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razorianfly

macrumors 65816
Oct 16, 2007
1,357
0
Cheshire, United Kingdom
nice review though i don't necessarily agree that mobilechat UI is "classy" as you put it. i'm an IM addict, and i have to say mobilechat's UI is crap. with that said, I just wanted to correct you on a major point and that is the fact that you imply that their sms/email notification service works for all IM services when in fact it only works for aim/.mac accounts (because they didn't build anything new, but are simply leveraging aim's already existing sms service). you need to be specific on this point, anything less is misleading.

also you might want to mention that you can chat in landscape mode. some may find this great, however i personally find it annoying when the orientation changes. i personally prefer portrait mode since i can then chat one handed. they will need to put in an option at some future point in time to disable automatic changing to landscape mode.

otherwise, nice review :)

Thank you for the information.

The more information the more water-tight the review.

You'll find the review has now been updated with the information you offered.

Cheers,
R-Fly
 

diesel

macrumors 6502a
Aug 3, 2007
807
25
I asked you earlier in this thread where they passed any blame on their data center and you have yet to provide that proof for that claim. I also asked where they recently blamed Apple for anything and you've failed to provide that, too. You can't. Yet, day in and day out, you're in here spouting your mudslinging as if this is all they've been doing, hoping some uninformed reader will see it and believe it.

I don't care if you criticize the app for things that aren't working but you're criticizing the developers over lies and ignorance regarding version number conventions.


you can comb through the rest of their blogs and piece together additional supporting details, but refer to my previous post for a response to your request for specific examples. the details are in their blogs, and i have not said anything without reason or cause, and because of the way they've conducted themselves, and because i'm a paying customer, i certainly can criticize them over their lies, hypocracy, and the somewhat unprofessional manner in which they've conducted themselves to date.
 

kwjohns

macrumors 6502a
Jul 4, 2007
700
12
you can comb through the rest of their blogs and piece together additional supporting details, but refer to my previous post for a response to your request for specific examples. the details are in their blogs, and i have not said anything without reason or cause, and because of the way they've conducted themselves, and because i'm a paying customer, i certainly can criticize them over their lies, hypocracy, and the somewhat unprofessional manner in which they've conducted themselves to date.

I saw all of the posts you have referred to and none of them prove any of the claims you've been making. Lie #1. You haven't posted anything proving they've bashed their data servers. Lie #2. You have been on here numerous times within the past week saying all they're doing is bashing other people as if they're presently doing that when they haven't. They've been posting nothing but updates regarding the status of their app/servers and have passed blame on no one but themselves so quit living a month in the past.

And Apple does need to be criticized by the developers for their handling of the app approval process. It's a mess.
 

trunksu

macrumors 6502
Feb 21, 2008
275
0
nice review though i don't necessarily agree that mobilechat UI is "classy" as you put it. i'm an IM addict, and i have to say mobilechat's UI is crap. with that said, I just wanted to correct you on a major point and that is the fact that you imply that their sms/email notification service works for all IM services when in fact it only works for aim/.mac accounts (because they didn't build anything new, but are simply leveraging aim's already existing sms service). you need to be specific on this point, anything less is misleading.

also you might want to mention that you can chat in landscape mode. some may find this great, however i personally find it annoying when the orientation changes. i personally prefer portrait mode since i can then chat one handed. they will need to put in an option at some future point in time to disable automatic changing to landscape mode.

otherwise, nice review :)

u can chat one-handed? o.o i have a super hard time sms/im with just one hand (i'm assuming you're using your thumb). i find it's super difficult with one hand because it's easy to make typos. then again the only time i'm doing it with one-hand is maybe when while i'm driving :eek:

with that said i do prefer portrait mode over landscape too (especially since more screen room) so i do hope they have the option to lock out of landscape.
 

diesel

macrumors 6502a
Aug 3, 2007
807
25
u can chat one-handed? o.o i have a super hard time sms/im with just one hand (i'm assuming you're using your thumb). i find it's super difficult with one hand because it's easy to make typos. then again the only time i'm doing it with one-hand is maybe when while i'm driving :eek:

with that said i do prefer portrait mode over landscape too (especially since more screen room) so i do hope they have the option to lock out of landscape.


