Forum Display Enhancements - 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.

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 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.

3.6 Version can be found here

Marked as Beta until I get some feedback, and 3.7 goes Gold

Release Information
1.0.0 Initial release for 3.7 ported over from 3.6.8 version

[Jase2]

As far as I know Dartho, all settings are correct. I have them set to "yes" and to use the 'mobile' style. Using vB 3.7 RC2. It loads, but it uses my default style.

[dartho]

Is the mobile style in Style manager ticked as user selectable?

[Jase2]

Oops, somehow it wasn't ticked. It's now working. Thanks! Keep up the good work.

[RichTJ99]

Hi,

Is it possible to send a user to the mobile style & then allow them to have the option to leave the mobile style? We have it turned on & some of our users are "stuck" in the style.

I have a Palm Treo 700wx & I am stuck myself

Thanks,
Rich

[dartho]

@RichTJ99 - no, not really with this as it is. There may be work arounds, but they would likely include cookies or DB queries....

I could possibly modify this so that rather than force a mobile style, it just places a link at the top of the page to the mobile style and perhaps a link at the bottom of the page within your mobile style to the full style?

[RichTJ99]

When using fatwallet.com on my treo, it sends me to fatwallet.mobi, there is a link to visit the full version of the site.

Would it be possible to mimic that similar to your suggestion?

Can you put a link to both the mobile & full version styles on the top of each page (for mobile users)? Would that make sense? If its a text link it shouldnt really slow things down (maybe).

Thanks,
Rich

[MissKalunji]

working good so far thanks!

[dartho]

Originally Posted by RichTJ99

When using fatwallet.com on my treo, it sends me to fatwallet.mobi, there is a link to visit the full version of the site.

Would it be possible to mimic that similar to your suggestion?

Can you put a link to both the mobile & full version styles on the top of each page (for mobile users)? Would that make sense? If its a text link it shouldnt really slow things down (maybe).

Thanks,
Rich

If you intend on having a .mobi domain for mobile devices, or even a mobile.mydomain.com subdomain, have a look at "Different Domain, Different Style". That will do what you need. Then it's just a matter of putting links in your navbar or header or where ever you want...

[RichTJ99]

Im just not sure how to get the job done without forcing the user to be stuck using the mobile style.

[dartho]

It sounds like you have a mobi domain, by definition that should be a mobile compliant site.

Rather than forcing them with this addon, simply educate your users - if they want a mobile interface, use .mobi, if they want a full version use the .com You could use DDDS for the .mobi and no detection on the .com and add a link in the .com navbar or footer to the mobile site.

I had a look at your site, and it seems you have something similar to this in place. I'd suggest asking your mobile device using members what they want

Fatwallet looks like it sets cookies to keep track of mobile preferences. A bit outside my area of knowledge at the moment.