[Merged] Interest in an iPhone or iPad App for MacRumors.com [Archive]

iSee

Sep 12, 2008, 12:31 PM

I love the idea and the screen-shots look great.

Would an app geared around a rumor site which publishes information regarding unreleased products make it through Apple's control and onto the App Store?

Interesting question... I think Apple would be smart to stay out of things like this, though.

For one thing MR is basically a self-sustaining community of fans. Companies can spend millions of marketing dollar and not get the same results. Sure, info that's bad for Apple gets passed around. But if MR was a cocktail it would be 1 part worms (bad for Apple), 10 parts sunshine (good for Apple).

But even that's beside the point. Once you get in the business of deciding which content to allow and not allow you expose yourself to all kinds of problems. Every time you make a questionable call your reputation suffers. Who wants their own customers not to trust them? There is a lot of content to review and it can't be done by low-level grunts without large numbers of poor decisions being made. Even experienced reviewers can't always understand the full implications of every decision. There is legal exposure, too. You need to be very consistent and even then you'll be getting sued for letting this in or keeping that out.

A workaround:

It could be developed as a general RSS viewer that supports a particular form of UI customization template. The MR template could be hosted, for example, on the MR site itself: it would be entirely separate from the app itself. It would containt the MR-specific art, menus, etc.

A user would then download the app and then point it at MR. The app reads the template and from that point on, it's a MR RSS reader.

EvanLugh

Sep 12, 2008, 01:20 PM

Or how about a decent web app alternative? For example, google's iphone mobile experience.

anti-microsoft

Sep 12, 2008, 02:16 PM

Or how about a decent web app alternative? For example, google's iphone mobile experience.

I'm sure that's doable :coughs::errhm: Arn :cough::errhm: ;)

anti-microsoft

Sep 12, 2008, 02:29 PM

Here's a darker (better IMO) concept:

http://h4xr.org/swah

Thanks,

Ams.

shadowmoses

Sep 12, 2008, 03:05 PM

Concept above is awesome, this app would be welcomed with open arms!! Keep the dream rolling....;)

ShadoW

ravenvii

Sep 12, 2008, 05:40 PM

Now that looks awesome!

Some programmers, get in here! That gotta get from concept art to actual program!

(Wishes that he can code)

anti-microsoft

Sep 13, 2008, 09:49 AM

Now that looks awesome!

Some programmers, get in here! That gotta get from concept art to actual program!

(Wishes that he can code)

Thanks! Yes! I hope some developers are reading this!

I wish I could program as well!

Ams.

arn

Sep 13, 2008, 07:25 PM

hey guys.

If we did this, I'd want MacRumors to control the app as an "official" version -- to avoid conflicts down the line. If there are any developers who thinks they could do this sort of app for hire, contact me.

arn@normalkid.com

Thanks
arn

allbrokeup

Sep 15, 2008, 09:48 PM

I actually have made a MacRumors RSS Reader for iPhone. It doesn't look like that, but I have the code, and it works. At the moment it:

Displays and populates a list view of all the current stories of The Apple Blog.

When a table cell is tapped, it opens the story in Mobile Safari.

I would be willing to provide the code, if a developer could slap that lovely GUI on the front of it. For free of course. :D:D:D

I will upload pictures when I can...Its for OS 2.0+

P.S. Arn, or somebody, where can I find a page 1 RSS Feed for MacRumors for my app??

Thanks

Edit 1: Found the RSS XML as a link on the MR Homepage. I loaded it into the code and its not working, for some reason it can only read ones hosted at FeedBurner or in the format of "http://feeds.feedburner.com/MacRumors". Can someone host an XML there if this application is accepted??

sunfast

Sep 16, 2008, 04:51 AM

At the moment I use NewsNetWire to stay in touch with MR on the move. One issue is that the RSS feeds only contain a small amount of the article so you couldn't read it all in the MR app via RSS. If that makes sense!

This would be so cool though, particularly once Push notification is available

anjinha

Nov 16, 2008, 09:50 PM

Any news on a macrumors app yet?

anti-microsoft

Nov 17, 2008, 10:23 AM

I downloaded the SDK yesterday but deleted it instantly! I haven't a clue of how code works! Say... Do you think Apple would let it get into the App Store? After all.. It's just a news site!

Diatribe

Feb 9, 2009, 04:12 PM

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread here but I just saw the mock-ups and have to say that they look pretty cool.
Is there any status on this Arn?

xUKHCx

Feb 24, 2009, 05:13 PM

Note: Two subsquent threads

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=519107
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=656941

Mr. lax

Feb 26, 2009, 09:03 PM

That looks awesome!

But it's funny, I think it looks even more awesome when you look at it with inverted colors (press Ctrl+Option+Apple+8 to see it)

100% agree

themacintoshman

Mar 16, 2009, 11:55 PM

Hi everyone, I recently thought of something that I think would improve MacRumors a lot. Now I don't know about you, but I check this site daily, and it is usually when I am on the go from my iPhone. I know some sites have mobile versions formatted for the iPhone and iPod Touch screens (ex. Facebook, pictured below.) I think that if MacRumors had a site like this, it would help us people who check different blogs from our iPhone/iPod Touch. Has anyone else thought about this? Anyone disagree? Leave your thoughts below. :)
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/picture-171.png

wahoo10

Mar 17, 2009, 12:40 AM

+1

+easier access to forums
+if we get push, there could be notifications of new articles
+could expand MR users
-could put too many users on here
-lengthy/costly to develop

Ivan P

Mar 17, 2009, 12:52 AM

themacintoshman

Mar 17, 2009, 01:09 AM

Technically there is an iPhone/iPod touch version of MR, at http://mobile.macrumors.com; it lacks design, but still displays the main things from the site.
I don't see an actual App Store-type app coming out though, Apple would never allow for one that offered speculation and possible leaks from their own company.

Sorry guys, I didn't see that mobile site before I started this thread, but you made some good points.
I know apple would NEVER let an app that speculated about upcoming products and such into the app store, but even a better designed and better organized mobile site would be great. Also, another thought comes to my mind: there are several RSS feed readers available in the app store, so could you get updates from the MacRumors RSS feed through one of those apps?

ashjamben

Mar 17, 2009, 04:32 AM

ye, RSS would work.

you could also add the mobile macrumors site as an icon on your homescreen. i cant remember what it's called, but it's on the same menu to bookmark a website

anti-microsoft

Mar 17, 2009, 09:07 AM

Sorry guys, I didn't see that mobile site before I started this thread, but you made some good points.
I know apple would NEVER let an app that speculated about upcoming products and such into the app store, but even a better designed and better organized mobile site would be great. Also, another thought comes to my mind: there are several RSS feed readers available in the app store, so could you get updates from the MacRumors RSS feed through one of those apps?

I think you'll find that I started this thread.

Ams.

xUKHCx

Mar 17, 2009, 09:10 AM

I think you'll find that I started this thread.

Ams.

I think you'll find he started a thread that was merged into this one. :)

anti-microsoft

Mar 17, 2009, 03:18 PM

I think you'll find he started a thread that was merged into this one. :)

I'm sorry, I didn't know it was merged, but I still did create the original thread!:p

Ams.

I think you'll find that I started this thread.

Ams.

Yes, I started a thread that got merged into this one. Sorry for any confusion.

techfreak85

Apr 19, 2009, 07:35 PM

dukebound85

Apr 19, 2009, 07:36 PM

so cool that you arent the first to have thought of it.......

search

also, you know there is a iphone friendly version of this site at the bottom left corner right?

TuffLuffJimmy

Apr 19, 2009, 07:36 PM

As if this hasn't been discussed to death...

twoodcc

Apr 19, 2009, 08:28 PM

wouldn't it be cool if there was an iphone app for the mac forums? I would love to be able to check new posts, and currently subscribed posts from the mobile User CP.

I dont know what kind of things like plug ins vBulletin allows, but just a cool idea eh?:p

yes that would be very nice. i hope it happens one day. just think how much money it would bring in at just $0.99 (but i would love free)

aethelbert

Apr 19, 2009, 08:33 PM

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=519107&highlight=iphone+app

techfreak85

Apr 20, 2009, 02:24 AM

haha sorry i tryed to search first(as always;)) but nothing showed up so i made a new thread.

Ivan P

Apr 20, 2009, 03:02 AM

http://mobile.macrumors.com -> Forums.

mikeinternet

Apr 20, 2009, 06:43 PM

haha sorry i tryed to search first(as always;)) but nothing showed up so i made a new thread.

I for one am glad you made a new thread. I would have never stumbled upon these great mobile options.

