Add-On Releases - Mobile Phone / iPhone / PDA Detection and Style Assignment

This add-on will detect most mobile phones, iPhones, PDAs and other mobile browsing devices and automatically for the user to a specific vBulletin style.

Release Information
1.0.1 Initial release for 3.8 ported over from 3.7 version

THIS IS IDENTICAL CODE TO THE 3.7 RELEASE!

I only re-released as soooo many people ask the question "is this OK for 3.8" You do not need to upgrade if you already have installed! However - should there be any changes in the future, it will likely happen here.

What can it do?
Detects most mobile phones and force the user to a specific style (users will not be able to select other styles from a mobile device with this add-on installed). If you have multiple styles installed which are optimized for small screen mobile devices, iPhones, WIndows Mobile devices you can assign a specific style to each of these groups.

Whilst designed with mobile device users in mind, you could also assign styles to self defined browsers. For example you can assign an alternative style to Internet Explorer users whilst Firefox users get the default style. You could also assign an alternative style to Google or Yahoo spiders.

Instructions:
0. Install styles which you wish to assign to Mobile/PDA/iPhone users - some links will appear at the bottom of this post
1. Download the product file
2. Install via Product Manager
3. Configure options via vBulletin Options, Mobile Device Detection (should appear at end)
4. Start browsing from your mobile device!
5. Click "Mark as Installed"

If upgrading from a previous 3.5 or 3.6 version, you will need to uninstall that and the install this one.

To uninstall simply uninstall the product - there are no database changes or additional files.

Styles released on vBulletin which you can use:
Dartho's Mobile, Cell, Phone, PDA, iPhone Style for vBulletin 3.7 (<-- yep, that's mine)
ElForro's iPhone / iPod Touch Optimized Style
Zachery's vB Lite Style
vBMechanics Mobile Alabama Style

Due to the stripped down nature of these mobile styles, you will find that most for 3.5 and 3.6 will work quite happily on 3.5, 3.6, 3.7 & 3.8 although additional features introduced in vBulletin in recent years such as Social Groups, Blogs and Photo Galleries will not show well on a small screen. All should display your actual forums well.

[Simon Lloyd]

Originally Posted by dartho

mm... Try adding "Windows NT" to the exclusions section?

You could of course add "opera" to this section, but then all the opera mobiles wouldn't get picked up.

Just don't add any strings with commas for slashes

Thanks, that seems to have done the trick for now, i will post back any other bugs found.

[Jhonnydc]

Hello... one question...

I have installed this mod.. but...
If i go on my forum with the iphone style it's ok... if I click on "NORMAL VERISION" I view the default style and:
the align's forum isn't perfect and the zoom on the iphone is disabilited...

If i view my forum with default style in the Iphone with this mod disabilited.. it's all ok...
Why???Solution???

[dartho]

If this mod is installed, you sholdn't be able to view the default style from a mobile device? That aside, I have no idea! a URL may help?

[GoTTi]

hey is this working with vb4?

[dartho]

yep

[H_CAGE]

Did it's work for Vb 4.0 ?
Regards

[H_CAGE]

Sorry I didn't last post before me .. thanks.

[Simon Lloyd]

Dartho, i seem to have a problem, i've been losing visibility in Google and no longer appeared on page one, when i checked it seems google were picking up the mobile style rather than the main style?

I've disabled this for now could you shed any light on it?

[dartho]

I know google crawlers present themselves as desktop and mobile devices and would as such trigger this add-on. I wouldn;t think it would dilute your google presence as the same content is being presented.

I actually have "google" as one of my custom strings so that google always gets the mobile style - it saves me many, mnay gigabytes of bandwidth a month (although google does also hide itself sometimes too)

[Simon Lloyd]

Thanks for replying, i'll take a look at the mobile style, maybe it's something i'm missing or haven't done.

Interesting take on setting google etc as a custom string (can you show me how to do that?) would it be possible to have all spiders from the vbulletin spiders.xml to get the mobile style? and would the spiders still pick up the same content?, as with your styles you only see the link and no text until you click through the link.

Probably not explaining myself well but hope you get what i mean.