SocialEngine iMobile Plugin – Webapp for iPhone
This plugin allows users, who use iPhone / iPod Touch or any supported webkit based browsers (Android, WebOS, etc ..), to easily access SocialEngine site by transforming it to a webapp (a Web-based applications designed to mimic the look and feel of native iPhone apps). This similar to how Facebook has touch version of their site.
Key Features
- Fullscreen view mode without browser bar
- Homescreen icon and Start Up image (customizable with your site logo/photo)
- Native iPhone look-n-feel elements
- Quick user status update form
- Support major core SE pages and plugins
- Very easy to add new mobile page (if you like)
- Can switch between standard mode or mobile mode
- Extremely addictive for your users :-)
Supported Pages
- Home page: recent activity feeds
- User Home
- Profile: Info, Comments, Friends
- Friends: view and search friends
- Messages: inbox, view, send message
- Login / Error
- Notifications
Supported Plugins
- Event: browse, search, view event
- Group: browse, search, view group
- Blog: browse, search, read blog post
- Article: browse, search, view
- Business: browse, search, view
- Job Post: browse, search, view
More plugins will be added later if there are enough demand for it. This is just a initial release, so there is really no point to add support for a bunch of XYZ plugins, if the site does not even have XYZ installed.
Customization
This plugin is built with flexibility and easy to use / add-on in mind. You can easily add new mobile supported pages yourself. Example, let say you want to have a “mobile” page for “help.php” page, all you have to do is create a file “imobile_help.tpl” in your template folder. You can put whatever content in that template. Of course, you want to keep the mobile layout / design consistent with other mobile pages, so just look at how other mobile version templates are built, and go from there ;-)
Notes:
- Built for Webkit based browsers (Safari, Chrome, etc), taylored for iPhone/iTouch. So in theory, user can use any webkit based browsers (Android, Pre, WebOS) to view the site in mobile mode, however the look-n-feel may not be as good as iPhone, and may lack some functionality that only applicable in iPhone.
- This is not an iPhone native app, where users have to download and install on their iPhone. You can totally bypass Apple app store. No need for Apple approval nor pay any fees. Any updates you want to do are seemlessly live on your server.
- Not all functionality of Social Engine in standard mode are supported, this webapp is a trip-down light-weight mobile version of SocialEngine, only main core useful functionality are supported. Look at Facebook for iPhone native app / touch version, and you will see its light version. Adding support for all pages, and plugins would require enormous time and resource, and would be a never ending task with all the 3rd party plugins.
- Currently this plugin supports 3 major popular plugins (Event, Group, Blog). Other plugins may be added later if there are enough demand for it.
- Due to nature of dynamic content and massive plugins of SocialEngine, sometimes user may view a non-supported mobile page, in such case, the plugin will nicely display a customzable message. User can simply press “Back” or switch to “Standard” mode to view that page, hence the entire browsing experience is very smooth. Btw, you can easily add new mobile supported page yourself just by create a new template file for that page (ie “imobile_PAGENAME.tpl”) :-)
Requirements
- SocialEngine v3
Demo
To test this under iPhone/iPod Touch, please launch Safari browser, and go to http://se3.radcodes.net (type it in address bar). On the bottom, tap the “+” sign, and choose “Add To Homescreen”. Launch the site thru the homescreen icon to experience the power of webapp!!!
If you do not have iPhone to test, you can try it using any Webkit browser (Safari, Chrome), go to http://se3.radcodes.net/home.php then scroll to bottom of the page, you will see “Browse Mode: ….”, click on “Mobile Site”. It may not be as good as it on iPhone, however it should give you a general feel of the plugin.
I strongly recommend you to check out screenshot section below, it is exactly how it would look and behave.
Screenshot
Below are screenshots taken from my iPhone for Radcodes SE demo website ;-)
- home – under normal view
- home – help info to add to home screen
- adding to home screen
- adding to home screen icon and promt
- added to home screen
- start up loading image
- home – activity feeds – not login
- login form
- login submit
- user home – landing
- user home – landing more
- user home – update status
- home – activity feed – logged in
- home – activity feeds – bottom view
- profile – info top
- profile – recent activities
- profile – friends
- profile – comments
- profile – comments form
- profile – comments submit
- profile – comment submitted
- user friends – list
- user friends – search
- user friends – search result
- messages – list
- messages – view
- message – reply
- messages – replied
- message – compose
- message – compose select friend
- message – compose write
- event – list no event
- event – list
- event – search select
- event – view
- group – list
- group – search select
- group – view
- blog – list
- blog – search
- blog – search result
- blog – view
- article – list
- article – search
- article – view
- business – list
- business – search top
- business – search bottom
- business – view comments
- business – view description
- business – view info bottom
- business – view info top
- jobpost – list
- jobpost – view
- notifications – list
- notifications – deleting
Admin pages
Tags: android, ipad, iphone, ipod, itouch, mobile, phone, pre, webos
March 18, 2010
support multiple languajes ???