Very nice.

dmmcintyre3

May 20, 2009, 11:10 PM

If I had an iPhone or iPod Touch A MacRumors app would be so nice. Push notifications of front page/ page 2 articles and maybe even forum posts (in subscribed threads)

I would buy a iPod Touch if there was one.

kb152

May 21, 2009, 03:43 PM

I'd like to see one someday. I subscribe via RSS in mail on my iMac, but an active app on my iPhone with incoming notifications similar to what's been demonstrated by the recent screenshots of the AP app would be welcome.

Unspoken Demise

May 21, 2009, 03:45 PM

But with such an active forum, what would you like pushed? New posts? Subscribed threads? New rumors?

gilbert1020

Jun 11, 2009, 01:12 PM

Isn't it about time Macrumors makes an App for the iPhone?
Imagine having a slick UI to log into the forums
instead of having to go through the mobile Safari.

noah82

Jun 11, 2009, 01:18 PM

I have a buck on it!

Dmac77

Jun 12, 2009, 12:33 AM

Has any progress been made on this?

Don

matthoffart

Jun 16, 2009, 03:03 PM

MacRumors needs to develop an iPhone application that pretty much shows the home page rumors on macrumors.com i know i would download it.

Tubink

Jun 16, 2009, 03:12 PM

Just view the website in Safari and add it to your home screen.

Super Sneb

Jun 16, 2009, 04:01 PM

I don't think it needs an iPhone app but I do think it needs an iPhone webpage.

Neowin's iPhone page is amazing!!!

Maclver

Jun 16, 2009, 04:03 PM

I don't think it needs an iPhone app but I do think it needs an iPhone webpage.

Neowin's iPhone page is amazing!!!

there is..... go to your USER CP.. EDIT OPTIONS.. then scroll to the bottom
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z256/OSXnerd/Screenshoton2009-06-16at30435PM.png

Super Sneb

Jun 16, 2009, 05:46 PM

there is..... go to your USER CP.. EDIT OPTIONS.. then scroll to the bottom

Thank you, didn't realize as neowin's auto sends you to it :) I have to admit though, neowin's mobile site is loads nicer!!

Maclver

Jun 16, 2009, 07:12 PM

Thank you, didn't realize as neowin's auto sends you to it :) I have to admit though, neowin's mobile site is loads nicer!!

who cares about neowin's? this is MacRumors!

anti-microsoft

Jun 17, 2009, 01:28 AM

How about doing that? Making a MacRumors Web App. (And maybe at the same time redesign MacRumors all together :rolleyes: )

Ams.

Surely

Jun 17, 2009, 01:35 AM

Here's a thread with a poll that I started on July 27, 2008 about the same topic. (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=532131)

ziggyonice

Jun 17, 2009, 02:48 AM

Okay, this app really needs to happen. While the iPhone optimized version of the site is better -- imagine what could be created when you take it a step further!

This is something I just whipped up in Photoshop (sorry, I'm not THAT good at programming). But tell me what you think!

http://img.skitch.com/20090617-ecq7qg22pquut1hgqe8k85wunu.jpg http://img.skitch.com/20090617-itgc8xs7g28c8ryk48pci68i6.jpg
http://img.skitch.com/20090617-gipdsu82spd17af6ahpw2din1y.jpg http://img.skitch.com/20090617-wthbbcw7grtca6jepnesdk1g4.jpg
http://img.skitch.com/20090617-xn25swjmyken2sp8ndk7bcxh58.jpg

TwinCities Dan

Jun 17, 2009, 02:54 AM

Surely

Jun 17, 2009, 02:58 AM

jbernie

Jun 17, 2009, 03:11 AM

I have two differing opinions on this:

1) As a forum primarily about Apple & Apple products, an App for the Touch & iPhone is in our interests and provides the members with a unique level of support.

2) I have concerns that with Apple being the one and only one to approve (legitimate/non jailbreaked) apps, the availability of the app could be compromised should Apple feel the need to "censor" the content we have on this site. Apple is not immune to taking such acts, and it would be for Arn & probably the senior mods to decide if they want to be exposed to these types of issues, above what already happens in the odd case where content has been removed at the request of lawyers.

Although it may not be perfect, nor cool, I would rather we place effort & emphasis on a more feature rich mobile version of the site, where Arn need not (long term) rely on any individual (programmer) or company (Apple) to ensure that the (mobile) content of MacRumors is presented in an optimal format to the community at large.

I couldn't see the images that anti-microsoft posted originally, the basic screenshots that ziggyonice posted are quite appealing, but the approval process is not. I think we could provide content for mobile.macrumors.com that functions in the same basic way but without needing Apple to approve publication each time.

ziggyonice

Jun 17, 2009, 03:17 AM

Nice job. :cool:

That's pretty much the kind of thing I've been hoping for.....

I added an additional image. Not really sure how the forums would look *exactly*, but working on that as well. :)

Okay, added an image for what the forum could look like. Also added a push notification image.
Although a lot of this would technically be quite difficult to achieve, I can dream, can't I? :rolleyes:

QCassidy352

Jun 17, 2009, 08:00 AM

Compile 'em all

Jun 17, 2009, 08:08 AM

Okay, added an image for what the forum could look like. Also added a push notification image.
Although a lot of this would technically be quite difficult to achieve, I can dream, can't I? :rolleyes:

Dreaming it is. Simple usability enhancements requests like the ability to pause the spy stream instead of accidently clicking 10 freakin' times on the wrong thread have gone unheard and you want them to implement a push server?

kainjow

Jun 17, 2009, 09:55 AM

Nice screenshots ziggyonice.

As an iPhone developer myself, the app is technically doable but would require quite a lot of work to have the forums integrated with the iPhone. You'd basically have to write a lot of server-side code to pass off the data to the iPhone in a easy to read format (XML), and to provide a way to allow users to sign in (basically cookie-based like the browser). The front-page part would be easy, along with forum spy.

But I think jbernie makes a good point. It might be better to focus on the mobile version of the sites instead, which is far easier to do than an entire Cocoa Touch UI and custom server backend :)

joro

Jun 17, 2009, 10:18 AM

Okay, this app really needs to happen. While the iPhone optimized version of the site is better -- imagine what could be created when you take it a step further!

This is something I just whipped up in Photoshop (sorry, I'm not THAT good at programming). But tell me what you think!

<snip>

These are awesome and I would love to see a MR application. Even if Apple wouldn’t approve such an app, there could be an optimized version such as TUAW [gulp]. If you got i.tuaw.com on your iPhone it has a special version just for the iPhone. Although I know there is one already for MR, the problem is you have to switch back and fourth between the versions when your using it on a computer versus the iphone.

Peer.P

Jun 17, 2009, 11:28 AM

Hi folks,

i was wondering, whether there is an app to read the news on Macrumors.com. I do not mean a RSS-thing, but a special app.

Why can't somebody just make one?

Thanks a lot
Peer

Jeremy1026

Jun 17, 2009, 11:30 AM

Hi folks,

i was wondering, whether there is an app to read the news on Macrumors.com. I do not mean a RSS-thing, but a special app.

Why can't somebody just make one?

Thanks a lot
Peer

No there isn't. Any it can't "Just be made" because it'd be rather complex to get it to work with the complexity of MR.com This has been asked MANY times. Check the site feedback section.

LSUtigers03

Jun 17, 2009, 11:30 AM

There isn't an app out. Just set the site to the iPhone friendly setting at the bottom of any forum page.

yellow

Jun 17, 2009, 11:30 AM

Hi folks,

i was wondering, whether there is an app to read the news on Macrumors.com. I do not mean a RSS-thing, but a special app.

Why can't somebody just make one?

Thanks a lot
Peer

There's already a thread on the topic. I've merged yours with it.
Please search next time.

Thanks!

ziggyonice

Jun 17, 2009, 12:29 PM

Dreaming it is. Simple usability enhancements requests like the ability to pause the spy stream instead of accidently clicking 10 freakin' times on the wrong thread have gone unheard and you want them to implement a push server?

Haha, Photoshop is meant to work miracles, right? :)

As an iPhone developer myself, the app is technically doable but would require quite a lot of work to have the forums integrated with the iPhone.

I'm going to agree, though -- the best option (and most realistic) is a web app. As cool as an actual App would be, I just don't see how it'd be technically feasible.

BrownManUPS

Jun 17, 2009, 12:42 PM

I +1 this idea.

Saladinos

Jun 17, 2009, 12:43 PM

I certainly like the idea, so I'll have a go at it. I can certainly get the news section done quickly, but interfacing with the forums (vBulletin) might be tricky. I'll look in to it.

