Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

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michaelsieg
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Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by michaelsieg »

I would love to browse/read posts on this forum when I am away from my computer. I have an older iphone, and the included browser is not ideal to browse the forum. Has anyone found a good "blog-reader" or a good app to do this? Or how do you visit this forum using your smartphone?
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Noobvestor
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by Noobvestor »

michaelsieg wrote:I would love to browse/read posts on this forum when I am away from my computer. I have an older iphone, and the included browser is not ideal to browse the forum. Has anyone found a good "blog-reader" or a good app to do this? Or how do you visit this forum using your smartphone?
No browser is ideal for the forum. I bet there are easy(ish) plugins/extensions for these forums tho to make 'em more mobile-friendly.
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Kalo
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by Kalo »

I browse the forums on my android web browser. It's not ideal but it does wrap the text to adjust for font size increases I choose. I think I'll start looking for an app now that it's been suggested. I hadn't thought of that.

Kalo
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michaelsieg
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by michaelsieg »

Thanks Kalo and Noobvestor,
I know there are "blog reader apps" out there, but didn't find anything useful myself. I was hoping some members on the forum have tried these apps. Adapting the website to detect smartphone browsers and change the layout, like some newspapers do, is another good idea, but have no idea how difficult this would be.
arlsaver
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by arlsaver »

I just use the browser on my smartphone as well.

Tapatalk has been debated in the past which would be a
great addition. Most other forums enable this (maybe we should start a poll on this topic).

If it was a cost issue we could probably donate the funds to make it happen. I suspect most of the powers that be are retired and just use desktop computers to access the forum or only use feature phones without data plans plans to save money so they do not realize that Tapatalk integration would enable the young and mobile to access the forums.
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by Gnirk »

I browse it on my iPhone 5. I used Safari, then added the forum menu to my screen. To view the posts in a bit larger text, I turn the phone sideways. The text doesn't wrap when I'm typing a reply, but it does when I'm reading posts.
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by Van-Guard23 »

Gnirk wrote:I browse it on my iPhone 5. I used Safari, then added the forum menu to my screen. To view the posts in a bit larger text, I turn the phone sideways. The text doesn't wrap when I'm typing a reply, but it does when I'm reading posts.
+1 I do the same thing on my iPhone 5 and I read and post short notes with it.
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Rainier
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by Rainier »

I do and with few complaints. I tend to just look at the thread list from bh.org.

Some of the mobile browser forums I have seen really stink. I usually just turn them off.
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G-Money
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by G-Money »

Gnirk wrote:I browse it on my iPhone 5. I used Safari, then added the forum menu to my screen. To view the posts in a bit larger text, I turn the phone sideways. The text doesn't wrap when I'm typing a reply, but it does when I'm reading posts.
Me, too.
Don't assume I know what I'm talking about.
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Igglesman
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by Igglesman »

I use Dolphin browser on my Android phone. Works great for this forum.
furwut
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by furwut »

I have an iPhone 4 and find it acceptable for reading the blog . If one double taps the text portion of a thread it expands to fit the available screen width.

Some blog software now have mobile apps available for them. Maybe something the admins here might want to consider for the future.
investingdad
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by investingdad »

I replied to this post using my Samsung galaxy S while browsing with Dolphin browser. I typed the message with Swype.
fatlever
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by fatlever »

Android browser mostly.
MN Finance
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by MN Finance »

On my phone now. Galaxy S. Works great. I recently got rid of a very old phone which felt like going online with aol dialup 10 yrs ago. The new phones are ssignificantly better.
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pennstater2005
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by pennstater2005 »

Five inch screen no problems here.
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Kosmo
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by Kosmo »

Using the standard Android browser now. The only issue I have is the text wrapping when writing a post is not ideal. But reading is no problem.
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LadyGeek
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by LadyGeek »

This thread is now in the Forum Issues and Administration forum (user interface).

The decision rests with the site owner, Alex Frakt, and has been discussed before. I'll see what I can do.
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chaz
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by chaz »

I have a dumb phone. But I visit this forum on my iPad when not on my computer.
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oakfan52
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by oakfan52 »

I do it all the time from my windows phone. I have my browser agent string set to desktop IE so it looks like my laptop just smaller. Pinch zoom works well.
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pennstater2005
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by pennstater2005 »

investingdad wrote:I replied to this post using my Samsung galaxy S while browsing with Dolphin browser. I typed the message with Swype.
Use dolphin and Swype. Love them both. I can't remember the last time I actually typed anything on my phone.
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michaelsieg
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by michaelsieg »

LadyGeek
I had no intention to change the website, IMHO it is great as it is. So my issue was not the user interface, I just have some difficulty on my phone end and I greatly appreciate everyones input to see how they do it. I have to attend too many boring meetings/conferences and it would be great to browse the forum during these times :happy . I am considering upgrade the phone, probably it is time...
DoubleDraw
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by DoubleDraw »

5" android screen and chrome browser = works great
truenorth418
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by truenorth418 »

furwut wrote:I have an iPhone 4 and find it acceptable for reading the blog . If one double taps the text portion of a thread it expands to fit the available screen width.

