DG Mobile App???

I'm sure this has come up on that past, but I wondered if the new team might entertain the idea. More importantly, I just got an iPhone! Accessing DG using the built-in browser is visual torture. I am certain more and more DG members are getting smartphones and would like to see this.

How about it??

Hi Victor,

I've used DG on my Blackberry for quite some time. Most threads are pretty quick to load UNLESS there are lots of photos and then I just don't bother. Trying to get all of the photos loaded takes forever and uses so much battery.

Janet

It's not the speed (the iPhone is real fast), it's the text size and ease of use. That's why so many websites have dedicated apps for the phones. Much easier on the eyes, easier to navigate, etc.

I just touch the screen several times until it's big enough. Or else I dig out my cheater glasses! :-) Wanna borrow mine? HAHAHA

Can I just say that I love mobile apps. And, wouldn't it be great to get all the info and advice on DG while you are on the go?

I'd like to maybe brainstorm a bit about what parts of DG you'd like to see and *easily* use on your mobile phone. If you'd like, let's start a mobile wish list here...

I can start... and I'd love for you to chime in with your ideas too...

We can improve the visibility of text in the forums so that no cheater glasses are neccessary. (-; Sorry to see that this is how our forum pages are currently being formatted for mobile browsers.

What about being able to make a forum post from your mobile phone - is that something you'd like to be able to do? Or, would you rather just be able to clearly navigate and read a few forums, perhaps when you are waiting in line at the grocery store.

Would you like to be able to submit a Plant, Tree, or Flower image for ID, from your mobile phone while you are in the garden, at a store, or on a hike?

Would you like to easily search PlantFiles on your mobile phone?

Just a few thoughts to start with.. looking forward to your input.

Best,
Talia

Victor,
I've had an iphone since '07. I've posted to you on DG from it many times over the years, so I'm not sure why you might be having problems. Turn your phone sideways....place your fingers in the center of the screen and stretch them apart...the screen enlarges, you can see it better. Magic. (Teasing you Victor....)

However, all teasing aside, I really do know what you mean. It's easy enough to post to a thread, or send email, or dmail, but I can't post pictures of those daylilies that just started blooming today, nor can I write an article or anything very long from the iphone. Plus....those keyboards are sooooo sensitive. One misguided breath and you are in trouble.

So yes, phone apps would be good.

Victor,

I just searched the App store a couple days ago for this very same thing! Great minds...

I've never tried posting a pic yet, but I have posted messages. The wost is the tiny text. Expanding the screen to zoom in leaves you with a few characters!

Just check the difference between well-known websites like Amazon, eBay or the news sites, vs. their phone apps. World of difference.

Hi Sharon!

I'm waiting for a DG app as well. Accessing via the browser is cumbersome. There is an app for everything under the sun - why not DG?

For me, the features that would be most handy while "on the go" would be easy access to Plant Files and my own DG Journal so I could look up the plants/pictures of my own garden and compare them to plants I might be looking at while in a nursery.

I'd probably also like to be able to easily search and read the daily articles for reference as well.

I would like PF and forum access most.

It would be handy to be able to post images to Go Gardening while you are actually at a nursery, farmers market or botanical garden. ID forums would be a must, as well as access PlantFiles, BugFiles and BirdFiles. (All my phone does is ring...I don't even text, so I'm just imagining what would be handy.)

So how about a feature where every time we access DG on our new mobile app, Melody's phone rings?? ^_^

:0)

Plant ID/Info on the go for gardeners is what I hear alot of people are asking for. Actually I hear it from landscapers asking me to make an app with my images. A few landscape designers mention there's nothing decent out there to look up a cultivar while at the nursery picking out product. I'm mulling the idea while working this season for a "winter project". Height, width, exposure, pic, etc.

PF access would go a long way with that. Posting on the ID thread can take time.

Love the idea of an app for plant IDs.

NY Times had an article some time back about the effort to create an app where you take a photo with your phone, email it to some researchers and get an ID in a 'reasonable' time. That would be great, assuming they don't charge too much.

I would love to see an app, but for the Android platform. Shoot, just making a mobile-friendly version of the site available would be wonderful. If I try to view DG on my phone using Google's pared-down view for mobile, my login cookie is no longer available and I can't login because the forms don't display.

With Google's track record on privacy, I would think twice.

I like Google's services enough, I don't care. It's a trade-off like everything else in life. I am much more impressed by the Open Handset Alliance and Android being an open OS and market than I am with Steve Jobs locking down the technology so much.

I would like an app for the iphone also. Would pay extra.

I would like to be able to post pictures to the forums from my phone, and especially to access Plant Files when I'm out and about.

So this is an old thread, is there any progress toward getting an app?

My question exactly. My droid would love to see a mobile app for DG. The sooner the better. I do check into some of my favorite sites that also are not mobile friendly. I have to do that from time to time, but having a mobile app for DG would make at least that site available with less fuss.

I will say that DG looks pretty good and is easy to navigate on my iPad but I don't often take that with me to the garden center or out in the yard.

I would like to be able to post pictures from my IPad 2, Without having to put them on the computer first.

I'd really like to see an Android app, or a better mobile-optimized site.

I'd really like to see one for my IPhone. I was sure hoping there'd be one by now. it was one of the first things I searched for the other week when I got it. What a disappointment.

Anything yet?

I notice the forum threads come up with big black areas to the right of posts when I view DG in a mobile browser (Android). I re-subscribed for two weeks during the free "open house", but can't afford yet another subscription right now. I'd be more inclined to subscribe if the mobile experience was better since that's how I do a lot of my reading now.

Unfortunately our "old faithful" platform is not conducive to an app. At some point, a migration to a newer platform - as painful as that may sound - will enable us to make some technology strides.

Thanks Terry!

Wish I had a different answer for you! I've used DG on an iPad, but I haven't yet crossed over to the "dark" side (*grin*) of smart phones; I've tried to access it a few times from my husband's but it was basically a quick look-up and then I exited out.

This is how it displays in Android's Dolphin browser using desktop mode. Android mode looks the same. The last time I'd been here using my phone - some two or so years back - the black section wasn't there. It displayed fine, just had to scroll back and forth on the page to see who posted what. I'm not sure what changed.

This message was edited Aug 26, 2012 9:22 AM