I'll let you know when I've got something to say/show. In the mean time, anyone else who wants to have a go, do.

iphoneftw

Jun 18, 2009, 03:48 AM

who here thinks macrumors needs an app

iVeBeenDrinkin'

Jun 18, 2009, 03:49 AM

... and it should include SEARCH...

iphoneftw

Jun 18, 2009, 03:52 AM

... and it should include SEARCH...
yeah that would be nice and the buyers guide

Andrew Henry

Jun 18, 2009, 04:14 AM

Definitely wish MR had an app, also Engadget would be nice!

u49aa2

Jun 18, 2009, 04:53 AM

I think it will be great to have a MR app in the iphone. But i also wish to have an appleinsider app :cool:.

RobertD63

Jun 18, 2009, 01:44 PM

It might not seem like it at all but you guys are requesting so much work. Like someone said earlier thats a lot of back end coding you have to do for the fourms. Plus you have to make your own API's etc. It would be nice to have a app for all these sites but it will take loads of work and a team. How about we start a open source project now? Anyone?

Beaverfish

Jun 18, 2009, 01:57 PM

This is a fantastic idea, I wish everyone involved the best of luck !

Saladinos

Jun 20, 2009, 08:57 PM

Looks quite good. News will be easy to implement. Buyers Guide shouldn't be that hard. Forums will be a pain.

anti-microsoft

Jun 21, 2009, 02:43 AM

Looks quite good. News will be easy to implement. Buyers Guide shouldn't be that hard. Forums will be a pain.

Is that the actual app running on the simulator??? or is it just a mock-up...?

Ams.

ziggyonice

Jun 21, 2009, 02:48 AM

Looks quite good. News will be easy to implement. Buyers Guide shouldn't be that hard. Forums will be a pain.

What if, for simplicity's sake, the forums section was simply a browser? As nice as it'd be to have a very good looking and sleek -- I think having it set to the iPhone formatted forums would be good enough in the interim.

jbernie

Jun 21, 2009, 03:08 AM

Looks quite good. News will be easy to implement. Buyers Guide shouldn't be that hard. Forums will be a pain.

not a bad layout... maybe make more use of it if possible, have the buttons across the button more customizable, at least the option get to Subscribed Threads.

anti-microsoft

Jun 21, 2009, 03:08 AM

Ok, so I made this icon... I was thinking of doing it in MR's colors but as the app looks better in Apple's standard UI then I made it like this:

1. With depth, blue & red versions (like the google app icon)

178087

178088

2. Without, blue version.

178089

Ams.

Saladinos

Jun 21, 2009, 06:26 AM

Is that the actual app running on the simulator??? or is it just a mock-up...?

Ams.

That's the actual app. I've also made it get real data rather than placeholder garbage.

Somebody was making a vbulletin API on Google Code. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have done much since January. PHP isn't my thing, so I can't fix it up. If it ever does get to a usable state, I'll definitely add the feature to the App.

anti-microsoft

Jun 21, 2009, 06:32 AM

That's the actual app. I've also made it get real data rather than placeholder garbage.

Somebody was making a vbulletin API on Google Code. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have done much since January. PHP isn't my thing, so I can't fix it up. If it ever does get to a usable state, I'll definitely add the feature to the App.

Great stuff!! Since Arn said that if made, the app would be official, will it be paid or ad supported like the site?

Ams.

dmmcintyre3

Jun 21, 2009, 02:35 PM

Could the app just query the database instead of the server?

Saladinos

Jun 21, 2009, 04:20 PM

Could the app just query the database instead of the server?

What exactly do you mean by this?

For the first release, I'm thinking of having:
- News (Page One, Page Two)
- iPhone News
- Share articles, offline reading
- Guides/Buyer's Guide if Possible

Forums will maybe be added for a later release.

Here's a picture of it working with actual news.

Peer.P

Jun 24, 2009, 10:57 AM

hey guys, I see there is something going on on behalf of the Macrumors-App. That is great news!!! I wish everyone participating good luck.

Thank you so much for your efforts!!!

twoodcc

Jun 24, 2009, 02:50 PM

What exactly do you mean by this?

For the first release, I'm thinking of having:
- News (Page One, Page Two)
- iPhone News
- Share articles, offline reading
- Guides/Buyer's Guide if Possible

Forums will maybe be added for a later release.

Here's a picture of it working with actual news.

great work so far! are you the only one working on this?

RedTomato

Jun 24, 2009, 06:34 PM

Great stuff!

Always nice to see people stepping up and doing it themselves, instead of waiting for someone else to do it for them.

You have my full support for what I've seen so far.

A couple of nice iPhone news apps that I use (if you want ideas). Both free.

NYTimes (New York Times. Can save articles for reading in the subway. Please can the MR app have this? )
Sky News (Very simple interface, fast download)

Oddly, BBC news doesn't have an iPhone app. I have a link to their text-only mobile edition on my home page, but it has the same problems as the MR mobile page i.e. not really iPhone style.

Saladinos

Jun 25, 2009, 07:33 AM

great work so far! are you the only one working on this?

Yes, I am the only one working on this. I even made my own icons.

Great stuff!

Always nice to see people stepping up and doing it themselves, instead of waiting for someone else to do it for them.

You have my full support for what I've seen so far.

A couple of nice iPhone news apps that I use (if you want ideas). Both free.

NYTimes (New York Times. Can save articles for reading in the subway. Please can the MR app have this? )
Sky News (Very simple interface, fast download)

Thanks for the support. I am planning to let people add articles to their 'favourites' tab, which will save the article and all images inside it to the device. Downloading is fast, and stuff is cached and updated in the background to make it even faster.

I am planning on having it a paid app (cheap - tier 1 or tier 2), because I can't afford to have it free. I may introduce an ad-supported free version that only reads news when connected to the network (i.e. no caching, no offline articles, no buyer's guide..etc). Still, because it's paid, I'm making sure its absolutely the best way to read MacRumors on your iPhone - adding real quality.

This is the icon I made, it's the best I could do with 30 minutes and a copy of Photoshop. EDIT: And a pic of the app now. I'm using some CC tab icons as placeholders (CC does not allow commercial apps). Note the airplane mode icon indicating that this is all running offline.

kymac

Jun 25, 2009, 08:21 AM

This is the icon I made, it's the best I could do with 30 minutes and a copy of Photoshop.

atleast use their logo! i made this up real quick if you would like to use it..

macbookairman

Jun 25, 2009, 11:29 AM

Yes, I am the only one working on this. I even made my own icons.

Thanks for the support. I am planning to let people add articles to their 'favourites' tab, which will save the article and all images inside it to the device. Downloading is fast, and stuff is cached and updated in the background to make it even faster.

I am planning on having it a paid app (cheap - tier 1 or tier 2), because I can't afford to have it free. I may introduce an ad-supported free version that only reads news when connected to the network (i.e. no caching, no offline articles, no buyer's guide..etc). Still, because it's paid, I'm making sure its absolutely the best way to read MacRumors on your iPhone - adding real quality.

This is the icon I made, it's the best I could do with 30 minutes and a copy of Photoshop. EDIT: And a pic of the app now. I'm using some CC tab icons as placeholders (CC does not allow commercial apps). Note the airplane mode icon indicating that this is all running offline.

Don't forget arn's post (http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=6230754&postcount=17) earlier in this thread. Have you contacted him?

hey guys.

If we did this, I'd want MacRumors to control the app as an "official" version -- to avoid conflicts down the line. If there are any developers who thinks they could do this sort of app for hire, contact me.

arn@normalkid.com

Thanks
arn

RedTomato

Jun 25, 2009, 11:46 AM

That was nearly a year ago, but I agree, it's polite to contact Arn. Looks like you might possibly find yourself with a paying job :cool:

RobertD63

Jun 25, 2009, 11:52 AM

Hey guys I'm not a good devleoper but I do know a work around for the forums. Simple all you need is to add an webview and add a mobile skin to the forums. That is, unless you wanna write backend code ;)

Saladinos

Jun 25, 2009, 12:00 PM

That was nearly a year ago, but I agree, it's polite to contact Arn. Looks like you might possibly find yourself with a paying job :cool:

I have contacted arn. We'll see what happens.

Hey guys I'm not a good devleoper but I do know a work around for the forums. Simple all you need is to add an webview and add a mobile skin to the forums. That is, unless you wanna write backend code ;)

I could do that, but I really want it to be a great app, so I'm using WebViews at little as possible. For example, rather than sticking articles in a WebView, I'm parsing out the text, images, embedded videos...etc to categorise them. My plan is to have images and videos in a separate section like the AppStore does. I'd really rather it be native - there are a couple of projects creating vBulletin APIs for external applications, and when any of them are in a usable state, I'll update the app to support it.

