,612
Ultramobile
9,822
23,592
38,687
96,350
Tablet
116,113
197,202
265,731
467,951
Mobile Phone
1,746,176
1,875,774
1,949,722
2,128,871
Total
2,213,373
2,411,796
2,556,455
2,964,783
In light of this trend, does the Hoop.la's decision to remove support for their iPhone app make any sense at all? They claim that the issue is quality, and that they are having a hard time keeping up with software changes. Well, perhaps it is now time for Naim to find a forum provider who can?
From a purely personal perspective, my iPhone has become my primary way of keeping up with what's going on here. Not saying it's a great app or anything -- barely adequate is probably closer to the truth. But without mobile access, my time spent on the forum will be cut back dramatically. Not a big deal I guess. After all, it's only an audio forum, right? But I do wonder how many others will be negatively impacted by this inexplicable move.
Hook
Posted on: 05 June 2013 by Don Atkinson
Originally Posted by Hook:
But without mobile access, my time spent on the forum will be cut back dramatically. Not a big deal I guess.
For once, Hoopless have got it right
Cheers
Don
Posted on: 05 June 2013 by RaceTripper
The Hoop.la iPhone app kinda sucks. Oh wait...the forum webapp kinda sucks too.
Posted on: 05 June 2013 by Jasonf
Hi Hook,
I tried the I Phone app but preferred to use the standard web page as my means of communication with the Forum on mobile devices. However, I tend not to do much writing on mobile devices purely because of the fiddle factor. But I certainly do agree with you when one considers the trend as you point out.
Certainly Naim should ask some serious questions as to the capability of Hoopla. But surely its Naims's decision as to how much mobile device product 'integrity' they desire...and ditch Hoopla for a more 'capable' provider. (Although I don't actually know what the real tech issues are but not insurmountable one would guess).
Regarding the criticism of the Web Page, I think that it is clear, easy and simple to navigate and better than most other standard Forum layouts...and I suspect the large blank space to our right is a nod to a better presentation on a mobile device.
Jason.
Posted on: 05 June 2013 by Richard Dane
Hook, it seems that Hoop.la would rather put their resource in making the mobile view of the web page as good as possible rather than concentrating on apps that are bound to a particular mobile device. Right now, that means different apps having to be developed for different platforms, which is something of a waste. With resource now able to be concentrated on improving the mobile web view, which is applicable whatever the device, this move seems to make sense.
FWIW I use the iPhone for the forum a lot, but I never used the App , mainly because it wasn't possible to perform any admin tasks that way, but also because I just preferred the standard web view. I never really saw the point of the app, particularly once the mobile view of the forum came online (which is easily switchable between mobile and standard view). I for one won't really miss it.
Posted on: 05 June 2013 by Hook
IMO, the iPhone app was a nice, and much needed, improvement over the horrible mobile view. It made the forum easier for me to navigate and read.
Given the app is going away, I'll give standard view another try. I agree with Jason that the whole purpose of the right hand column is to make mobile use of the standard view possible (by turning to landscape mode, zooming in and chopping the right hand column off). Nevertheless, I think this will be a poor substitute for the app.
I hear where you are coming from Richard, and I appreciate your clarification, but IMO, this is still a big step backwards for iPhone users.
Hook
Posted on: 15 June 2013 by EAROTICA
I'm rarely in the office so find the naim app a great tool for keeping up with everything naim. I guess if the new naim website is going to be easier for mobile phone then having it on my favourites list won't make a huge difference. I'm surprised they are getting rid of it though. If you look at the trends else where everyone is creating apps. From my banking to shares trading everything seems to be available on the app now.
Mike
Posted on: 16 June 2013 by Mike Hughes
The whole point about the mobile experience being fiddly is that it simply shouldn't be. I use plenty of other apps where that simply isn't the case and it's not exactly rocket science.
Experience so far suggests that HTML 5 instead of apps is theoretically the way to go but not in practice as it's generally an equally poor experience. The bottom line is you either know what people need or you don't. I suspect Hoop.la don't.
Moving away from apps on different platforms is one of those things that is superficially understandable but really it's just broadcasting that they're a company going nowhere precisely because they haven't addressed the basic needs of customers. They appear to be a company that's all about nice sleek graphic design rather than user experience. Shame.
Posted on: 16 June 2013 by Sloop John B
I find the mobile experience just as good (or bad) as the app experience.
Recently I have taken to the dictation on the iPhone which actually is very useful.
Once you speak in a relatively brief sentences and don't put too much emphasis on words and sound very much like a computer its accuracy is quite acceptable.
I have not had to edit too much of this post.
Posted on: 17 June 2013 by Adam Meredith
Originally Posted by Sloop John B:
I find the mobile experience just as good (or bad) as the app experience.
Recently I have taken to the dictation on the iPhone which actually is very useful.
Once you speak in a relatively brief sentences and don't put too much emphasis on words and sound very much like a computer its accuracy is quite acceptable.
I have not had to edit too much of this post.
I'm sorry but I didn't understand a word of this post.
Posted on: 17 June 2013 by Mike Hughes
Following eye surgery I too got into using Dragon software on the iPhone. I can't say whether it worked well with this forum as I had other priorities at the time. I can say it sighed well on other apps.
However, the main point remains. You simply shouldn't have to consider such things.
