BBO Discussion Forums: Mobile app 4.0 feedback thread - BBO Discussion Forums

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Mobile app 4.0 feedback thread BBO app version 4.0 available in the Google, Apple and Amazon appstore

#41 User is offline   neonvw 

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Posted 2016-July-16, 00:31

Hate the new mobile interface. Cards are smaller. Too much space taken up by ads and white space on right. Cannot figure out how to get audio bbeep for my turn without having every single card make an annoying swishing sound.
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#42 User is offline   42krunner 

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Posted 2016-July-16, 06:58

App is also much slower now, so speed races are no longer possible on an iPad.
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#43 User is offline   lycier 

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Posted 2016-July-16, 17:11

Our problem has been solved.
Sorry.
New interface looks very nice.
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#44 User is offline   rjaguar3 

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Posted 2016-July-17, 09:07

Got a chance to try the app. (iPad 3rd generation, landscape mode)

  • The results pane by default is so narrow as to be illegible. This was not a problem in 3.91, but the sidebar must have taken the extra space. (I know the chat box can be resized, but the table is small enough as is.) Also, I agree with the comments about the chat box being overly big.
  • I miss the chat button directly from the table. Until I read through the thread, I thought there was no way for a kibitzer to chat to other kibitzers unless there was already a chat comment (since clicking the name allows you to change the chat recipients).
  • There is no back button in the BBO Message displays for tournaments. This makes it impossible to view more than one hand record from a tournament without closing the message and reloading.
  • The show played cards option doesn't appear to work when kibitzing; it worked in 3.91.

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#45 User is offline   mink 

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Posted 2016-July-17, 11:45

I used portait mode, no animation, auto play singleton, no cards but symbols on a Samsung Galaxy S, first edition.

Once, while kibbing, the and half of the suit of the North hand was obstructed by the chat, but this did not happen again.

Checking an incoming mail while kibbing made it necessary to login again. I guess this happens in case of incoming phone calls as well, and if I use any other app while kibbing or dummy.

Response to user input was slow, sometimes very slow.

As mentioned by somebody else, it is no good idea to require 2 taps for initiating a chat message.

Finally, having played a few hands, everything nearly froze, and after some time Android reported that the app did not react, and when I selected to close the app, a reboot happened.

Some years ago, with the same device, the app worked fast and stable, and I was able to use it at a rural camping site utilizing the GSM net for hours without any problem.

Maybe the ads are causing some of the problems. Maybe it is a good idea to disable ads with animation. It might be also a good idea to disable ads on old devices completely.

Karl
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#46 User is offline   no_legs 

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Posted 2016-July-17, 11:56

As a number of people have said, chatting takes longer to achieve as extra clicks are required. This is actually quite important at the table as when someone asks a question it takes longer to respond, especially when you factor in the lag. Also, any other comment either a general one in the club or a comment re vu graph or another comment from a player means that your comment pretty much disappears off the screen. This is exacerbated due to the chat log box being smaller and the chat font being bigger.

Finally, the whole point of the site is to play bridge and so making it harder to see the cards, harder to select the cards goes against that primary purpose. Wasting so much space in that new bar on the right hand side is just wasteful, as it's not something you would use most of the time. Better to trigger its appearance by clicking on a button than having it take up space all the time. Oh, no, that sounds like the OLD version :)

I have reverted to the previous version on my iPad and that was after having used the new one for 3 sessions of play. I undoubtably got used to the new one and became more adept at using it, but that doesn't impact the basic faults highlighted above. Please think again BBO.
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#47 User is offline   xAPPO 

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Posted 2016-July-18, 17:39

A truly awful upgrade , I wasn't too happy with the previous upgrade - for the same general reasons but this is now pretty unusable.

You are crippling the application by taking away the real estate from the playing area. The functionality of the application is paramount and you've lost it. Please focus on what people use the app for - this looks to have been designed by someone who doesn't understand the purpose of the application.

Avoid big navigation bars - hate the adverts ... I understand the reason but please do it less obtrusivley.

The chat area has such a large font I only see about 10 characters by 4 lines and most of that is the username. Enlarging it obscures the cards. It has become useless.