And I kind of like my icon better than the MacRumors icon.

macbookairman

Jun 25, 2009, 12:03 PM

I just googled "iPhone optimized vBulletin" and this skin came up: http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=171947

If this skin was modified to have the look of MacRumors, could the MacRumors app then have a browser that accesses the iPhone skin version of the forums?

EDIT: i guess what you said above kinda throws out my idea.

gillboyswims96

Jun 25, 2009, 12:41 PM

^^^^^^^^^^

thats what i was thinking...

themoonisdown09

Jun 25, 2009, 12:45 PM

And I kind of like my icon better than the MacRumors icon.

I'm sure that if Arn lets you do this, you will have to use the Mac Rumors icon. I don't know why you would use something different anyways, it would be confusing.

Saladinos

Jun 25, 2009, 12:46 PM

That looks great!

If arn wants to add that to the board (it'll be useful anyway - app or no app), I'll certainly include it. It's better than no forums I suppose.

I'm not really a fan of the MR logo, and I hate apps that have icons consisting of logos slapped on to a background. Looks like no effort was made, like it doesn't fit in with the system, and doesn't stand out.

iOrlando

Jun 25, 2009, 02:02 PM

Surely

Jun 25, 2009, 02:20 PM

I have contacted arn. We'll see what happens.

I could do that, but I really want it to be a great app, so I'm using WebViews at little as possible. For example, rather than sticking articles in a WebView, I'm parsing out the text, images, embedded videos...etc to categorise them. My plan is to have images and videos in a separate section like the AppStore does. I'd really rather it be native - there are a couple of projects creating vBulletin APIs for external applications, and when any of them are in a usable state, I'll update the app to support it.

And I kind of like my icon better than the MacRumors icon.

I don't. Sorry :o. The MacRumors logo is classic. Your logo is nice, but it's a bit generic IMO.

The app you're designing looks good. Very clean and simple. Well done. I'm looking forward to seeing what your final product turns out to be if you complete this.

Saladinos

Jun 25, 2009, 03:03 PM

not a lawyer and i dont know arn personally...but if you make money off of an macrumors app not officially part of macrumors....a lawsuit is very possible -- so be careful. Definitely get in touch with arn before publishing or submitting anything.

1) it has to be free. (best approach is to talk to arn and maybe they can pay you for whatever cost it is...but knowing macrumors...this app wont be used to make money....just to reinforce the macrumors brand)

I'm discussing compensation with arn. There's no reason to think we can't come to an agreement, but it's not something I'd like to discuss on the forums. It's a private matter. Suffice to say there are lots of routes we could take depending on what each others requirements are.

Just wait until you see the article view though - that's just something else!

themoonisdown09

Jun 25, 2009, 03:15 PM

Saladinos

Jun 25, 2009, 04:29 PM

If this app does come to the AppStore, I would hope it would be free. If it costs money, I would probably just keep browsing Mac Rumors with Safari.

I would really like to use a Mac Rumors app though.

I think you'll change your mind when you see the article view. The goal is to be far and away the best way to read MR on your iPhone/iPod touch.

RobertD63

Jun 26, 2009, 12:03 AM

I was kinda hoping that this would go open source. But I'm going to have to agree with everyone, I wouldn't buy the app. I know your putting lots of time and work but this is a free site, and its free to get the news through the site. although it would be neat to have the app. I'm split.

Dmac77

Jun 26, 2009, 12:09 AM

dvince2

Jun 26, 2009, 12:19 AM

While a macrumors app would be cool, I would 100% not pay for it. The fourms can be a bit tricky to navigate on the iPhone... but for just news, Safari works good enough for me.

macbookairman

Jun 26, 2009, 12:26 AM

While a macrumors app would be cool, I would 100% not pay for it. The fourms can be a bit tricky to navigate on the iPhone... but for just news, Safari works good enough for me.

I agree. However if the app had a big feature such as push notifications for new articles, I would pay. Cause I'm addicted to MacRumors, and I'd love to know about the latest mac news and rumors right away.

gillboyswims96

Jun 26, 2009, 12:40 AM

the only way i would pay more than $.99 is if it could

read the forums
see the news
be able to copy and paste
be able to open links without having to go into macrumors copy the link then go to safari and paste it.

soo is this going to be available in the app store? or at least tried for the app store? i dont want to jailbrake my ipod just for this...

Saladinos

Jun 26, 2009, 08:58 AM

This discussion is premature, since I have not yet any reply from arn and you haven't seen what this application will offer and are unable to make a real assessment of value of money: indeed, the app may well end up being free after all.

Again, this is all premature and based on not very much at all. Then again, most of the rumours we discuss here are based on not very much at all, so I can see how the habit forms.

iOrlando

Jun 26, 2009, 12:15 PM

so we are starting rumors about a rumor about an app that would based on rumors, many of which are based on other rumors.

yahhh

RedTomato

Jun 29, 2009, 06:19 AM

Saladinos

Jun 29, 2009, 09:48 AM

I'd love to have push notification of a new front page article. That's the one thing that'd make me really go for this app.

At the moment, MR has no effective way of informing me when this happens. (there are workarounds, all of which are clunky).

That's certainly a feature to look at. At the moment however, I've emailed and PMed arn (11 days ago) and had no response.

The app also requires OS 3.0. That may be inconvenient for some, but you're going to have to upgrade if you want to keep using the AppStore anyway. More and more apps are using 3.0-only features.

gillboyswims96

Jun 30, 2009, 01:36 AM

so we are starting rumors about a rumor about an app that would based on rumors, many of which are based on other rumors.

yahhh

the crazy part is that made sense...

conch575

Jul 11, 2009, 07:48 PM

Just because it's so annoying zooming in and out of the website.

mickbab

Jul 11, 2009, 07:51 PM

I'll be nice coz you're Australian but....Mroogle!!!!

Thread that already exists (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=558210)
Another thread that already exists (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=519107)
Look! Another thread! (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=731057)

:D

But yes it would be a good idea.

Captain Awesome

Jul 11, 2009, 08:58 PM

If someone came out with a vBulletin app, that would just be awesome, so you can keep all your forums in one place.

mickbab

Jul 11, 2009, 09:00 PM

my god its the aussies and canadian back together again

thegoldenmackid

Jul 11, 2009, 09:01 PM

mickbab

Jul 11, 2009, 09:05 PM

I find that the iPhone layout for MR isn't too bad, but if someone could come up with a really effective way to view the forums on iPhone (I have no ideas but I'm sure somebody does) that would be awesome.

Captain Awesome

Jul 11, 2009, 09:11 PM

my god its the aussies and canadian back together again

Oh yeah, me and her were planning on taking over the UK and calling it Canada #2.

mickbab

Jul 11, 2009, 09:15 PM

Oh yeah, me and her were planning on taking over the UK and calling it Canada #2.

Good luck!

conch575

Jul 11, 2009, 09:21 PM

Oh yeah, me and her were planning on taking over the UK and calling it Canada #2.

Pfft, it will be Australia #2. Gosh!

But yes, it is annoying zooming in and out, so we need an awesome app :D

isaaclimdc

Jul 11, 2009, 10:22 PM

I am in the long process of writing an iPhone Forum Browser app. There is already one out, but that doesn't provide support for vBulletin forums.

tobefirst

Jul 21, 2009, 11:45 AM

MacDailyNews just announced (http://www.macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/macdailynews_debuts_free_mdn_app_for_iphone_and_ipod_touch_users/) an iPhone app (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=319803025&mt=8), complete with push notifications for new articles. I'm not the hugest fan of MDN (their fanboyism is really over the top), but I do browse their RSS feed.

I know that their commenting system is completely different, but this should provide some idea as to what an approved Mac news app looks like.

RedTomato

Jul 21, 2009, 07:19 PM

Any progress on the MR app?

Are you still waiting for a response from Arn? If so, let us know here, and maybe a mod will notice.

WildCowboy

Jul 22, 2009, 01:01 PM

It's a project we're interested in, and yes, we've talked with Saladinos about it. :)

celticpride678

Jul 22, 2009, 01:05 PM

The thing I don't understand is, is Apple really going to allow a site about APPLE rumors and talking about hacking and forums talking about their products not working or other things like that in the App Store? I don't think so.

ziggyonice

Jul 22, 2009, 03:12 PM

It's a project we're interested in, and yes, we've talked with Saladinos about it. :)

Great to hear! I can't wait for the release!

tobefirst

Jul 22, 2009, 03:30 PM

RedTomato

Jul 22, 2009, 04:18 PM

It's a project we're interested in, and yes, we've talked with Saladinos about it. :)

Fab!

