Android app for eFestivals now available (FREE)

[LondonTom]

Just got it, seems good so far even if the forums don't have the normal colours (bit weird)... Also landscape seems to be working fine on my sii

[Paul ™]

Yeah I get a blue colour. Neil fixed the orientation issue

[eFestivals]

The blue is the standard mobile skin colours, which is what everyone currently gets. I ditched the customisations I'd made because some of them conflicted after the recent upgrade. They'll be some new customisations made in the near-ish future.

Someone that was always a tunnelled visioned prick has slagged it off on Google play ..... Whereas if he'd engaged his brain for a millisecond he might have realised that what the app is currently is not what it is planned to stay as ... I'm not aware of anyone ever having released a finished product where the version number is less than one. I'd rather have an app out there than no app at all.

His issue is that it's just as web view .... Yet any app for efests is going to need web data to be useful, so there's no great advantage if data is saved onto the device (tho that is where the app will go over time, all the same).

[Pear_Cider]

Hmm, I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 and when I went to the PlayStore it says, "Your device isn't compatible with this version"

Trev

[coma girl]

Hmm, I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 and when I went to the PlayStore it says, "Your device isn't compatible with this version"

Trev

Won't work on my samsung either.

Edited December 29, 2012 by coma girl

[Paul ™]

Works on my s2 but ive put a newer version of android on mine.

What version you running?

[Leggins]

I'm pretty sure I'm right in saying the Samsung Galaxy S2 comes with Android Gingerbread 2.3.6 as standard and only manually rooted/upgraded phones will have anything higher on them. The S3 has the higher version as standard however.

[Paul ™]

Nope there was an official ICS fw for it and the JB rom is due early 2013.. am running an official beta version of it.

[Pear_Cider]

My Android version is 2.3.5

[LondonTom]

My Android version is 2.3.5

Plug it into your PC and run Samsung Kies, you have an ice cream sandwich waiting for you

[chris_top_her]

It's a pretty poor app, but at least it's a start!

[eFestivals]

It's a pretty poor app, but at least it's a start!

Yup, it is indeed a start.

What would you like added to it, to make it better?

[chris_top_her]

To be honest it's not as bad as it first seems, everything works fine it's just the overall feel seems a bit uncomfortable. Just needs to be tweaked so it looks more like an app and not just a web page! Like on this page now it has a header, then a menu bit, then an ad, then a bit to reply, more ads at the bottom! Doesn't feel inviting!

[eFestivals]

To be honest it's not as bad as it first seems, everything works fine it's just the overall feel seems a bit uncomfortable. Just needs to be tweaked so it looks more like an app and not just a web page! Like on this page now it has a header, then a menu bit, then an ad, then a bit to reply, more ads at the bottom! Doesn't feel inviting!

The app is always going to have to pull data from the 'net to be useful, so for the main part it's going to continue to do that, and use the mobile website as the source for it. However, over time the mobile website will be tweaked to give it a more modern/app style.

There will be some device specific features added as well at some point. I don't think they'll be particularly soon (hopefully before the summer festie season starts tho), as there's issues that will impact back onto the main and mobile websites from that, so the websites will need to have their changes first.

Like on this page now it has a header, then a menu bit, then an ad, then a bit to reply, more ads at the bottom! Doesn't feel inviting!

Are you using the mobile skin, or the full skin for the forums? I'm presuming you're using the mobile skin.

This (forums) page is now tidier than it was a few days ago. I'm also currently improving the menu part for the mobile website too (which should be finished today).

The ads have to stay, else the website and the app has to go. It has to all be funded somehow. However, there are only two ads on the forum pages and just one ad on the mobile website pages, which is fewer that you'd get with the full versions.

It's possible to have the forums without ads (and soon, the mobile website too; the main website without ads will be along sometime later) if you'd like to pay a small subscription, which can be done here:-

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/forums/subscriptions/

Edited January 5, 2013 by eFestivals

[eFestivals]

Neil, when using the app in both mobile and full versions, people's you tube clips aren't showing. Am I doing something wrong or is this normal with apps?

Now you mention it, I've had the same happen to me, but it never clicked that they never loaded at all (I tend not to watch them, so skipped past the empty spaces rather than waited for them to load). So i'm pretty sure the issue is within the app.

