iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Ok, I got tired of waiting for somebody else to do it, so I'm building an iPhone application to keep cigar info with me. I want to build a native iPhone app, but I'm starting it out as an iPhone-optimized web app first, connected to a backend database. I have several ideas for functionality, but would like to get feedback from some fellow inmates first.

At this point, I have the basic framework done, and anybody should be able to view it at

www.vapor nova.com/mobilestogie/

(you'll have to delete the space between 'vapor' and 'nova' because together, the vbulletin software thinks there's a bad word in there :rolleyes:).

It will load on a regular browser, but is clearly optimized for an iPhone (or iPod Touch) screen.

At this point, it has a fairly complete list of current production cubans, but only a smattering of non-cuban info. You can also see that I will probably build in some Inventory capabilities, but that is not coded yet.

Here's the kind of feedback I'm asking for:

1. What other data elements should I include in the info screen? (I'm not trying to recreate MRN on the iPhone, but I'm sure there are several more things that I should be including.)
2. Does the terminology on the pages make sense?
3. for items 1 and 2, how should the data elements be different for NC's?
4. Suggestions on any design elements would be welcome as well. I'm trying to make this very 'iPhone-friendly' in terms of simplicity, speed, etc., but I'm no designer. So, suggestions are welcome.
5. Does the site work ok on your browser/iphone/iPod? If not, please provide specifics so I can try to correct things.
6. If I add a page to enter/edit the NC information live, would some of you crazy bastages help load it up with data on the more common NC's?
7. Lastly, what kind of functionality would you want in something like this? (Personal Inventory, reviews, connectivity to other info, etc.)

Any feedback is appreciated, and hopefully somebody finds this useful even in this early stage of development.

(disclaimer: this isn't my day job, so I don't promise that I'll have a huge amount of time to build this out, but I will try to be as responsive as possible)

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

That looks awesome, though you spelled Montecristo wrong. :D

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Hey now, was "check spelling" on the requested feedback list? I didn't think so. :ss

Thanks :)

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Looks great!

Doh, didn't notice the Discontinued at the bottom. Maybe add the date they were discontinued?

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

When you look at the list of cigars within a brand, anything that is Limited Edition, Regional Edition, or Discontinued is listed separately at the bottom. But yes, I keep thinking about the date ranges too. Trying not to create a maintenance nightmare ;)

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Fixed.

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

no Ipod/Iphone to try it on, but it looks good
the only thing I am noticing is that the columns do not line up (IE as browser), though that may be something on my end.
Are there any plans for flavour profiles in the descriptions? (or flavour high points)

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

I think I'll need to do some browser-specific css coding if I decide to keep this available for desktop browsers. There are some custom styles used to optimize for iPhone, that IE won't understand. I noticed that there is even a little misalignment of the rows in FireFox on the Mac. This is the fun of web development; damn browser differences. Imagine the fun our mods on this site must have ;)

Probably, but I think this is the type of info (like ratings) that might need to be user-specific. Other peoples' thoughts on this?

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

I would add edit now before it goes 1.0. As people smoke they can add the details.

Very cool!

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

By the way, if you have a Mac, but don't have an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can see how this application looks on those devices by downloading iPhoney, which is a free iPhone simulator app (I think it's basically a skinned browser -- very cool).

So far, my web app looks correct on there :tu

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Pretty cool Ken! Can't wait to see how this finishes up! :D

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

It does line up a lot better in FireFox :tu

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

This is coming along nicely Ken! You do need to open it up for adding data, particularly for the NC's.

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Great idea! Looks great and lines up perfectly on my Touch!
Will you be making this into an actual app or will you be keeping it web based?

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Looks good so far. Let us know when you are finished. Would love to have it on my iphone!

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

This is freakin' awesome & I'm damned impressed. I've got an iTouch at home, can't wait to upload this. As for feedback, I'm kinda a tech idiot.

-What other data elements should I include in the info screen? (I'm not trying to recreate MRN on the iPhone, but I'm sure there are several more things that I should be including.) I like it how it is!

-Does the terminology on the pages make sense? Yep
for items 1 and 2, how should the data elements be different for NC's?

