Android Phones and Tapatalk, etc.

[rockford33]

So, I finally broke down at the end of last year and bought a smart phone (Samsung Fascinate). One of the things I did was start to subscribe to the Autogeek newsfeed. I have used Newsrob and currently am using the RSS Demon app, but was curious about Tapatalk (before I bought it) from others onthe forums who use it.

One thing that I do not like about RSS Demon or Newsrob is that, while it lets me know that new messages have been posted, it only brings up the original post on the phone. I then have to go out to the web to see the entire post, including responses. I am not sure if this is a software limitation or if that is just how news feeds work in general.

Does Tapatalk actually show each new post on the phone itself, or do you still have to go to the web page to view the responses?

Thanks,
Neil

[Kaleb G.]

It shows each post. I very rarely look at any forums on my computer anymore.

[rockford33]

Thanks Kaleb. I tend to look at the forums on my phone simply because I always have it on me, and *technically* can't access them during work hours... the phone allows me to keep up to date on my breaks, lol. Newsrob and RSS Demon just seemed a little cumbersome with always having to go to the web on my phone and scroll down to see the newest post or posts.

-Neil

[Kaleb G.]

I'm in the same boat. Between work and class, my phone is the only way I can get on here most of the day. Tapatalk let's you use probably 90% of the forums features.

[rockford33]

Sweet. Thanks for the info.

One last question: how well does it work with forums that don't have Tapatalk activated? I am guessing it works just like my other newsfeed readers (i.e. only showing the original post)?

-Neil

[Mister B]

What is the benefit of Tapatalk over just viewing the standard site with your phone? I'm new to the smart phone world, having just bought one (Android) a few months ago. I have not had any problems viewing the forums without Tapatalk though. I was just curious what the benefit is?

[Kaleb G.]

Sweet. Thanks for the info.

One last question: how well does it work with forums that don't have Tapatalk activated? I am guessing it works just like my other newsfeed readers (i.e. only showing the original post)?

-Neil

Unfortunately it doesn't work with them at all.

[rockford33]

The benefit that I hope to see is this:

With my current feed reader (RSS Demon), it checks the feeds and downloads the ones that have new posts. It only downloads the original post, so I see the same post over and over as the topic continues. If there is one that I am following due to interest in the topic, I have to hit a button on the post within the app to take me to the web, which then takes me to the website, and drops me at the original post. So, then I scroll down to the newest post or, if it is a longer post with multiple pages, have to click through the pages to find the latest post on the topic.

Tapatalk seems to be a time saver (and possibly data saver since it downloads the latest post directly) and may be worth the money.

-Neil

[Kaleb G.]

What is the benefit of Tapatalk over just viewing the standard site with your phone? I'm new to the smart phone world, having just bought one (Android) a few months ago. I have not had any problems viewing the forums without Tapatalk though. I was just curious what the benefit is?

I think it's easier to navigate when you're on your phone. It also doesn't load full size pictures, just previews that you can click on to view the full image. It saves on some data use

[rockford33]

Kaleb,
Do you know if it uses push notification (like Yahoo mail or Gmail apps), or has automatic download intervals that you can set? Hopefully it has push notification, but that might be dependant on the site, not the app. Since I currently have my refresh interval set to every 4 hours, I guess Tapatalk would show all the new posts between refreshes?

Sorry for all of the questions, but the Tapatalk website isn't very helpful...

-Neil