hahahaha, yeah, a habit i picked up from my blackberry days. though you're right about the typos...........plenty of them in the beginning but improving

i prefer to see more of the conversation with the additional screen in portrait vs less screen and larger keyboard. i can understand why people would prefer the opposite, i.e. landscape, but make it an option and satisfy the portrait people and the landscape people :)
 

razorianfly

macrumors 65816
Oct 16, 2007
1,357
0
Cheshire, United Kingdom
hahahaha, yeah, a habit i picked up from my blackberry days. though you're right about the typos...........plenty of them in the beginning but improving

i prefer to see more of the conversation with the additional screen in portrait vs less screen and larger keyboard. i can understand why people would prefer the opposite, i.e. landscape, but make it an option and satisfy the portrait people and the landscape people :)

Just proves I'm a portrait-kinda-person, as I never even discovered the application had a landscape mode, at first! lol

R-Fly
 

diesel

macrumors 6502a
Aug 3, 2007
807
25
I saw all of the posts you have referred to and none of them prove any of the claims you've been making. Lie #1. You haven't posted anything proving they've bashed their data servers. Lie #2. You have been on here numerous times within the past week saying all they're doing is bashing other people as if they're presently doing that when they haven't. They've been posting nothing but updates regarding the status of their app/servers and have passed blame on no one but themselves so quit living a month in the past.

And Apple does need to be criticized by the developers for their handling of the app approval process. It's a mess.


i've been looking for the datacenter part but can't find it, so i might have misinterpreted a previous statement of theirs. until i find something concrete i will retract my statement about them bashing the data center, and if i don't, then i apologize, however i stand by the other comments.

as for me "living" in the past, i'm a firm believer in the notion that the integrity of a business is measured not only by conduct in it's present but also in it's past (though a month out is debateable as to qualifying as "past") if we are talking about the same people running the business. and it's not like i'm criticizing them for their conduct several years back, it is only a month back as you mentioned so it is not like "living in the past" as you put it. I will say they seem to be trying to fix the problems, but I wouldn't be surprised if most of that was driven by the enormous pressure that apple must be putting on them due to what I would imagine are a lot of people asking apple for refunds. and yes, that last statement is speculation on my part, but if i was apple, and people were clamoring for refunds on a 2.5 star app where it wasn't working for days, then i too would be throwing the weight of apple down onto the developers. In the end, it doesn't matter why or how they fix the problem so long as they fix it. and for any business to bash the "partner" (apple) that gave them the opportunity to make a lot of money off of us (the paying customers) for a "bad" product launch and then to repeat a similarly bad launch for their product, i find ironic.
 

marksman

macrumors 603
Jun 4, 2007
5,764
5
Yeah I don't think they bashed the data center. They simply mentioned they had them provision servers in advance so they would be ready.

A lot of good that did them I guess.
 

marksman

macrumors 603
Jun 4, 2007
5,764
5
Seriously dude? Okay, lets say they accounted for an order of magnitude more; they still would not be able to keep up with the demand. Saying they're in the top 10, they're probably getting several thousand new users per day. With such a service too, it seems like they need to make AND PERSIST a new connection per user. In one of their previous blog posts before they upgraded their hardware, they were saying each server was handling 1,000 aim connections. As far as I can remember, not even Apple is that great at handling massive loads of concurrent users (look at Mobile Me; epic failure for quite some time).

People like you seriously make me ****ing sick. These guys are posting DAILY updates, hired multiple new staff members, pushed out a TWO patches, and also respond to comments made in their blog - all within the span of a week, and while dealing with **** from whiny bitches. Sure, they dropped the ball when they launched the application, but I doubt any amount of preparation between two developers (or maybe only one? Shaun looks like the business end?) would have prepared them for this. In a week they've made incredible progress, and furthermore, they're pushing out constant patches. It's a shame you're having GUI problems, but damn dude, what do you want them to do? They already submitted the patches to fix all of the reported problems, admitted it's their fault, and they CONSTANTLY apologize - do you still find it necessary to bash them over the head?

You're apparently not very patient at all, or even remotely understanding, if you don't see they're doing the best they possibly can given the current situation.


PCJoe are you their mother?
 

Quincy9219

macrumors regular
Aug 8, 2008
200
0
PCJoe are you their mother?

