Hi Moodlers,
My apps, mPage and mBook are updated here under.
iOS apps can be found updated here.
Hi to all iOS device users,
mPage2G is one app for all devices.
- The latest version supports iPad full-screen display (without the Split View).
- It also supports iPhone 2G, 3G, iOS 4 and 5; iPad 1 and 2; and iPod Touch.
- mPage 2G combines mPage and mBook, and for this summer it is sold at the same price as mPage.
Comparing our apps
mPage |
mBook |
mPage2G |
|
| Supporting iOS device | iPhone/iPod Touch | iPad 1 & 2 | iPhone/iPod Touch/ iPad 1 & 2 |
| Supporting iOS | iOS 3.2.1 later | iOS 3.2 later | All |
| App features | All | All | does not support Map and Contacts (=Locations/Numbers blocks) except Campus block |
| Appearance | iPhone-size view | Enhanced Split-view on rotations |
Enlarged iPhone on iPad-size view |
A few apps claim that they are iOS apps. If you study the following table, you will easily find that they are actually web browser without any iOS features. Only mPage and mBook are the real iOS apps. Don't get cheated by fake apps!!
Comparing mobile access for your Moodlesites
| Features | mPage/mBook/mPage2G latest 1.3.0 |
apps based on web parsing latest |
based on modifications of Moodlesites files |
| Moodlesites 1.9.x | supported | supported | not known |
| Moodlesites 2.x | (to be launched) | supported | not known |
| webservice files | needed (download from here) |
not needed | not needed |
| Time to login | 2.5s | 11.4s | to compare later |
| Time to enter course | 2.5s | 7.8s | . |
| My Moodle support (displaying My Courses) |
supported | supported | . |
| Course Categories and Enrollments |
supported | NA | . |
| Moodle Front page | supported | NA | . |
| Moodle Front page admin editing | supported | NA | . |
| Moodle Calendar blocks | supported with our own UI (user-interface) |
NA | . |
| Moodle Profile editing | supported | NA | . |
| Moodle Site News | supported | NA | . |
| Journal, Glossaries, Assignments, Forums, Quiz | supported with our own UI (posting and attempts) |
same as Safari (need enlarging always) |
. |
| Resources items (doc, xls, ppt, pdf) |
all supported | opened as Safari | . |
| Media files (mp3, mp4, m4v, etc) |
playback with iOS media player |
need downloading and opened in Safari |
. |
| Activities block | supported | supported | . |
| Language and multilanguage filter | six languages supported | NA | . |
| Storage of Moodlesites URL, usernames and passwords |
supported | supported | . |
| Uploading and downloading features |
mFolder (even via iTunes app interface) |
supported | . |
| School campus features | Our Campus Block supports 2 dbase: Location block displays campus map; Number block displays faculty phone contacts |
NA | . |
Remark: ONLY mPage and mBook offer you the real apps with iOS capabilities. Please check out our latest coming 1.3.0 version and you will know why.
Hi to all iOS users,
The tips below are my advices for everyone to consider before purchasing an app for your iPhone and iPad:
1. browsing ------ try to search for the word "browser" at the app store, and you will definitely find tons of apps that you can get to browse your Moodle servers. Remember most of them are FREE, with downloading features, though the login time and parsing time are still quite slow. Some allow 11 themes, 10 tabs, full screen browsing, multi-touch gesture, file manager, autofill, bookmarks, saving images, and many features. As iOS users, we all understand they are substitutes for Safari. You can call them apps, but I prefer naming them "browsers". Do they offer more features than the "browser" claimed to be our competitor? Sure. If your "app" is a browser for Moodle, the above browsers are your competitors, not us. Don't pick the wrong competitor.
2. appearance ---- there are many iOS User Interface designs, but the most standard elements look like the "Table form" (like Mail), the "Split view" (like Notes), the "Calendar", etc. which are mainly designed for easy access on our finger-tips. We all know Steve Jobs and understand what his designs are. We have the same minimum requirements on what apps should behave. The navigation of mPage and mBook are designed with the above "User Interface". I call them "apps".
3. speed ---- let's gather some more data. All users are welcomed to find out the timing and include your recordings here in the replies. I am sure our findings are close to the average. There's no need to argue over facts.
4. features in the table above ---- let's compare the many features of our apps with the worse-than browser features of our "self-claimed" competitor. Our coming features are even cooler ---- Language lab on iOS devices. Students can record an audio or a video, then upload to forums and assignments in our version 1.3.2 !!!
"Language lab"!!! Let's calm down, shall we? Don't get overly excited.
P.S. to "competitor" if you were: Don't get overly reacted too, especially when truth does not stand by you.
1. browsing -------- There are not tons of moodle browser apps in the appstore, there is only one which is moodlEZ and its customizations. The app description clearly states that moodlEZ is a specialized moodle browser. But this app also brings what is missing in your apps, support for safe browsing is just one of these extra features. Since you prepared the comparision table and blame us for cheating you see some competition challenge so officialy you are competing with moodlEZ. You can prefer them naming as browsers but this is not correct since moodlEZ supports more than just browsing.