I actually bought an iPad Pro instead of an iPad just to get a large kibitzing view and now it's smaller than it was on the previous iPad. This is all going in the wrong direction.
I use to enjoy watching bridge for a while before bedtime. Now I'll probably read a book. I might try the web interface but if that's compromised too then it's no more late night BBO for me.
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#48 User is offline   goatco 

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Posted 2016-July-18, 20:23

For the love of God,isn't anybody concerned about Jacob.
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#49 User is offline   alanrick 

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Posted 2016-July-20, 06:09

I still like it :) But
+1 for faster action to reach/show chat.
+1 for font toggle because there's a world of difference between a big tablet and a small cellular phone. Even better would be responsive or auto-font-size.

BTW now that Windows 10 supports Windows apps, is there any chance of a Windows app? I'd give anything to get rid of flash.

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#50 User is offline   js138 

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Posted 2016-July-20, 06:32

Sorry if these comments repeat others above, but the thread is too long to read completely.

Ads. A necessary evil - but if they could use less screen real estate and be less animated/flashy, that would be a huge improvement. It was such a relief to play on Monday when they had been disabled completely - something flashing away in the corner is horribly distracting.

Right hand edge icons. I like their functions, but think this should be an auto-hide menu which shrinks to minimal width after a time and can be dragged back to normal width when needed. As is, it eats far too much screen real estate.

Chat window font size. This should be customisable. As is I can barely read on chat in it since the window for it is cramped for space by the sidebar icons and the topbar ads. With a smaller font size as an option I could mitigate this.

There are other quirks, but these are the three things I'd like to see changed most.
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#51 User is offline   sakuragi 

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Posted 2016-July-23, 02:51

When in kibitz mode pls also allow disable chat. Else the cards are too small.
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#52 User is offline   alanrick 

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Posted 2016-July-24, 02:38

Maybe it's just me (focus on learning bridge) but I often practice without logging on and use "Show Other Tables" a lot. On the mobile app (if you haven't loggged on) there is plenty of space for this button. Instead after I have to click:
1. Show results.
2. Show Details
3. Show Other Tables

I'd much prefer a single button "other results".
Alan
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#53 User is offline   bethny 

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Posted 2016-July-24, 07:21

I play on an iPad Pro. Since the very first iPad, I have happily played in landscape mode to get a larger view. Now for some reason you have made landscape mode totally unusable -- the larger view (and it is hardly large enough) is in portrait mode. Landscape mode results in a tiny playing area. A big loss.
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#54 User is offline   sakuragi 

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Posted 2016-July-24, 09:26

+1 missing the landscape mode bigger cards

overall still like the new version. pls consider
(1) ability to hide chat in landscape mode
(2) ability to hide chat in kibitz mode

View Postbethny, on 2016-July-24, 07:21, said:

I play on an iPad Pro. Since the very first iPad, I have happily played in landscape mode to get a larger view. Now for some reason you have made landscape mode totally unusable -- the larger view (and it is hardly large enough) is in portrait mode. Landscape mode results in a tiny playing area. A big loss.

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#55 User is offline   baystate 

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Posted 2016-July-25, 15:31

I hope the software developers monitor this thread.

I have been using the new app on an iPad since it was released. I am getting used to it...but I still don't like it.

A couple of specific problems that I have encountered. These all relate to playing in the daily Total Points Club tournament.

Twice yesterday, I could not sit at a table. The table was set to require permission to play -- and no matter how many times I clicked "sit," nothing happened. I fixed it both times by logging off/on. The second time (one hour after the first), the table host reserved a seat for me. That worked fine. I don't recall this being a problem a few days earlier. There was no problem when I was the table host.

While this is going on, I cannot see chat messages. This is a big problem because the table host, my partner and the tournament directors were sending me private chat messages. The only way to see these is to click off the "play" screen and onto the "message" screen. Previous versions always had the chat window open.

Similar problem comes when I leave the director's table and click "Show Open Tables." There is no ability to chat from this view. When I did not see a table to sit at (assigned by the tournament director), I want to send a chat to my partner or to the TD. The only way to do this is to leave this screen and go to the message screen. Not every chat is answered immediately. So I go back to "Open Tables" to see if the table has been opened. If not...back to chat to see if anyone has answered me...or to send another chat.

At this club, there is a lot of chat. Table assignments are made in chat. All kinds of casual messages are sent in chat. But this version still not does not allow me to scroll back to old chat messages. I have made the font as small as the software allows (even smaller would be OK with me), but there are times I cannot get enough messages on my screen.