I think it's because it's embedded content, and apps don't by default allow content from other domains to be loaded into the app. It'll be easy enough to make an exception for YouTube, but I'll have to look into if there's a workaround for this sort of thing in general so that there's not the same problem for content from other domains.

I'll make sure that its resolved for YouTube (if not others) in the next minor update of the app, that I'll do within the next couple of weeks.

[PurpleFire]

Niel, dont know if anyone else is having a problem but the andriod version on my phone is not working! Ive tryed re installing it and its no good stilll....

[eFestivals]

Niel, dont know if anyone else is having a problem but the andriod version on my phone is not working! Ive tryed re installing it and its no good stilll....

when you say "not working", what exactly do you mean?

I've just cleared the cache and data for my own install, and then uninstalled and reinstalled, and everything still works fine for me.

It's perhaps worth trying clearing the cache and data and trying again - because some of the background files it uses have changed, and if your phone is caching those rather than getting the the new versions as it should then that might effect things.

[eFestivals]

Neil, when using the app in both mobile and full versions, people's you tube clips aren't showing. Am I doing something wrong or is this normal with apps?

I've sussed what the problem is (it's not what I originally thought it was), and I've tried and tried and tried to find a solution for this problem but without any luck so far - which is why there's not been an updated version of the app so far.

I'll keep on looking for the answer, but for the moment it's stuck how it is, sorry.

[PurpleFire]

when you say "not working", what exactly do you mean?

I've just cleared the cache and data for my own install, and then uninstalled and reinstalled, and everything still works fine for me.

It's perhaps worth trying clearing the cache and data and trying again - because some of the background files it uses have changed, and if your phone is caching those rather than getting the the new versions as it should then that might effect things.

Ive cleared my cache and still not good! I get a white screen with a Fatal Error Code on it! It wont load!

Its a whole page of jumbled up URL's....

Its starts with

Fatal error: Uncaught Exception 'Exception' with message 'there is no device with ID [htc_sensation_ver1_subz710e] in the loaded WURFL data!

[eFestivals]

Its starts with

Fatal error: Uncaught Exception 'Exception' with message 'there is no device with ID (htc_sensation_ver1_subz710e) in the loaded WURFL data!

ahhh, thanks - that's pointing me in the direction of a fix.

It's not the app itself that's the problem, but your phone's interaction with the mobile website in some manner.

Could you please tell me which phone you have, and which version of Android?

Also, do you get the same error if you go directly to http://m.efestivals.co.uk in your phone's web-browser?

I'll work on getting a fix in place as soon as you give me that info. Also, to test the fix (cos I won't have the same phone as you) I'll drop you a PM when I've made that fix to ask you to test it for me.

Edited February 21, 2013 by eFestivals

[PurpleFire]

ahhh, thanks - that's pointing me in the direction of a fix.

It's not the app itself that's the problem, but your phone's interaction with the mobile website in some manner.

Could you please tell me which phone you have, and which version of Android?

Also, do you get the same error if you go directly to http://m.efestivals.co.uk in your phone's web-browser?

I'll work on getting a fix in place as soon as you give me that info. Also, to test the fix (cos I won't have the same phone as you) I'll drop you a PM when I've made that fix to ask you to test it for me.

HTC Sensation is the phone i have, and Andriod Version 4.0.3 is what it uses at the moment! Not sure if it has an update

If i type http://m.efestivals.co.uk into my internet on my phone it works and loads the forums page just like the website page on my laptop.

Thanks!

[eFestivals]

can you give the app another go for me please, and let me know if you still get the same error?

I can't be sure if it will work now or not (I'm far from confident) - but I've made a change that might make things work, so the only way to find out is to try....

Please let me know how you get on.

[eFestivals]

I think that's got it fixed, please let me know if you're experiencing any problems.

[neilloggie]

I downloaded it last night and it seems to be working fine for me,the bits i have tried.

But nothing beats the bigger computer screen,easier than trying to squint at a screen the size of a fag packet.

[Dav0s]

Is there a way to jump to certain pages of a thread, or even just to start/end as having to press next is very annoying if you have already read the first X pages...