Hey, he has a point. And he is simply listing the facts that most people here are choosing to ignore. The fact that they are working on the problems and they are remorseful for the mess they caused. The fact that you ignore those facts is sad. If this was Apple, yes, you'd be pissed that they screwed up, but you would also give them the chance to clean up their mess. Give these guys the same chance you'd give Apple
 

pcjoe

macrumors newbie
Aug 16, 2008
8
0
Hey, he has a point. And he is simply listing the facts that most people here are choosing to ignore. The fact that they are working on the problems and they are remorseful for the mess they caused. The fact that you ignore those facts is sad. If this was Apple, yes, you'd be pissed that they screwed up, but you would also give them the chance to clean up their mess.
Thank you :)
I'm just a fellow developer and I can understand how challenging the project must be. It's just depressing to see people give them such a hard time for an application they paid pocket change for. It's like, damn, people aren't even willing to give them a week to straighten it out when other large distributed applications (Mobile Me, nearly EVERY MMOG) fails horribly when it first comes out due to the same problems.
 

diesel

macrumors 6502a
Aug 3, 2007
807
25
seems like mobilechat added my own mobile number as a buddy to my aim account. anyone else have this happen? if so, why? they don't need my mobile number as a buddy in aim to sms me, so any ideas why? bug?
 

JamboUK

macrumors member
Jul 12, 2007
65
0
I haven't been able to log onto this app since last week via an MSN account. Any one else have the same problem? This app just sits there and does nothing and I thought things were doing better now.
 

Rojo

macrumors 65816
Sep 26, 2006
1,328
241
Barcelona
I haven't been able to log onto this app since last week via an MSN account. Any one else have the same problem? This app just sits there and does nothing and I thought things were doing better now.

It's not just you.

I'm not even going to bother with this app again until 3.0.2 (since they admit their next update 3.0.1 doesn't fix everything). If it's not at least somewhat functional by then, I'm just going to delete it and hope for a better app to come by... (not Palringo).
 

Warbrain

macrumors 603
Jun 28, 2004
5,702
293
Chicago, IL
From my time playing around with this application it's not worth the time. The notifcations never come in for me, the accounts can't stay connected - pretty much worthless.

Palringo isn't much better. AIM for the iPhone seems to work the best so far and I wish other services would create apps. I wouldn't mind having an AIM, Yahoo, and MSN app all separate.
 

JamboUK

macrumors member
Jul 12, 2007
65
0
It's not just you.

I'm not even going to bother with this app again until 3.0.2 (since they admit their next update 3.0.1 doesn't fix everything). If it's not at least somewhat functional by then, I'm just going to delete it and hope for a better app to come by... (not Palringo).

Ahhh...OK.. well I couldn't understand why lots of other people were able to log in and I wasn't. So at least I now know I am not alone!
 

Sobe

macrumors 68000
Jul 6, 2007
1,791
0
Wash DC suburbs
Thank you :)
I'm just a fellow developer and I can understand how challenging the project must be. It's just depressing to see people give them such a hard time for an application they paid pocket change for. It's like, damn, people aren't even willing to give them a week to straighten it out when other large distributed applications (Mobile Me, nearly EVERY MMOG) fails horribly when it first comes out due to the same problems.

Are you seriously comparing the roll out of mobile me or an MMOLRPG to that of a chat client?
 

kwjohns

macrumors 6502a
Jul 4, 2007
700
12
Are you seriously comparing the roll out of mobile me or an MMOLRPG to that of a chat client?

Sounds to me like he's comparing the troubles a company worth $158 billion can have when rolling something new out and people are surprised that two developers had trouble.
 

Quincy9219

macrumors regular
Aug 8, 2008
200
0
Sounds to me like he's comparing the troubles a company worth $158 billion can have when rolling something new out and people are surprised that two developers had trouble.

That is the clearest his point has been put yet. That's all we are saying people. Huge companies have their problems and you cut them slack people, so give these two guys a little slack
 

kwjohns

macrumors 6502a
Jul 4, 2007
700
12
And another thing on that note is I spent $70 on Mobile Me which is still having problems a month later. I spent $3 on MobileChat.
 