The thing I don't understand is, is Apple really going to allow a site about APPLE rumors and talking about hacking and forums talking about their products not working or other things like that in the App Store? I don't think so.

I see no problem. It's essentially a news website. There are many news websites that have their own iphone apps - Sky News, NYTimes etc etc, all of which sometimes report negative news or conjectures about Apple. The china iphone suicide is all over these sites at the moment, plus a dozen more news website iphone apps.

Also MR has been quite stringent in not allowing any detailed discussion of how to circumvent Apple copyrights or hackintosh how-tos etc, which is the same stance as these other news organs take.

DiamondMac

Jul 22, 2009, 05:18 PM

I would without doubt love to have it and would use it often....probably daily

Saladinos

Jul 24, 2009, 01:22 PM

Yup, I've been in touch with WildCowboy and am working on it.

101X

Aug 3, 2009, 11:00 AM

MacRumors should make an app. it would be awesome!

twoodcc

Aug 5, 2009, 06:38 PM

Yup, I've been in touch with WildCowboy and am working on it.

glad to hear it! and looking forward to it!

creon

Aug 25, 2009, 12:53 AM

Was brainstorming and thinking that an app of MR would be a very useful tool! I find myself on the site every so often and thought an app of our beloved MR would be just what the doctor ordered! What do you guys think? Worth the time to design?

NewMacbookPlz

Aug 26, 2009, 07:41 PM

That would be awesome! (Sorry for being late to the party :o )

Heck, if the App Store wouldn't approve it, even a web-app would be pretty nice. I'm not a huge fan of the mobile version of the MR forums, but a either a native app or a webapp would be pretty slick...

ziggyonice

Aug 28, 2009, 02:40 AM

Check it out, TUAW just released their app (http://www.tuaw.com/2009/08/28/want-to-read-tuaw-on-your-iphone-theres-an-app-for-that/) into the App Store.

anti-microsoft

Aug 28, 2009, 05:00 AM

Check it out, TUAW just released their app (http://www.tuaw.com/2009/08/28/want-to-read-tuaw-on-your-iphone-theres-an-app-for-that/) into the App Store.

I wonder if it will get pulled... I doubt it though...

Ams.

niuniu

Aug 28, 2009, 05:10 AM

*Display of interest*

FamiliaPhoto

Sep 1, 2009, 09:31 AM

Has anyone ever tried 'Forums' by Connex? Looks like it can hook into vBulletin sites liek MacRumors and do the basic nicely.

squirrellydw

Sep 1, 2009, 01:15 PM

I know you probably don't have a firm release date but any idea, weeks months? Also any idea on price, I have no problem paying for it as long as it is resonable, under $5

Saladinos

Sep 11, 2009, 09:26 PM

App is making good progress.

Not going to talk about too much until it's done (or nearly done). Premature to talk about price, but probably free.

Rest assured, I am working on it, and when there's news, I'll say something.

RedTomato

Sep 12, 2009, 04:21 AM

That's good to see. Thanks for popping up to say the project is still alive.

x RT

Erkinshadow

Sep 16, 2009, 02:32 PM

I would gladly pay a few $ for a well made Mac Rumors iPhone app.
How about U guys?:)

Roughnet13888

Sep 30, 2009, 01:57 AM

I would love to have one.
Simple interest calculator calculation rates mortgage compound high interest savings account (http://simpleinterestcalculator.org)

diesel

Oct 7, 2009, 10:46 PM

Is this the "official" macrumors app or some non affiliated dev?

http://appshopper.com/link/macrumors

thegoldenmackid

Oct 7, 2009, 11:00 PM

Doubt it.

opticalserenity

Oct 7, 2009, 11:06 PM

Considering we offered to make a full app that would allow you to browse the forums and post, search, etc, and never even got a response from Arn, I highly doubt it.

techfreak85

Oct 7, 2009, 11:10 PM

it says Rodgers in the iTuenes store for the screenshots, and as far as I know, Arn lives in the US.(?)

iSpaghettiCat

Oct 7, 2009, 11:28 PM

I was kinda caught off guard when I saw in AppSniper, but then I saw the developer name and I was like ehh.

But they are promising In-App Reading for the front page stories and forum browsing, which I'm looking forward to that. Unless it's just the iPhone format theme of the forum.

diesel

Oct 7, 2009, 11:47 PM

hitekalex

Oct 7, 2009, 11:57 PM

Not sure if making money off of another person's site content is............exactly legal?

Pretty sure it's not illegal.. Just look at the various Craigslist browsing apps in the App Store.

PBF

Oct 8, 2009, 12:58 AM

That app is absolutely atrocious as far as these things are concerned: UI, usefulness, features, icon, etc. etc. etc.

adomanico18

Oct 8, 2009, 12:58 AM

well Arn might want to take a second look at that app, because based on the one screenshot of the app, it looks as if the dev has advertising up top that i'm sure he's hoping to make money off of. Not sure if making money off of another person's site content is............exactly legal?

I am the developer for this app and I checked with the site admin before proceeding with any development. They did not mind as long as I didn't use their site logo and the app was FREE.

EarthDawn

Oct 8, 2009, 01:11 AM

I am the developer for this app and I checked with the site admin before proceeding with any development. They did not mind as long as I didn't use their site logo and the app was FREE.

Well i just downloaded it and i like it !

Nice and clean and simple and loads fast.

Glad to hear you got permission and did it the right way.

Nice job in my book :apple:

adomanico18

Oct 8, 2009, 01:15 AM

Well i just downloaded it and i like it !

Nice and clean and simple and loads fast.

Glad to hear you got permission and did it the right way.

Nice job in my book :apple:

Thanks. Its nice to see that some people appreciate others hard work. I was going for the simple and streamlined approach.

arn

Oct 8, 2009, 01:32 AM

no. it's not associated with the site.

arn

braddick

Oct 8, 2009, 10:28 AM

Nine reviews with a single star average.

:(

dthmtlgod

Oct 8, 2009, 05:41 PM

Thanks. Its nice to see that some people appreciate others hard work. I was going for the simple and streamlined approach.

Does the job.

Would like to see the whole thing open up in the mobile version instead of the ful version.

-aggie-

Oct 8, 2009, 05:46 PM

Considering we offered to make a full app that would allow you to browse the forums and post, search, etc, and never even got a response from Arn, I highly doubt it.

This is what I would expect the app to do. Anything less, forget it.

it says Rodgers in the iTuenes store for the screenshots, and as far as I know, Arn lives in the US.(?)

You can only obtain that knowledge after reaching the 33rd degree.

Does the job.

Would like to see the whole thing open up in the mobile version instead of the ful version.

Does the job? It just opens up webpages of stories from what I can tell.

musio

Oct 10, 2009, 01:07 PM

something like TUAW?

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=325711945&mt=8

saving and caching the days articles would be great!
push notifications for new stories would be amazing!

i've really wanted some sort of news story subscription to my mail account so i can get it pushed to my mobileme. A simple forum adjustment is easy to do which i've posted about previously

redgaz26

Oct 14, 2009, 08:28 PM

no. it's not associated with the site.

arn

why let them use the sites name????
this may confuse people, and apart from that its awful

techfreak85

Oct 14, 2009, 08:43 PM

why let them use the sites name????
this may confuse people, and apart from that its awful
I dont think there was any "letting".

ziggyonice

Nov 28, 2009, 04:11 AM

Any updates on the status of the app? :)

Looking forward to its release!

Saladinos

Dec 30, 2009, 03:36 AM

Update

redgaz26

Dec 30, 2009, 04:15 AM

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7D11 Safari/528.16)

Looks really nice, any idea when it's coming out??

ziggyonice

Dec 30, 2009, 04:49 AM

Update

Excellent work! Glad to hear it's still on its way!

RedTomato

Dec 30, 2009, 06:16 AM

Submit it now!!!

Any bugs can be tweaked in updates. You'll get useful feedback on formatting and layout.

What's the holdup at the moment?

Saladinos

Dec 30, 2009, 01:16 PM

Submit it now!!!

Any bugs can be tweaked in updates. You'll get useful feedback on formatting and layout.

What's the holdup at the moment?

Some things still to do. Also, since I'd imagine quite a lot of this site's users have an iPhone/iPod touch, this will be quite a popular way of accessing the site. That means it has to be very well tested before release. Also, I'd imagine the site's owners will want me to incorporate advertising, so I'll have to speak to arn about adding in the site's AdMob account or whatever other advertising he wants in.

