Mobile format

Discuss aspects of the new digital access to all back issues of Genii and anything therein.
Ray Haddad
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Re: Mobile format

Postby Ray Haddad » May 9th, 2012, 6:49 am

mrgoat wrote:Maybe people can't read things on Android phones for some odd reason making your point valid?

;)

Seriously? Have you not been reading anything here? What Android users are asking for is the ability to read the magazine in an OFF-LINE reader, like the iPhone folks claim they can do with their devices. We pay the same subscription rate as you do but don't get the benefit of reading the digital version unless we're tied to a desk or are forced to use costly digital minutes.
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Reason: Leave out the personal stuff, please.
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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Mobile format

Postby Richard Kaufman » May 9th, 2012, 1:27 pm

The iPhone app for Genii works very nicely.
I'll double check and see what the latest is with the Android app from the company who does my digital work.
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Ray Haddad
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Re: Mobile format

Postby Ray Haddad » May 9th, 2012, 2:10 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:While I've had a few more requests for an Android app, still not many. However, the problem is that unlike iOS, where one app will work on any iPhone or iPad using it, Android has many versions and the available app for us only supports one version. Not the latest version, either.

The solution may be to write any future apps in JavaScript which can then be used on dozens of existing operating systems (and future OS) by compiling the app in the native device environment. This would also benefit the iPhone community and make updating your software far easier should it become necessary. Your current digital contractor seems to have been a tiny bit short sighted.
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Ian Kendall
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Re: Mobile format

Postby Ian Kendall » May 9th, 2012, 3:25 pm

Please tell me you meant Java and not Javascript. They are not the same.

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Re: Mobile format

Postby Ray Haddad » May 10th, 2012, 3:11 am

Ian Kendall wrote:Please tell me you meant Java and not Javascript. They are not the same.

Of course, but a JavaScript API framework would help to make it completely portable.
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Bill Duncan
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Re: Mobile format

Postby Bill Duncan » May 16th, 2012, 1:34 am

If you wish to consider supporting Android, here are some realtime statistics to help assess the value of opening that can of worms.

http://labs.chitika.com/mobiledominance/

At the moment of this posting iOS devices are polling at 71.422%. One app provides access for 70 percent of the mobile devices in the world.

All versions of Android together make up just under 26%. So if you decide to deal with the morass that is Android fragmentation your reward is a fraction of a smaller part.

A smarter course, I would think, is to create a good mobile theme that automatically serves up based on browser version or via a top of page link. The mobile theme Chris uses at Conjure Nation is excellent on all five of the table/mobile devices I have. No need for an App if you have a well designed theme, and you are much less likely to have compatibility issues because of fragmentation. And the mobile theme will probably render the same on iOS devices so you'll get support for that without your users having to buy TapATalk. (You should support that anyway, since it's basically free to implemenet, and we TapATalk users like having our stuff in one tidy little box.)

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Re: Mobile format

Postby Richard Kaufman » May 16th, 2012, 2:08 am

I'm sorry, but there's nothing blurry about Genii in single page view on an iPad or iPad 2. I have both, and look at every issue on both. Looks perfectly clear to me.
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mrgoat
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Re: Mobile format

Postby mrgoat » May 16th, 2012, 5:11 am

Richard Kaufman wrote:I'm sorry, but there's nothing blurry about Genii in single page view on an iPad or iPad 2. I have both, and look at every issue on both. Looks perfectly clear to me.


Maybe they mean blurry compared to something optimised for the retina display. I must say, I find it hard to switch from an app made for retina to one not. It definitely appears blurry in comparison.

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Re: Mobile format

Postby Richard Kaufman » May 16th, 2012, 10:24 am

I looked at Genii on an iPad 2 with the new retinal display last weekend. It did look sharper--but almost hyper-real. And the person who was showing it to me was just a regular subscriber, so he's seeing the same thing as everyone else.
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Re: Mobile format

Postby mrgoat » May 16th, 2012, 10:39 am

The iPad 2 does not have the new retina display, and anyway if the app isn't optimised for the display, it will look the same as usual.