2. appearance ------ No need to describe what makes a compiled binary an app in terms of Apple AppStore. Your argument about what should be called real iOS app and what shall not is totally wrong and misleading.
3. speed ----- Users are not responsible or expected to share benchmark results. Your comparision table even does not state if benchmark was performed with WiFi or 3G networks. Basic elements of a benchmark are missing. And yes there is a need to argue over facts specially when so named facts are not backed with detailed reasoning.
4. fatures in the table above --- moodlEZ has support for all the features other than your locations and numbers database. As a mentioned previously we are not claiming comopetition by ourselves accept it or not you are facing competition challange and you are in need to accuse competitors with cheating. Already published versions of mTouch 2.2, mTouch+ 2.2 (customized versions as well ) and moodlEZ 1.2 (customized version as well) already has video/sound recording and upload feature so we are not overly excited.
P.S to "competitor" : Blaming us with cheating is not a truth but is an insult. So every competitor has the right to react on your wrong assumptions and inappropriate language.
You see yourself as monopoly but search iTunes with moodle keyword and you will see this is not true. You are competitor with each Moodle app. I wish you were also aware of the fact that you also compete with your own apps.
Take it easy and think one more time especially about the "cheating" part of your initial post. Leaving out all the technical debate this is not true.
1. Let's get a stop watch (at 21:11, prime busy hours in H.K.) at UTC+8
A. Under a Wifi connection (on a D-Link618 model), let's compare the login time at http://moodle.hk from
- Macbook Safari : 6.5s
- mPage: 4.3s (my version 1.3.2 may work a bit longer)
- a parsing browser: 9.8s
- iPhone Safari: 6.1s
B. Continue to enter the same course, course id=74
- Macbook Safari: 4.3s
- mPage: 2.1s
- a parsing browser: 8.6s
- iPhone Safari: 5.3s
C. Under 3G connection in the heart of our city and login again:
- mPage: 6.4s
- a parsing browser: 10.5s
- iPhone Safari: 9s
D. Under 3G connection and enter the same course:
- mPage: 3.2s
- a parsing browser: 11.2 s
- iPhone Safari: 7.7s
Remark: please note that for whatever resource you access, the time to wait is similar. So beware that you always leave your course in the above parsing browser and you have to count the extra time to get back. Prepare for much much more time when using that "browser"!
2. Our coming version 1.3.2 supports all these functions: (NOT found in any so called competitors):
- teacher editing mode;
- voice recording and video recording, all in-app features;
- quiz centre including the newly added "Ordering" question type;
- calendar events: editing and adding for teachers and students;
- full forums posting and reply features for all roles;
- assignment and forum uploading, inlcluding voice files;
- front page admin editing mode;
- course enrollment keys;
- LDAP, and most authentication;
- our own Map and Contacts blocks making use of the database module.
3. Our roadmap includes the coming supports of Choice, Chats, Message, Activity Locking, Book, Certificate, Blogs and Safe exam browsing at Quiz. Our naviagtion is reasonable and easy to follow.
4. To all educational institutions: please consider our promise in development and join us! Register before 1st Nov 2011 and get a 2-year FREE of a 3-year custom branding package. Contact james@moodle.hk for more details.
P.S. We have not blamed anyone.
To all Moodlers, our advice means think twice and pick wise.
There's no monopoly. We actually welcome competitions.
BTW, please come to http://moodle.hk/download and check out our plugins for the community, other than our iOS apps.
Cheers
Hi,
I would like to make some points clearer about what makes an app a real iOS app. Here is my conclusion
- Being approved by Apple and being available on the Apple AppStore
- Being able to run on iOS (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch), which means your app executes real iOS machine code
- Following the iOS User Interface Design Guidelines
- Being able to use the official iOS APIs and Frameworks such as DocumentInteractionController found in UIKit Framework
Parsing html markup is just a method for consuming domain data. If you blame apps using this method as not being real iOS apps one has the right to argue that using JSON data (your web service like php page just returns JSON and that JSON contains some HTML markup so in theory your apps are consuming HTML data as well) also makes an app a fake iOS app.
Another problem with your post is that you have a comparision table but you do not describe the benchmarking method. The column says "Apps Based On Web Parsing" and you give 11.4 s for a benchmark subject. Does this value mean average of all web parsing based apps or something different? How should i read this as a user?
As the vendor and team lead of a competing product blaming others with cheating is not a nice method. Competition has other instruments other than publishing incomplete benchmarks and accusing competitors with cheating the end users. You can compete with your price, with the features of your apps, with promotions and other regular instruments. But blaming competitiors with cheating is not well received in business. Competition shall bring advantage and more cool features/functions to the end user and as competitors we have this responsibility against the Moodle community and end users. Please take this fact into consideration before making incorrect assumptions next time you post something.