March 18, 2010
If I need to change the app icon, and name, can we do that??
Will the upcoming updates, upgrades be included??
Are they any other customizations that can be done to this plugin??
Thanks
March 18, 2010
@Johann: yes, of course :-)
@Pablo: yes, you can modify the templates, icons anyway you want like
March 18, 2010
If we have customized much of the SocialEngine code ourselves, will that cause a problem for your plugin? Or does it not affect many files.
March 18, 2010
@Keith: the iMobile plugin use its own template file, so there would be no conflict / whatsoever.
Let take “User Friends” page (user_friends.php) as an example, the standard template for it would be “user_friends.tpl” (inside template folder), its mobile template version of it would be “imobile_user_friends.tpl”.
Hence whatever the PHP code available in user_friends.php, would be there for mobile version to be used as well.
March 18, 2010
Will it be updated for SE version 4?
Look good from my end here! Great job!
March 18, 2010
Would be great if the other Radcodes plugins were supported as well (articles / job listings / directory / …)
March 18, 2010
@Tom: like stated, other plugins may be added later on ..
March 18, 2010
Hi Vincent
Why didn’t you include full support and integration for the photo albums, videos and music? Those are the most popular areas my users love….
Thanks
March 18, 2010
can uploads or add photos ? :S
March 18, 2010
This plugin looks great. I have a question.
1. you mention that it uses its own template, does the template include the “Imobile” or can we change that while creating template?
March 19, 2010
@Nicholas: you meant the word “iMobile”? if yes, you can change it to whatever you like, everything is language texted.
March 19, 2010
Vincent -
Great stuff! Thanks for coming up with such an elegant and flexible solution. Finally a decent mobile app for SE.
Can’t wait for the updates.
March 19, 2010
Good job!!! I buy more of you plugins than any ohter vendor. I hope you will consider having recommend work with business. Just remember here in the states we are going 100% mobile within the next 6 years so more mobile apps!!
March 19, 2010
Thanks again for all your help Vincent!!! Already, our members are talking about iMobile and a few purchased subscriptions because of it!!!
I have to say that not only is this plugin one of the most needed functions of any SE website, but Vincent’s commitment to his customers is incredible. Time and time again Vincent has responded to our questions almost immediately.
March 21, 2010
I agree music and photos are needed please also include business directory soon, my sites depend on it’s use. thanks
March 22, 2010
CAN UPLOAD PHOTOS ??????
March 22, 2010
I would love to see photo upload for this plugin:) This is very important for most mobile users on any social network:)
March 23, 2010
Can you add all radcores modules please.
Do you have iphone application version for appSTORE ???
March 23, 2010
Vincent, answer the question dude
can upload or view photos with this imobile
March 23, 2010
Sorry guys.. been busy update the plugin so didn’t have time to reply to comment :-)
No, the “Photo Album” is not supported at this time.
I’m working on the Article, Business plugin right now!
March 23, 2010
Cool thank you for your reply
March 24, 2010
Great to see the Article, Business plugin now compatible! Now on to the Job Listings plugin ;-)
March 24, 2010
On to the next plugin support indeed: Job Post!
March 24, 2010
What about signup imobile templates?
March 26, 2010
What about compatibility with Socialenginmods.net Facebook Connect plugin? There are many SE sites using this plugin and people who have signed up with Facebook Connect can not login on the mobile site!
March 26, 2010
Gotta have the job post if we got the biz
March 29, 2010
People still can login using the SE standard login. The SEMods Facebook does create standard SE user, so they still can login using default SE login form.
March 30, 2010
I have tested this and the SEMods Facebook does create standard SE user, but not a SE password, so they are not able to login if they signed up using Facebook.
March 30, 2010
Sorry, it does create a password, but it is not the same as the Facebook password, I guess it’s a random password.
March 30, 2010
Thanks for making a great plug-in but…
This plug-in would be very desirable if you including the basic functions such as the ability to display SE’s albums, chat, and video. These are the main things that people visit social sites for. At least consider the pictures as that one feature will make the plug-in worth it alone.