Rojo

macrumors 65816
Sep 26, 2006
1,328
241
Barcelona
Huge companies have their problems and you cut them slack people, so give these two guys a little slack

The difference is huge companies have tons of resources, money, and people to make sure things can at least get back on track quicker -- so it's easier to cut them some slack, even when they make huge mistakes, because at least there's a feeling things will eventually get fixed. Especially a company like Apple, which, despite a few hiccups here and there, is usually a pretty reliable company. Yes, it seems inexcusable that such a huge company can make mistakes, but at the end of the day who would you trust more for to get things back on track? A giant company that has their multi-billion reputation on the line, or "just two guys" with not much to lose? Maybe Apple is actually an evil corporation at the end of the day, and maybe the MobileChat guys are pure angels with all the best intentions -- who knows? But that doesn't change the fact that most people are going to most-likely put their faith on the big company with the proven track record instead of two unknowns. It just makes sense.

The MobileChat guys have constantly been repeating how they are "just two guys" -- and frankly, that's been their biggest problem and major weakness from the beginning. They have been very honest on their blogs, which has been both good and bad for them. Good because it's nice to have devs keeping you in the loop, but bad because a LOT of what they have said has backfired on them, or has instilled distrust and a lack of confidence in them for MANY people.

If they had been smarter from the get-go, they would have realized an operation such as theirs requires a LOT more manpower than just two people. According to their blogs, they have FINALLY gotten outside people to look into all the problems they are having, and seem to be slowly growing their inner team up as well -- this is the best thing they can do right now, and it's just unfortunate they didn't consider doing this much earlier. They could have saved themselves, and everyone else, a bunch of headaches.

Hopefully with more members on their team, and future updates on the way, this app will actually work for me and the tons of other people still having major problems with it. :::crossing fingers::: I will happily come back on here and give them a "job well done" if they can get this to happen, and will even give them a good rating on iTunes. (I've yet to give them a rating -- even though they deserve a bad one at the moment, even *I* feel bad for all the hate they are getting).
 

kwjohns

macrumors 6502a
Jul 4, 2007
700
12
The difference is huge companies have tons of resources, money, and people to make sure things can at least get back on track quicker -- so it's easier to cut them some slack, even when they make huge mistakes, because at least there's a feeling things will eventually get fixed. Especially a company like Apple, which, despite a few hiccups here and there, is usually a pretty reliable company. Yes, it seems inexcusable that such a huge company can make mistakes, but at the end of the day who would you trust more for to get things back on track? A giant company that has their multi-billion reputation on the line, or "just two guys" with not much to lose? Maybe Apple is actually an evil corporation at the end of the day, and maybe the MobileChat guys are pure angels with all the best intentions -- who knows? But that doesn't change the fact that most people are going to most-likely put their faith on the big company with the proven track record instead of two unknowns. It just makes sense.

Well since you're so slow to be able to trust two guys compared to a big company, then maybe you shouldn't be so quick to purchase their software without waiting it out and reading reviews?
 

Rojo

macrumors 65816
Sep 26, 2006
1,328
241
Barcelona
Well since you're so slow to be able to trust two guys compared to a big company, then maybe you shouldn't be so quick to purchase their software without waiting it out and reading reviews?

Why not? It's just $3. I was never one of those people complaining about the price -- in fact, if it worked like it should, I would say it deserves to be priced much higher!

I downloaded the app immediately because of what it claimed to do -- which, if it did, would make it a killer app. $3 is pocket change, so it wasn't really a risk. If it was over $10, I might have waited for more reviews first.

I'm personally not losing sleep over the fact that this app isn't working yet (I know many people are). Like I said before, I'm going to wait until at least version 3.0.2 and try it again, and if it still isn't working up to par, I'll delete it and move on -- no big loss. I probably won't give these guys much chances after that, though, because I feel like I'll have given them enough already by then.
 

brucear

macrumors newbie
Aug 18, 2008
5
0
Hampton, VA
Can't download a apps from Apps Store

Need a little help.
I just purchased an ipod touch, works great. I have downloaded a few apps that I see on the ipod. There is one I see on the web page, but not on the ipod apps button. The program is WEB CAM VIEWER. Can some one please tell me how I can down load this file. When I go to the webpage that makes the program, there is still nothing that will let me down load it.

Thanks
brucear@juno.com
 
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