In sum, I would like to have:
  • Chat window available from all screens
  • Ability to scroll back through chat messages
  • Option for smaller font sizes for chat

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#56 User is offline   billw55 

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Posted 2016-July-26, 06:22

Tried the new version briefly. I do like the new layout so far. One thing I did prefer the old way was swipe to view scores.

For me the overwhelming fault of the app has always been the adds. I have said before that I would gladly pay for an add-free version. This is a common model for mobile apps, and for good reason. Even worse, the adds that cannot be removed are just awful: glaring colors, movement, flashing, sexualized images ... it really deters me from using the app at all. Come on BBO, get with it and offer a pay version!!
Life is long and beautiful, if bad things happen, good things will follow.
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#57 User is offline   1eyedjack 

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Posted 2016-July-26, 06:46

View Postbillw55, on 2016-July-26, 06:22, said:

Tried the new version briefly. I do like the new layout so far. One thing I did prefer the old way was swipe to view scores.

For me the overwhelming fault of the app has always been the adds. I have said before that I would gladly pay for an add-free version. This is a common model for mobile apps, and for good reason. Even worse, the adds that cannot be removed are just awful: glaring colors, movement, flashing, sexualized images ... it really deters me from using the app at all. Come on BBO, get with it and offer a pay version!!

Don't you get a "pay" version, simply by registering for a $0.25 tournament? You don't even have to play in it. And you don't have to pay for the days that you don't log on, either.
Psych (pron. saik): A gross and deliberate misstatement of honour strength and/or suit length. Expressly permitted under Law 73E but forbidden contrary to that law by Acol club tourneys.

Psyche (pron. sahy-kee): The human soul, spirit or mind (derived, personification thereof, beloved of Eros, Greek myth).
Masterminding (pron. mPosted ImagesPosted ImagetPosted Imager-mPosted ImagendPosted Imageing) tr. v. - Any bid made by bridge player with which partner disagrees.

"Gentlemen, when the barrage lifts." 9th battalion, King's own Yorkshire light infantry,
2000 years earlier: "morituri te salutant"

"I will be with you, whatever". Blair to Bush, precursor to invasion of Iraq
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#58 User is offline   billw55 

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Posted 2016-July-26, 07:24

View Post1eyedjack, on 2016-July-26, 06:46, said:

Don't you get a "pay" version, simply by registering for a $0.25 tournament? You don't even have to play in it. And you don't have to pay for the days that you don't log on, either.

Hmmm, I have not tried that. If it gets rid of the adds, win.
Life is long and beautiful, if bad things happen, good things will follow.
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#59 User is offline   1eyedjack 

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Posted 2016-July-26, 09:18

View Postbillw55, on 2016-July-26, 07:24, said:

Hmmm, I have not tried that. If it gets rid of the adds, win.

You may need to ensure that you only register in an event the bailing of which would not affect your TCR (unless you want to stay the course of that one).I think that an "Instant" possibly counts but someone else may confirm
Psych (pron. saik): A gross and deliberate misstatement of honour strength and/or suit length. Expressly permitted under Law 73E but forbidden contrary to that law by Acol club tourneys.

Psyche (pron. sahy-kee): The human soul, spirit or mind (derived, personification thereof, beloved of Eros, Greek myth).
Masterminding (pron. mPosted ImagesPosted ImagetPosted Imager-mPosted ImagendPosted Imageing) tr. v. - Any bid made by bridge player with which partner disagrees.

"Gentlemen, when the barrage lifts." 9th battalion, King's own Yorkshire light infantry,
2000 years earlier: "morituri te salutant"

"I will be with you, whatever". Blair to Bush, precursor to invasion of Iraq
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#60 User is offline   billw55 

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Posted 2016-July-26, 09:44

View Post1eyedjack, on 2016-July-26, 06:46, said:

And you don't have to pay for the days that you don't log on, either.

Looking at this again, it sounds like you are saying I would have to pay every time I log in, or every day I log in.

What I am suggesting is a one-time purchase that would permanently remove ads.

I paid $10 for KGS mobile and it has no ads. I paid $10 for XG mobile and it has no ads. I want to pay $10 for BBO mobile and have no ads, but this option is not available.
Life is long and beautiful, if bad things happen, good things will follow.
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