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Gordon Meyer
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Re: Mobile format

Postby Gordon Meyer » May 16th, 2012, 10:59 am

The digital Genii is not by any means blurry on a new iPad. As mrgoat said, it looks exactly the same as it did before. Which is not to say it couldn't be sharper on the new devices, but it's definitely not suddenly blurry.

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Re: Mobile format

Postby Richard Kaufman » May 16th, 2012, 11:06 am

Okay, it was the NEW iPad, which is not an iPad 3, so I referred to it as an iPad 2. However, it was the new iPad, and Genii definitely looked sharper on it.
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John Signa
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Re: Mobile format

Postby John Signa » May 17th, 2012, 2:35 am

I did a side-by-side comparison this evening...
The text in articles is definitely sharper on the new iPad.
Images look the same. In order to fully take advantage of the retina display, the Genii files would need to include higher resolution images would increase the download time dramatically.

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Re: Mobile format

Postby mrgoat » May 17th, 2012, 4:59 am

I think anyone with an internet connection above 33.6 would be happy to spend a few seconds extra downloading something optimised for the retina display, despite the slightly larger file size!

I get an entire issue of The Guardian in about 1.5 minutes. And I am in the sticks and have a slow connection.

People thinking genii looks sharper are probably being fooled. It isn't sharper. You cannot magically add pixels and there is no upscaling. The screen may appear brighter and that could be fooling your eyes.

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Re: Mobile format

Postby Ian Kendall » May 17th, 2012, 9:44 am

I love the fact that seemingly it's fine to dismiss 26% of tablets because they are not running iOS, but contemplate making a new version of the digital mag for whatever percentage has a retina display...

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mrgoat
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Re: Mobile format

Postby mrgoat » May 17th, 2012, 9:50 am

Ian Kendall wrote:I love the fact that seemingly it's fine to dismiss 26% of tablets because they are not running iOS, but contemplate making a new version of the digital mag for whatever percentage has a retina display...


Where is anyone contemplating making a new version for the retina display?

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Re: Mobile format

Postby Ian Kendall » May 17th, 2012, 9:53 am

In order to fully take advantage of the retina display, the Genii files would need to include higher resolution images would increase the download time dramatically.

I think anyone with an internet connection above 33.6 would be happy to spend a few seconds extra downloading something optimised for the retina display, despite the slightly larger file size!


I've had a rough couple of days, and I'm grumpy. Deal with it...

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mrgoat
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Re: Mobile format

Postby mrgoat » May 17th, 2012, 9:58 am

Ian Kendall wrote:
In order to fully take advantage of the retina display, the Genii files would need to include higher resolution images would increase the download time dramatically.

I think anyone with an internet connection above 33.6 would be happy to spend a few seconds extra downloading something optimised for the retina display, despite the slightly larger file size!


I've had a rough couple of days, and I'm grumpy. Deal with it...


Sorry you had a rough couple of days. Hug.

However, that isn't anyone contemplating making a retina display version of the genii app.

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Re: Mobile format

Postby Richard Kaufman » May 17th, 2012, 10:05 am

I am not contemplating anything. :)
The company who prepares and hosts the iPad and iPhone issues of Genii does all the contemplating. I've heard nothing about a higher-res version available for the new iPad.
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Re: Mobile format

Postby Richard Kaufman » May 17th, 2012, 10:38 pm

Today a friend did a comparison of the Genii app on his iPad 2 and the new iPad. There's a definite increase in the sharpness of the image when viewed on the new iPad, even when the type is enlarged the new iPad produces a crisper image.
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Re: Mobile format

Postby mrgoat » May 18th, 2012, 5:31 am

Richard Kaufman wrote:Today a friend did a comparison of the Genii app on his iPad 2 and the new iPad. There's a definite increase in the sharpness of the image when viewed on the new iPad, even when the type is enlarged the new iPad produces a crisper image.


Ah, I think I've solved it. If there are retina display assets for the iPhone version of the app, the iPad uses them and upscales them.

I like learning new things.

http://toucharcade.com/2012/03/20/the-n ... sal-games/

That would explain it.


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