I'll be PMing around for some AdHoc testers from the staff (mods, demigods..etc) soon for that feedback. It's been quite difficult to come up with a nice UI whilst retaining the MacRumours colours and general feel (I mean, we all love the site, but it's not exactly on the cutting edge of design).

jaysen

Dec 30, 2009, 08:16 PM

glad to see sites are dedicating their efforts into making apps for different platforms... (i.e. engadget) - Now lets see one for Android :)

-Ryan-

Jan 2, 2010, 06:46 AM

Looks really good. Can't wait to play around with it! :)

Mindzi

Jan 2, 2010, 12:29 PM

Some things still to do. Also, since I'd imagine quite a lot of this site's users have an iPhone/iPod touch, this will be quite a popular way of accessing the site. That means it has to be very well tested before release. Also, I'd imagine the site's owners will want me to incorporate advertising, so I'll have to speak to arn about adding in the site's AdMob account or whatever other advertising he wants in.

I'll be PMing around for some AdHoc testers from the staff (mods, demigods..etc) soon for that feedback. It's been quite difficult to come up with a nice UI whilst retaining the MacRumours colours and general feel (I mean, we all love the site, but it's not exactly on the cutting edge of design).

Well, compared to other sites (appleinsider, tuaw, 9to5mac) the MacRumors site is clean and pretty. That's one reason why I like MacRumors more than its competitors.

As far as I'm concerned I wouldn't mind paying for the app. If you choose the free version, please make sure to implement the ads in an acceptable way. The New York Times would be a good example. I absolutely hate the following AdMob ads:

http://att.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=209389&stc=1&d=1262452524

I would rather have no app at all than an app with these AdMob ads.

The two screenshots look really neat. Only thing I don't like so much is the background color (that kind of beige) and the frame around the pictures. The tab with the "News" back button could be filled up with something (for example simply "MacRumors" in text, a save button, refresh button, move an article forward/backward buttons or something similar). I think it's important to have a good looking entry page where the news are listed. I didn't like the main page you posted some months ago:

http://att.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=178013&d=1245545766

With that kind of design, it looks more like the app store rather than a news app.

Push notifications would be high on my wish list, although this would probably mean a paid app?

Anyway to sum it up: I really would love a MacRumors iPhone app and liked the two screenshots you posted.

Saladinos

Jan 3, 2010, 07:12 AM

Well, that shot really is quite old. It's using lighter colours now. It's still a list of text, because MacRumors articles aren't guaranteed to have images (and usually don't), and there isn't really any more information I can display on that screen. Articles which are available offline are going to get some sort of indicator there, as are new articles.

That said, I'm not a designer. This is a design that I've come up with, but no doubt the feedback I get will make me change some of it.

I've been looking at the AdMob terms, trying to find ways to better integrate ads. I really don't want to spoil the app with intrusive ads, so I'll do my best to make them as tastefully integrated as possible.

Push notifications are not expensive and could be integrated in to a future version of the app.

We also still need to figure out what to do for liveblogging. Currently, offline caching will make it a little dull.

Glad you like the look of the app so far! Thanks for the support everyone!

RedTomato

Jan 3, 2010, 05:33 PM

I also like the clean look of MR - that's partly what drew me here.

I've been looking at the AdMob terms, trying to find ways to better integrate ads. I really don't want to spoil the app with intrusive ads, so I'll do my best to make them as tastefully integrated as possible.

I couldn't see the screenshot of the 'intrusive' ads, but I really don't like the type of ads that hang around at the bottom or the top of the screen while I'm trying to read content. Screen space is tight enough as it is.

I would be happy to pay $.99 or even $1.50 for an app with no ads, or at least with no ads while I'm reading the front page or other pages. That's a one-off cost, wheras ads next to content get more annoying over time.

I don't know much about iPhone app support costs, but from what you said, you implied there is some sort of ongoing cost for sending content / updates to the app? Does that mean there's no cheapish way to have a totally ad-free version?

chill.

Jan 6, 2010, 10:48 PM

I don't know much about iPhone app support costs, but from what you said, you implied there is some sort of ongoing cost for sending content / updates to the app? Does that mean there's no cheapish way to have a totally ad-free version?

i believe he is talking about bandwidth costs. and a couple ads are really not that bad, i think you're in the minority when you would rather pay than view ads :P

RedTomato

Jan 7, 2010, 03:49 AM

i believe he is talking about bandwidth costs. and a couple ads are really not that bad, i think you're in the minority when you would rather pay than view ads :P

Oh yeah I'm always in a minority :) I accept fewer people are willing to pay for an ad-free version. I'd accept unobtrusive ads but please don't make me wait 30 seconds to view ads every time I start it up for a quick read, or insert big flashing ads at the top and bottom while I'm trying to read content. The developer seems aware of the issue though.

About bandwidth costs, can you explain more? I thought this app would just reach out to the MR mobile pages then do its own formatting / saving. I'm not sure why the developer would need to run his own server for this.

If there is a need for a server-side process, maybe the MR gods can run it on MR's expanding array of servers - it could even have an ad-free version accessible only by subscribers :D

jack.boddy

Jan 8, 2010, 06:10 AM

Just like to say a big thanks to all you guys for getting this ball rolling!

But particularly @ Saladinos for actually having the skill and the motivation ;)

Muchly appreciated! Can't wait!

brianmcdoogle

Jan 21, 2010, 09:26 PM

it's been a while since the last post. what's the status of the project? any chance of getting it before next week?

ravenvii

Jan 21, 2010, 11:31 PM

it's been a while since the last post. what's the status of the project? any chance of getting it before next week?

This has been "in the works" for almost 1.5 years now, and you're asking if it'll be out before the next week?

http://homepage.mac.com/ravenvii/gifs/lollerskates.gif

King Mook Mook

Jan 29, 2010, 02:00 AM

Any updates on the app?

RedTomato

Jan 29, 2010, 05:38 AM

Gentlemen, we have our very own Duke Nukem Forever of Macrumors. No longer will we need to make tedious jokes about Powerbook G5 releases. No Sir! Instead, we can joke about the perpetually soon-to-be-released MR iPhone App.

If you don't release it soon, someone else's gonna eat your lunch. And move your cheese. And diddle your mum with your veggies. While slapping you with a trout.

MR is one of the largest and most valuable blogs on the internet and the biggest Apple news website. It's only a matter of time.

http://247wallst.com/2008/03/26/the-twenty-five/

iOrlando

Jan 29, 2010, 07:53 AM

i do find it amazing their isnt a macrumors app- yet.

You claim your mobile version is fine, but I mean, it's pretty bad on an iPhone.

I care about the forums more about the rumors themselves. The rumors are 80% commoditized (meaning you can go to any site or app and get them) but the forums you cant.

RedTomato

Feb 8, 2010, 03:37 PM

Arn and WildCowboy have implemented an update in the mobile forums.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=9237921

They're looking rather better on the iphone now. The developer of this perpetually delayed app is risking seeing his market vanish from under him.

DoFoT9

Feb 17, 2010, 06:12 AM

about time the WiForums were updated! its really nice and easy to use now, thumbs up from me.

an iPhone/iPad app - especially the iPad - would be most wanted. sure you could just use standard MR with the iPad, but it would be a nice experience on it and could look much slicker :)

Mindzi

Feb 22, 2010, 07:49 AM

Any updates on the iPhone app? Screens would be great :P

Angelo95210

Feb 22, 2010, 08:00 AM

I would love to get a MR app too !

Saladinos

Mar 3, 2010, 11:14 PM

You're wrong. It's not being released until it's ready (or if arn wants it released before that, fine).

I don't know how big you think MacRumors is, and I certainly have no idea how big it actually is, but I do know that I'm not being paid massive sums of money to make this app and that I'm only one person doing this in parallel with other things.

You could try and be a bit more understanding. MacRumors has been without an iPhone app for a long time, but I haven't been working on one for all of that time. This app has been in development for months, not years. It's making good progress.

Hopefully it'll be worth it.

Karl

Gentlemen, we have our very own Duke Nukem Forever of Macrumors. No longer will we need to make tedious jokes about Powerbook G5 releases. No Sir! Instead, we can joke about the perpetually soon-to-be-released MR iPhone App.

If you don't release it soon, someone else's gonna eat your lunch. And move your cheese. And diddle your mum with your veggies. While slapping you with a trout.

MR is one of the largest and most valuable blogs on the internet and the biggest Apple news website. It's only a matter of time.

http://247wallst.com/2008/03/26/the-twenty-five/

Saladinos

Mar 5, 2010, 04:14 PM

Actually, by some measures the app is finished now.