-Suggestions on any design elements would be welcome as well. I'm trying to make this very 'iPhone-friendly' in terms of simplicity, speed, etc., but I'm no designer. So, suggestions are welcome.
coulda fooled me! as far as I'm concerned, you're a genius

-Does the site work ok on your browser/iphone/iPod? If not, please provide specifics so I can try to correct things. works on my browser - pc

-If I add a page to enter/edit the NC information live, would some of you crazy bastages help load it up with data on the more common NC's? i'll try my best!

Lastly, what kind of functionality would you want in something like this? (Personal Inventory, reviews, connectivity to other info, etc.) all of the above

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

At some point, I'd love to make it a native app, but there's a big learning curve for me to do that. It's been years since I wrote code other than for the web, so I figure I can do all the design and prototyping as a web app first. Once I have the design and functionality completed, I'll take a look at coding it as a native app.

In the meantime, there is the side benefit of having it accessable via any web browser (although clearly it functions best in Safari, and is optimized for the iPhone/Touch. I'll be opening it up for add/edit functionality shortly, so maybe some inmates will help populate the database.

Lastly, as you probably know, on the iPhone or Touch, you can create the bookmark to the web app as a button on the main screen of the device, just like a native app.

Appreciate all the feedback :tu

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Web version works pretty good on my BB... any chance of adding MSRP? That way it's a handy tool when you are at a B&M. Thanks! :ss

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

For those who don't have an iPhone or Touch, here are some screen shots that show approximately what it looks like, in the order that you'd likely navigate the screens. Note that where you see a scroll bar, there really isn't one on the iPhone/Touch because it's not needed there with a touch screen...

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...ywake/Home.jpghttp://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...ake/Brands.jpghttp://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...ke/Bolivar.jpghttp://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...ke/Display.jpghttp://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...wake/Edit1.jpg

The last pic is of the edit screen, which I'm working on completing now.

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Just checked this out... pretty damn cool. Nothing like this out there. Appreciate all your effort. Obviously if it is a native app; we'll be able to edit the 'My Inventory' info. Hope you have time to build this out. I'll be waiting patiently. :)

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

looks like the beginnings of something beautiful!

1. looks mostly covered (personal tasting notes tied to each!)

2. yes

3. there can be a third element for NCs yea? I'm not sure how to handle that. Some bunch of terms to consider, marca, size, vitola, line; lines between some of those get fuzzy with NCs

4. I know nothing about iPhone-specific design but I like your approach, esp if web-based, that is, text! The markup could be made cleaner/compliant here and there but I do like your light approach. You'd do better to implement scalable font-sizes (and structural elements for that matter) by using EMs instead of PXs (unless you're going iPhone only app and know what you're doing there, I don't!)

5. it looks pretty good in IE on Windows Mobile 6, doesn't display the "webkit" specific stuff of course (corner radius etc, does this work in Google's Chrome I wonder since it's based on webkit)

6. define "more common" :D

7. personal inventory and tasting notes. If tasting notes could be broke down into multiple date based entries, even better. While entering a new tasting note/review of a cigar it would be very cool if you were prompted with the option to remove one from inventory when submitting (since it's likely you just smoked one)

I think as a web app specifically for mobiles (that would work on any browser of course) this would be fantastic!

It would be good to be able to keep a master database of cigar data that gets updated by an authoritative source and could be output as XML/SQL/whatever to update/augment individual user account's backends. This would be especially nice if it's going to be a mobile only app since adding all that information by hand, on a mobile device, sucks at best; therefor 99% of folks wouldn't bother I'd think.

PM me if I can help with anything, I can hack around php and MySQL but am very good with hand coding xhtml/css and graphic-ing up the frontend

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

The ability to add some words to each cigar...even a few hundred just so you can make your own notes, opinions, buy/no buy, gifted when/where/liked/didn't like information would be invaluable. As it stands now, there's lots of valuable technical data, but very little personal data such as what I think of the cigar if I'm reviewing it. That could be extremely helpful when I'm browsing a shop or online site and wondering if I've ever tried something before.


Also, the ability to add a small picture or two (different angles, the band, etc) would be very nice. Helps identification. All that and the personal notes can be stored on the iPhone's internal memory in a data structure. The basic framework of the app obviously isn on it's own.

