Andor's Trail

@Sdevaney - you think it's worth the $2.99?
The forum feels clunky on my cell, so i always use my laptop.
But it would be nice to enjoy the forum on the phone...

Edit : troubleshooting basic forum browsing...

@ladyblack - you are right,
i defaulted a lot of my settings ...

started to enter text vertically [begrudged - mind you!]
In the end - its not as harsh as i thought.

But i think i will check out the app,
to see if its worth recommending...



Because even though i understand the interface better
I still find myself flipping my phone for optimum speed

So can someone please explain what it is? Is it just to get here? What does it do for you? Do you not need it if you have an awesome phone? My X can save the page, automatically log me in, and even use Google's voice to text to type out my posts. What could Tapatalk possibly do that's better than that besides grind for me while I'm sleeping?

After having read through all of the posts under this topic, I would like to offer a third, and perhaps better alternative. After personally experiencing limitations with the stock Android browser, primarily in the area of java related issues, I put a fair amount of time into reviewing the various browser alternatives available. The best, and most informative summary of what I learned can be found here: ( http://briefmobile.com/android-smartpho ... firefox-rc ). At the time, I made my choice of going with the Opera Mobile browser, and have remained a faithful and current user. The direct link to download this browser from the Android Market, should you decide to give it a try yourself is: ( https://market.android.com/details?id=com.opera.browser )

If you have any concerns or questions, I would be happy to do my best to address them.

thank you - i have been limited to cell phone browsing

gonna check this out...

Thank you Ctnbeh13! Great post

I use Tapatalk for another forum I frequent a lot. It's just easier because it requires less to load -- i.e. the entire browser. It parses things faster because it can immediately load the exact forum I'm reading, show the text, then load the images separately instead of my entire browser lagging because of an image halfway down stalling the load time (especially on mobile phones).

I found it on tapatalk by accident (didn't look here on the forums to see if they had support), but noticed after like 5 days that it won't connect anymore. I enjoy it.

For those who don't understand what it is, it's just an app designed to read Forums with. While it seems obvious that you already have a browser, this app just does it better. Each post is separated easily and it loads X posts by your choice (X being 10, 20, or 30) only at a time which can increase speed of reading. Images are all thumb-nailed instead of full-screen loaded which keeps it from skewing your viewing experience on a mobile browser.

It happens to load very quickly because the app only loads the portion of the forums you exactly need, so it doesn't have to load the entire web browser reducing time and increasing speed. I mean, overall it's just a *huge* bonus to me. I can frequent both of my favorite forums in half the time without having losing anything because of faster load times.

I took it off for a while, looking at server load and bandwidth differences. Like I said if it seems like people like it and use it I have no problem with it myself. It doesn't cost me anything extra to host it.

qasur wrote:…my entire browser lagging because of an image halfway down stalling the load time (especially on mobile phones).

For those who don't understand what it is, it's just an app designed to read Forums with.

I can frequent both of my favorite forums in half the time without having losing anything because of faster load times.

I've basically isolated the three points from the post above that I wish to have a better understanding of.

As I do not have issues with my device, browser, or wireless provider regarding any of the issues above, I've never had reason to research such an app. However, it does sound like it would be quite useful to someone who is using an older device that its user is nearing the end of their 2 year wireless provider contract on. Older devices do have issues meeting the demands required to render a normal full webpage.

If "it's just an app designed to read Forums with", then don't you still need to make use of your browser to accomplish posting?

Although this app seems to be optimized for reading compatible forum sites, can you view multiple topics from the same site, multiple sites simultaneously, or run your browser at the same time?

ctnbeh13 wrote:

qasur wrote:…my entire browser lagging because of an image halfway down stalling the load time (especially on mobile phones).

For those who don't understand what it is, it's just an app designed to read Forums with.

I can frequent both of my favorite forums in half the time without having losing anything because of faster load times.

I've basically isolated the three points from the post above that I wish to have a better understanding of.

As I do not have issues with my device, browser, or wireless provider regarding any of the issues above, I've never had reason to research such an app. However, it does sound like it would be quite useful to someone who is using an older device that its user is nearing the end of their 2 year wireless provider contract on. Older devices do have issues meeting the demands required to render a normal full webpage.

If "it's just an app designed to read Forums with", then don't you still need to make use of your browser to accomplish posting?

Although this app seems to be optimized for reading compatible forum sites, can you view multiple topics from the same site, multiple sites simultaneously, or run your browser at the same time?

I find that between my HTC Hero, my wife's iPhone, and a Samsumg Galaxy S that the browser loading forums is about the same -- and it's slower than the load time of the Forums through Tapatalk.

See, Tapatalk doesn't show the entire forum at once. It breaks up each section as choices, which when clicked open up those specific threads as the new choices. All of it reduces time to load up, especially because it doesn't have to load all of the HTML and the viewed/unviewed/posted icons, etc. All of that reduces load time. Biggest thing is I have mine set to only load 10 topics per page, so load time is reduced even further.

On top of this, when you open the app, it shows a list of all of the Forums you frequent. Just click it and it loads your forums all in one place. I don't have to type the web address or scroll and find it through a search engine or try clicking a tiny "Forums" text thing on a webpage. It's this big button.

When I said it just views the forums, I meant it all respects: it lets you read threads, post replies, and quote others. You lose some aspects like being able to easily copy-and-past links, but you still can if you use hand-typed BBcode.

Overall, it's just an ease-of-use that's really cool about it. I especially like how it never have to scroll to the left or right (even if I've set the browser to mobile it still stretches some forum pages). I think if you tried it with a forum you frequent, then it would be pretty cool.

Thanks for the followup. I'll keep this app on the back burner for checking into at a later time, as eventually, if I choose not to root my device, the preinstalled apps from Google, Motorola, and Verizon, will increase in their demands on available resources, as each new app version is rolled out. This is essentially what occurred with my Motorola Droid, requiring rooting or replacement to continue to properly function as it originally did. I chose replacement for the increased performance and enhanced functionality.

As I currently enjoy the benefits and performance of Opera Mobile, I will most likely continue its use as I often have multiple webpages open in tabs, using some as a point of reference when writing articles or forum posts.