The news part is really stable and has some great features such as:
- Background downloading of images. If an article has lots of images, you won't need for them all to download before starting to read. Great if you're on a slow connection (in fact, you can even turn images off altogether).
- Offine mode including images. All articles you read are automatically saved on the device, including images, and can be read offline. Old articles are automatically erased. Useful for iPod touch owners.
- Automatic downloading of the latest X articles. Also useful for iPod touch owners.
- Support of embedded YouTube videos (this one's half done. My iPhone got stolen and I can't test this in the simulator)

Which isn't bad for a 1.0 release. I've still got to implement favourite articles, add article sharing buttons (really? do people actually use those? say no and I'll gladly leave them out!), and hook up some links to the WAP version of the site's forums (which looks the best on the iPhone). Those features can wait for a 1.x release.

I've also got to get some word from the administration about ads, and fix a probable bug when articles have updated (which is sort of hard to orchestrate, so I need some help testing it -- nothing catastrophic happens, but it'd be nice to fix it).

My iPhone dev account's about to expire, so the app would need to be published by the site's account (which is fair enough I think, no reason for me to submit the official macrumors app from my person account).

Mindzi

Mar 5, 2010, 04:18 PM

The screenshot looks great! So how soon will the app be available then?

kainjow

Mar 5, 2010, 04:27 PM

Is the app going to be open source? If so, bugs and such could be fixed much quicker since there are quite a few iPhone developers here who could help out :)

quantum003

Mar 5, 2010, 04:47 PM

Just popped in to suggest this same thing. Would be a huge upgrade over viewing the forums using safari.

DoFoT9

Mar 5, 2010, 05:12 PM

wow!!!! thats really sexy!!! im loving it!

any news on how much it will cost?

now you have to work on the iPad version :D haha

celticpride678

Mar 6, 2010, 12:00 AM

Looking really nice. i think that those features and fixes can wait, and the app can get released. I just think that Forums need to be added.

What about external links? Load in Safari or the app?

Creative One

Mar 6, 2010, 07:09 AM

Perhaps we could get Arn to confirm the supposed "App" is more than a couple lines of code, that this guy has done to show us screenshots?

xUKHCx

Mar 6, 2010, 07:30 AM

Perhaps we could get Arn to confirm the supposed "App" is more than a couple lines of code, that this guy has done to show us screenshots?

It would be trivial for arn to shut down this thread if that was the case.

Creative One

Mar 6, 2010, 07:40 AM

It would be trivial for arn to shut down this thread if that was the case.

Good Point.

Saladinos

Mar 6, 2010, 08:33 AM

How many pictures prove it?

DoFoT9

Mar 6, 2010, 09:40 AM

Wirelessly posted (nokia e63: Mozilla/5.0 (SymbianOS/9.2; U; Series60/3.1 NokiaE63-1/100.21.110; Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 ) AppleWebKit/413 (KHTML, like Gecko) Safari/413)

How many pictures prove it?

the one that was posted before is more then enough evidence in my mind Tbh :)

celticpride678

Mar 6, 2010, 11:31 PM

Perhaps we could get Arn to confirm the supposed "App" is more than a couple lines of code, that this guy has done to show us screenshots?

I don't even know why you would say that.

RedTomato

Mar 7, 2010, 07:47 AM

You could try and be a bit more understanding. MacRumors has been without an iPhone app for a long time, but I haven't been working on one for all of that time. This app has been in development for months, not years.
Hey Saladinos, I do apologise if I upset you. It was a humourous comment given the number of times you've posted 'it's nearly ready' here.

It's not being released until it's ready

That's a valid stand to take - and this is the first time that I was aware that this is your release strategy. You might have said it before but I probably missed it.

My iPhone got stolen

Eeek! I certainly understand the delay better now. If I was coding an iPhone app in my spare time, and my iPhone got stolen, I'd be totally hacked off and would probably stop coding for a while.

I've still got to implement favourite articles, add article sharing buttons (really? do people actually use those? say no and I'll gladly leave them out!)

Leave out! Less coding work for you. You or someone else can add them later.

My iPhone dev account's about to expire

What happens to this app and your coding when your dev account expires? Will nobody else be able to take over and the app will die with no updates?

Saladinos

Mar 7, 2010, 09:29 AM

Making an app without an iPhone isn't all that hard. Build+run on a device takes more time, so most developers create using the simulator and only bring the devices out later, when real stability has to be tested. I've already sent an AdHoc build out to test this (don't ask - already got 100 UUIDs), and AFAIK it's good.

MacRumors always needed its own dev account if it were to publish an official app, so I don't think there will be any problem regarding that, but I still have to talk to arn.

Mad Mac Maniac

Mar 24, 2010, 11:43 AM

How is the progress for this going?

Saladinos

Mar 25, 2010, 05:44 AM

How is the progress for this going?

Well, thank you. I've tried a bit harder to make the front page look nice. Here's a picture. The big top bar shrinks after you jump in to your first article of each run.

My problem is that I can't find (in the MR colour scheme), 2 nice colours for an alternating list. This means I have to use a light-coloured list (and I think that part looks OK. It's like reading a really vertical newspaper). However, in order to bring some colour to the page, I need to give the navigation bar a vibrant colour. In the MR colour scheme, the only one that I like the results of is red. However, the red nav bar clashes with the red in the article title.

I'm open to suggestions.

xxSpudxx

Mar 29, 2010, 10:03 AM

Site owners and Admins,

Please check this out:

http://forumrunner.net/

A buddy of mine wrote an App that can view all forums that use vBulletin.

You just need to install a short program on the backend.

check out that link if you have any questions. he will get back to real quick.

He is working on the same app for DROID next.

Please please add this function to your site. It works great and is REAL fast.

Forum runner FREE is available now for download, but it only lets you view posts.

The paid version should be approved any day now. It will be $1.99 and it will let you post to sites and more..

Fellow members, please pass this on to any other forums you view. It is free for the owners.

Thanks

http://att.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=219857&d=1269871378

koopa35

Apr 13, 2010, 02:13 PM

I think its time macrumors had a native iPhone/iPad app. Complete with front page stories and fourms. What do you men and women of MR think about this. Yes or no?

H00513R

Apr 13, 2010, 04:04 PM

I think its time macrumors had a native iPhone/iPad app. Complete with front page stories and fourms. What do you men and women of MR think about this. Yes or no?

I would love it and use it daily but I'm not doing the work. ;)

Mad Mac Maniac

Apr 13, 2010, 05:32 PM

I would love it and use it daily but I'm not doing the work. ;)

already being worked on. should be finished soon....

dmr727

Apr 13, 2010, 09:43 PM

already being worked on. should be finished soon....

It'll be released next Tuesday.

leomac08

Apr 13, 2010, 09:54 PM

HURRAY!!!!!!!!:p:p:p:p:):):):):):)

2 years in the making.....

RobertD63

Apr 13, 2010, 09:56 PM

It'll be released next Tuesday.
Some how I think this is a stab at Apples release schedule? :p

redgaz26

Apr 20, 2010, 05:48 AM

was it submitted to apple yet?????

DoFoT9

Apr 20, 2010, 06:00 AM

ssiiiicccckkkkk!!!

now to get an ipad!

price?

edk1511

Apr 20, 2010, 08:13 AM

This looks great! I can't wait for it to be released. Saladinos - could you give us an update on a release date for this. Since you are the one creating it, you're the only one I'd trust to hear that it's complete. Thanks.

redgaz26

Apr 22, 2010, 05:18 AM

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

already being worked on. should be finished soon....

It'll be released next Tuesday.

Any news on this??????

tobefirst

Apr 22, 2010, 09:28 AM

Any news on this??????
Yes. dmr727 was being facetious. It is just best to assume that it isn't coming out anytime soon. People have been talking about an iPhone app for two years for this place and nothing. People have been talking about wanting a redesign for the webpage for longer than that, and nothing. The progress here at MR moves very, very, very slowly.*

*I am making no comment on whether that is a good or bad thing.

Saladinos

Apr 23, 2010, 03:51 AM

I'm still working on it although I'm really busy atm.

I know you guys really want an app soon, and I know how hard it is to read the news on the iPhone's safari. The first version of the app is close (a few bugs to fix and a couple of colours to tweak, but that's it).

I've been working on the design a bit. I've attached a shot.