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

That looks great! This is going on my iTouch for sure, which I currently use to take notes on cigars I'm smoking! It'd be great to have this info handy. :) I also think that it would be great to be able to enter review info. Well done. :tu

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Update:

I've spent a lot of time reworking the code on this to get it ready for a native iPhone/Touch app, but for now it's still web based.

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...wake/photo.jpg

Other changes:

• Slightly redesigned screens and colors. Looks a little better, I think.
• User login for adding/editing cigar info. (and User/password management).
• No login required to browse information.
• Displays who added (and last edited) each cigar.
• Cigar length can be entered in mm or inches. App will figure it out and store correctly.
• Clicking on the "Mobile Stogie" header returns to home screen

So, now I'm looking for a few folks who are willing to put it through its paces and see how it behaves. I'm not enabling "self register" yet, so you'll need to PM me with your email address, and I'll register you and email you the info.

To test this correctly, you'll need:

• An iPhone, iPod Touch, or Safari Browser (windoze or mac). I can't predict how it might behave on other browsers, but since I'm ultimately targeting a native iPhone/Touch app, I'm focusing on the Safari browser capabilities. Sorry, for now it does not work on a blackberry.
• A willingness to add cigar info into the database and cleanup any missing data that you can.
• A willingness to provide feedback, as well as patience if I don't change things instantly :)

Most of the previous feedback focused on personal inventory and tasting notes, both of which really need the native app coded, so those are "coming soon". What I plan to add next is:

• A place to add some type of price info
• An additional characteristic for NC's like "line" or "sub-brand", since NC brands are all over the board in this regard.
• Additional views of data ("my adds", "Missing Data", etc.)
• Search capability
• Appropriate "back buttons" to aid in navigation.

Comments on those features are welcome!!

Finally, even if you don't want to signup for testing, feel free to browse the site, as the CC data is pretty complete already and is a handy reference, especially on the iPhone.

Again, the site is www.vapor nova.com/mobilestogie/ and you have to get rid of the space in the name, since the CA software thinks I'm posting about **** :rolleyes:

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Here's a link that will work directly to go to the Mobile Stogie website.

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Wow! You've put a lot of work into this lately Ken. It looks great!

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Wow Ken, that's sick.
All I can say is "Thank God I don't have to database my cigars."

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Ken, I just put the web app on my iPhone and it looks great! :tu

I'd be happy to do some testing for you, if you're still looking! Let me know... :D

Merry Christmas to you and your family!


:dance::dance::dance:

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

PM me your email address please, and I'll register you for edit capability. Thanks for your help! :tu

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Great job Ken. Now if I only had an I-phone.

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

This database wouldn't be big enough for all your cigars :ss

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Looking great Ken! I would help but I dont own an Iphone either.. :bh

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

But you do have Safari loaded, right? At least when you are sitting at work goofing off, you could be adding info to the database :ss

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

This is very true. :)

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Looks better than the taster app I paid $5 for last week.

My biggest beef with the one I have and I hope yours won't lack it, is that it doesn't have an inventory. I want to keep track if what cigars I have, when I bought them, and once I smoke the a spot to enter place/date smoked. I think you have a form base down. Also the abuility to add a picture library. So you can tag pics of the cigar to it, and not have to keep them in your camera role.

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Yes, the inventory feature is key, but really has to wait for a native app, so that I can store that data locally on your device. I don't imagine that people want to store their inventory in my database on my server (of course I wouldn't mind knowing who has all the best smokes :D :D). Also the camera access is not available to a web app, so that's also a "native app" feature.

I continue to prototype this as a web app, but I have started the native app as well. In the meantime, please keep the feedback coming!

Thanks

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Feel free to let me beta test when the native app is up and running

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Will do. Thanks :tu

Re: iPhone App - Looking for feedback
 

Further update:

Fixed:

• Cleaned up and greatly simplified the code, so it no longer relies on javascript and form posting. The result is a big reduction in alerts about "reposting form data" when you use the back button. Should make navigation much nicer.
• Seems to run fine on Firefox now, with just a few css alignment issues, but still plenty usable.
• IE6 still sucks (general statement :ss), and I haven't checked on IE7 yet.

Added:

• A couple more views showing adds and edits by username.

Still working to make it a native app for iPhone/iPod Touch :)

Can somebody check compatibility with Google Chrome and with IE7 please?