Some blog software now have mobile apps available for them. Maybe something the admins here might want to consider for the future.

Me too.
cheapskate
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by cheapskate »

iPhone5/Safari. Works great for me.

I rarely read the forum on a traditional computer anymore.
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LadyGeek
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by LadyGeek »

michaelsieg
Thanks for the complement. You want to browse the forum during meetings? Instead of your web browser, may I suggest our RSS feed? It's on the home page, upper right corner.

Click on the Image logo: link to rss feeds. Then, just use your favorite feed reader and scroll the latest postings.

The feed delivers the last post of a thread, limited to 50 threads or the last 12 hours, whichever comes first. If you see something interesting, you can jump right in.

I'm using Opera on my Android, I don't have Swype available.
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grabiner
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by grabiner »

I use my smartphone, and this was actually one of the tests I did when choosing a smartphone model. The site didn't render well in Safari on an iPhone, and was much better in Chrome on a Droid, so I bought the Droid.
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Aptenodytes
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by Aptenodytes »

I tried reading the RSS feed but it adds too many steps.

On my smart phone I use the Dolpin browser on the Android OS. Works fine.
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michaelsieg
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by michaelsieg »

Thanks everyone for your input - LadyGeek, thanks for the RSS reader suggestion. I am looking at RSS feed readers available for the iPhone - there are many of them. Does anyone have any experience with them for an iphone? Which ones do you use?
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burgrat
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by burgrat »

There was a previous thread about integrating with the Tapatalk app, but I guess that is not going to happen. I use Tapatalk (iPhone app) with other forums I visit and it's simple and works very well on my mobile device (I use an iPod Touch, my phone is a "dumb" phone).
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LadyGeek
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by LadyGeek »

Yes, Tapatalk was discussed previously (will not utilize at this time). It's just a matter of what Alex Frakt would like to do.

BTW, I've switched from Opera to Dolphin on my Android.

For those who like RSS feeds (on the home page here), the wiki has a live RSS page for the Boglehead authors' blogs. See: News and blogs (This link is on the wiki's left-side menu, 5th down from the top.)

I put all of those feeds into my new favorite RSS reader app, Feedly.

Hint: Use the cbsmoneywatch.com feed sources in the wiki (Larry Swedroe, Allan Roth), as you'll never easily find them on the CBS main site.
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by tetractys »

Did back when I had an iphone. It was laborious for posting because of browser limitations with the input field; but fine for reading. Now I'm back on a simple phone saving over $1000/year. I may purchase a WiFi ipod in the near future--not a smartphone--and see if the newer operating system works better. These of course are operationally similar to smartphones and tablets for browsing. Certainly the new high resolution screens are more visually comfortable. -- Tet
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ogd
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by ogd »

The biggest headache on mobile is the input field. It doesn't resize like the normal text does making it hard to see the current paragraph coherently. If that could be fixed (flexible sizing?) I'd be a lot happier with mobile. The input field sizing also widens the text below, which makes select for quote even more of a pain than it already is on mobile.

Oh, and it sometimes just misbehaves - cursor jumps while you're typing. There's no rhyme or reason to this one, it just happens and it does not persist. And sometimes the text prediction gets out of sync with the text, somehow, it's one letter ahead and you have to backspace for a bit before they match (hard to explain, sorry). More of an annoyance than a usability problem. I'm willing to chalk it to a browser bug; using the stock Android browser.

I don't think the rss model works well for forum threads - too many post entries from threads you don't care about. You need something with a two level structure, threads then posts. Like Gmail (why not include the reply text btw?). But overall reading on mobile is no worse than on desktop.
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jupiter_man
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Re: Do you go to bogleheads.org with your smartphone?

Post by jupiter_man »

Android OS + Dolphin Browser = works great for reading.
My phone has a slide out Physical Keypad and that's great for writting.

I use 50% of the time from the smartphone, 50% from the MAC.
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