Also, WildCowboy's been running a build on his iPhone, so he can attest to any doubters that it's real :)

EDIT: I've also included a shot of the article view. Now, before you say it, I know that nav bar is ugly, and it's going to go (that's one of the things I've got to do before release). It'd be a big help if someone with more design experience could come up with colours for the bar that look better in both screens.

RedTomato

Apr 23, 2010, 08:22 AM

I've also included a shot of the article view. Now, before you say it, I know that nav bar is ugly, and it's going to go (that's one of the things I've got to do before release). It'd be a big help if someone with more design experience could come up with colours for the bar that look better in both screens.

Great to see progress, and great that teh Wild Cow is onboard.

About the red menu colour, I remember you said you got it from the MR logo. That's a spot colour (incorrect jargon but you know what I mean) for use in small doses, which is why it's so strong. Used for a whole menu bar, it becomes too much as you've seen.

Have a look at using the same pale blue that MR uses for page headers. I believe it's #d4dbe4 or #cbd3de. I'm sure you've already tried it but didn't like it for some reason. Maybe you could put a image up using the pale blue for us to look at?

Mad Mac Maniac

Apr 23, 2010, 11:53 PM

Thanks for your hard work Saladinos, looking good. Yeah I think a light blue might be a good suggestion as well.

I know it might be a little late to suggest this (and probably something that you can't control directly) but might it be an easier, and perhaps more user-convenient, solution to make an iphone friendly mobile website? I can't really see any reason that a mobile version, or web app, would be a worse experience. Plus then everyone would get the benefit of the refined look without needing to download an app (and update when needed) and then be forced to have an additional icon to click on. Then if they wished to create an icon for it on their homescreen they would be able to do so. I would think this would create less bugs and possibly be easier to make, while maintaining all functionality.

Just a (late) thought. But I'm no developer so I might be missing something, it's just something I observed.

redgaz26

Apr 24, 2010, 04:20 AM

Mad Mac Maniac

Apr 24, 2010, 01:21 PM

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

Mad mac there is a mobile website of MR!!

http://mobile.macrumors.com/

ok will i feel silly :o

Well I guess I feel that macrumors should re-direct to the mobile site automatically, because I can't be the only person that doesn't know about it! :-p Plus I feel it can be improved on, I just spent some time browsing it and it feels a little unfinished.

Whats the advantage of an app?

Saladinos

Apr 24, 2010, 04:07 PM

ok will i feel silly :o

Well I guess I feel that macrumors should re-direct to the mobile site automatically, because I can't be the only person that doesn't know about it! :-p Plus I feel it can be improved on, I just spent some time browsing it and it feels a little unfinished.

Whats the advantage of an app?

I thought about this topic before I started building the app. A native app gives:
- Better performance
- Better experience
- Access to the full platform (e.g. push notifications, which are the #1 request from readers and staff)
- Immediate access to new platform features
- Ability to expand to the iPad and even OSX

At the expense of some cross-platform compatibility.

I don't think the answer is native OR web, I think the answer is native AND web. Apple's iPlatforms are a big part of this site's userbase, and for those users, you can't do better than native. For everyone else, there's the mobile version of the site.

I don't see this app as replacing the mobile version of the site, I see it as the next step in giving iPlatform users a better experience.

This is similar to the approach Engadget took. They had a web-app for ages (and still have it, at i.engadget.com). It was when they took the app native that it was really able to deliver an amazing experience. They still have the web app if your platform isn't supported by their native apps.

BTW: How does the app make an extra icon to click on? Surely it's easier to tap an icon on the home screen than to open MobileSafari and type the address or search your bookmarks folder? That just makes no sense.

RedTomato

Apr 26, 2010, 08:38 AM

BTW: How does the app make an extra icon to click on? Surely it's easier to tap an icon on the home screen than to open MobileSafari and type the address or search your bookmarks folder? That just makes no sense.

Open a page in Safari on the iPhone. Tap the + to add a bookmark. It pops up with 3 options 'Add Bookmark', 'Add to Home Screen' and 'Mail Link to this Page'. The second option creates an icon on the iphone home page, using the website's favicon or a miniature screen shot, and you can rename it. Quite nifty.

IIRC it was part of Apple's original plan to have no AppStore and all apps would be webapps.

Dmac77

Apr 26, 2010, 06:36 PM

I would just like to request that there be an option to turn auto-rotate off. I find that when I'm reading news articles in apps like this, I'm laying down on the couch or in bed (those are the only times that I have time to read articles on my phone), and auto-rotate becomes a major issue then. So an option to disable auto-rotate would be much appreciated, well at least by me.

Also, thanks for putting the time an effort into finally making a MR app!

Don

Saladinos

Apr 26, 2010, 11:04 PM

Open a page in Safari on the iPhone. Tap the + to add a bookmark. It pops up with 3 options 'Add Bookmark', 'Add to Home Screen' and 'Mail Link to this Page'. The second option creates an icon on the iphone home page, using the website's favicon or a miniature screen shot, and you can rename it. Quite nifty.

IIRC it was part of Apple's original plan to have no AppStore and all apps would be webapps.

Yes, but in that case, it's just as cumbersome to launch as an app (i.e. home screen -> launch). In fact, with OS4 it'll go in your recent apps list for quick switching.

edk1511

May 3, 2010, 10:06 AM

Any update on this??? Is there an estimated release date yet??
I'm really looking forward to this coming out.

Mad Mac Maniac

May 23, 2010, 09:05 PM

Are u basically just waiting for 4.0 at this point?

usasalazar

May 24, 2010, 11:39 AM

What would you like to see in a Mac Rumors iPhone app?

Should Arn even develop one?

Consultant

May 24, 2010, 04:01 PM

Are u basically just waiting for 4.0 at this point?

Sounds like someone is waiting for version 1337.0 until the release. But by then it needs a new update...

Actually, sounds quite like the supposedly thing that happened with the original Facebook idea.

Mad Mac Maniac

May 24, 2010, 04:51 PM

Sounds like someone is waiting for version 1337.0 until the release. But by then it needs a new update...

Actually, sounds quite like the supposedly thing that happened with the original Facebook idea.

??

Saladinos

May 24, 2010, 05:20 PM

Actually, I'm waiting for contact from the staff. I've been PMing arn, but never hear anything back.

Compile 'em all

May 24, 2010, 05:48 PM

What would you like to see in a Mac Rumors iPhone app?

Should Arn even develop one?

I heard rumors that they will be releasing an app in 2046. Along with an update to the site.

Mad Mac Maniac

May 24, 2010, 05:51 PM

I heard rumors that they will be releasing an app in 2046. Along with an update to the site.

you gotta be leary of those macrumors rumors. typically they are less reliable than mac rumors themselves!

ALEXIIT

May 25, 2010, 05:33 AM

Hey guys. I've just started on a really basic iphone app for Macrumors. So far it includes; 3 tabs: News (Main Page), Forums, and about, all the mobile versions. The app also has basic navigation bars at the top.

Is their any features in particular you guys would like to see in the app?

Thanks,
Alexiit

Also: Is their actually any demand for an app like this?

rdowns

May 25, 2010, 05:49 AM

Search :D

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=656941

John T

May 25, 2010, 05:49 AM

Surely there's no need for one?

Just go to Safari, load MacRumors home page and then "Add to home screen" and the jobs done! :)

pixelated

May 25, 2010, 06:04 AM

Surely there's no need for one?

Just go to Safari, load MacRumors home page and then "Add to home screen" and the jobs done! :)
:confused:
well if your not happy with the web-format on the iphone then there would be a need, or want, for one.

I would like to see some sort of quick-reply feature, so when replying, a whole new page doesn't need to be loaded.

andybno1

May 25, 2010, 06:14 AM

Search :D

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=656941
Post fail, that thread is someone askin a dev to make a app this guy is making an app and asking what people want in the app

ALEXIIT

May 25, 2010, 06:16 AM

Post fail, that thread is someone askin a dev to make a app this guy is making an app and asking what people want in the app

Haha yeah. But guys I cant really think of a way that i'd be able to add a quick reply feature?

andybno1

May 25, 2010, 06:22 AM

is it possible to have some kind of popup box with keyboard to type the quick reply?

Siriosys

May 25, 2010, 06:34 AM

Surely there's no need for one?

Just go to Safari, load MacRumors home page and then "Add to home screen" and the jobs done! :)

LOL............Go tell that to Facebook, TUAW, Engadget and all the various Wikipedia Apps that are out there. They actually do a stirling job of reformatting web pages and in many cases, add functionality that's not available on the website or that doesn't lend itself to a different medium.

Allowing for Offline content
Setting site favourite links
Embedded Search
Sending Articles or links to email addys
Saving Articles for offline viewing