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Ideally, we really need to be able to manage our inquiries on the go, on a mobile. However, the popups for email templates don't line up with the edge of the screen and make it hard to get anything done. I notice on a desktop, it frequently asks if we want mobile mode, but I don't get that same question on a mobile? Are there ways to auto-detect which browser is being used so it can automatically present us the correct version? Any other solutions to making this work on a mobile? A mobile app in the works? Thanks!!

 
6 Responses:

John Amato, December 10, 2014:

Steve what device(s) are you trying to use?
Steve Sasman, December 10, 2014:

A Samsung Note II with a huge screen...so if it's hard on my phone I would imagine it's more problematic on smaller phones...but hopefully it's an issue specific to me? I also have an iPad, but haven't tried that yet...
John Amato, December 10, 2014:

Prologue: just to be clear: a huge screen is 27". The Note 2 has a larger screen than most mobile devices, but we're still talking pretty tiny.

Generally speaking, we've found it very (very) difficult to create useful displays for accomplishing significant tasks on a 4" - 6" screen.

I think it just comes down to real-estate: there's only so much you can cram into the tiny screen of a typical hand-held phone/gadget.

Take the Dashboard ==> Master Calendar for example: how can we make that look and function usefully on a 4" screen? If you've seen an example somewhere that you like, or if you want to mock-up something that you have in mind, please send it to us (or post it here).

Phones are fun, but their expected use is in the realm of browsing simple sites, Facebooking, texting, selfies, etc. I think the practical reality may just be that expecting to run meaningful, complex software to automate your business requires a superior device - at least a tablet of 8 or 9 inch display. And we seem to have many members using those with success. Give it a try on your iPad, I'm curious to see how that goes for you.

We do welcome ideas; please share what you've found elsewhere, or like I said even draw something out on paper and scan it in to post here or send to us.
Steve Sasman, December 11, 2014:

I will test out the iPad, but I believe phones are not only used very heavily now, but will only be more so in the near future. Look at AirBnB. One of the biggest reasons for their amazing adoption rate is the fact the mobile experience is seamless, and just as functional for both booking a VR as a traveler as well as managing the VR as a host.

Check out this article 2 years ago (I'm sure the numbers now blow that away) http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/27/airbnb-1-million-mobile-downloads/ I think about 1/3 of their biz is now from mobile - a lot more than just selfies Granted, they have massive dev resources, but it does prove the power of great design.

I think the main thing a BV user would need to do on a mobile is to reply to inquiries on the go. No, we don't need to be able to do a whole slew of admin work on a mobile....but converting bookings asap is vital to success. So maybe a mobile friendly version specifically for this purpose? Maybe have 2 links in the email for a booking request: one for regular, one for mobile version so we can click on the right one from the email? Currently the pop up for "generate email" does not center on mobile and won't scroll, and you can't see or easily click on the links on the right hand side. Happy to do a Google hangout if you want to go over a bunch of ideas. Thx!
John Amato, December 17, 2014:

We plan to update several of the "Dashboard" pages to be mobile-friendly, based on the increasingly popular Bootstrap framework (developed by Twitter).

Sounds like maybe the next best one to attempt might be the Booking Details page. Is that what you're describing with the email preview pop-up?
KathyandJim, March 29, 2015:

John,

Until recently, I have been able to send out quotes easily from my ipad without much trouble at all. Lately, I am having trouble with the inquiry not saving as a booking request. The system just hangs and never saves. If I go to the desktop, it works fine and I can save it and e-mail the quote. I use Bookerville a lot on my ipad when traveling and need to be able to continue doing this. Any clue as to what might be going on?
Kathy

 
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