Mobile Brickset is live

 

  • Mobile Brickset is live

    Posted by Huw, 23 May 2010 10:17. Filed under Brickset.

    I'm pleased to announce that a version of Brickset optimised for browsers in smartphones and other devices with small screens is now live. It's at http://m.brickset.com. If you're using one of the common mobile devices to view this page you shoud be greeted with a nice big link to it at the top, and there's also a link to it in the menu.

    It is NOT intended to be a complete replacement for the main site, it complements it. It is deliberately lightweight so that it loads quickly on even the slowest GPRS links. It provides links to the main site on every page so that you can easily access content that isn't available on the mobile site if you're on a fast connection.

    I've tested it thoroughly on my Android phone and my daughter's iPod and it is optimised for the screen size of these devices and the iPhone. It also works on my other daughter's Blackberry and beta testers have tried it on a myriad of other devices and have reported success. If you have an iPhone/iPod I have provided a screen icon which will automatically be used if you bookmark it.

    In future, if it becomes widely used, I will provide some form of price comparison functionality and links to eBay/Amazon/LEGOshop.com and possibly also integrate barcode scanning on Android devices.

    I'd like to thank everyone who tested it, provided feedback and helped me solve the iPhone display problems.

    So, give it a go and let me know what you think.


    40 comments, latest one posted 36 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)
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Comments

Posted by Emerald Night in United States, 23 May 2010 10:33

So far so good.

Posted by collectormom in United States, 23 May 2010 11:08

Yup, so far so good

Posted by Icarax123 in United Kingdom, 23 May 2010 11:28

Just tried it on my iTouch, very good. Great job Huw!

Posted by vynsane in United States, 23 May 2010 12:05

I like that you went with a platform-independent mobile site as opposed to a platform-specific closed app. It's more flexible for you to develop new features across the board and also makes it more accessible. Good show!

Posted by jaredchan in Hong Kong, 23 May 2010 12:06

Using it with my iPod touch and it's functioning seamlessly, thanks Huw! By the way, how do I modify my own/ want list without going back to the main site?
Once again, very nice work!

Posted by legocity1 in United Kingdom, 23 May 2010 12:11

excellent work huw

Posted by refriedbeans in United States, 23 May 2010 12:15

Very awesome!!!! :)

Posted by Modeltrainman in United States, 23 May 2010 12:15

Thank you! It works on ZuneHD!

Posted by markwell in United States, 23 May 2010 12:36

I agree with vynsane's sentiments. Excellent choice. I also would like to second jaredchan's suggestion: one of the common things to do "on the run" is buy a set at the store and want to check it off the wanted list.

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 23 May 2010 12:49

I may well add the 'I own/I want' functionality soon!

Posted by legobob in United States, 23 May 2010 13:49

cool can you explain why you did this again

Posted by Matthew in United Kingdom, 23 May 2010 14:20

I can see the banner 'Viewing on a mobile device?' in Google Chrome, my default browser (on PC) is this meant to happen?

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 23 May 2010 14:41

@LegoCoastGuard, thanks, hopefully it's gone now.

Posted by VWBeetle1626 in Poland, 23 May 2010 14:47

Very good, very good. Now I have Brickset all the time ;-)

Posted by Greyface in United States, 23 May 2010 15:33

Darn wish I had a mobile phone!

Posted by DrDaveWatford in United Kingdom, 23 May 2010 15:35

Fantastic job, Huw - many thanks !

Posted by BionicleBOOM in United States, 23 May 2010 15:37

iPhone already has several apps for barcode scanning, Huw, you might wanna include that for the iPhone as well. The iPod doesn't have a camera of course, but the iPhone does.

Posted by StarWarsManiac in United States, 23 May 2010 16:24

Darn, I was on Brickset's mobile website, and was about to log in when my iPod died. I'll have to try it later. :-0

Posted by Worker Joe in United States, 23 May 2010 16:57

Cool! I just clicked the link on my computer [I know it's supposed to be on a mobile device] and it looks great! Nice job!

Posted by marcello51 in Brazil, 23 May 2010 18:11

holy moly,that´s a good thing.

Posted by MasterOfDisaster in United States, 23 May 2010 18:17

It works great.

Posted by wiwaedu in Spain, 23 May 2010 18:52

Good news!!!

Posted by BionicleBOOM in United States, 23 May 2010 21:01

Just checked it out on my mom's iPhone, looks good Huw! :-)

Posted by The Guy With The Bricks in United States, 23 May 2010 22:49

Excellent on my HTC Eris running Android. This is very helpful Huw! Very sleek and streamlined.

Posted by washen in United States, 23 May 2010 23:41

Looks great Huw. I love using my Nintendo DSi to check Brickset, but now it's super fast! Thanks! (P.S. I sent this comment via my DSi :-)

Posted by jpmanalo in Australia, 24 May 2010 06:24

Great stuff Huw! I've been using Brickset mobile for a couple of days now on my iPhone, and the usabilty aspect of the mobile site is brilliant (IMHO). Dare I say, that there are a number of other "mobile-enhanced" sites that I access that could learn a thing or two from front-end you have developed for Brickset mobile. Further, your commitment to helping the greater LEGO Fan community through Brickset is to be highly commended.

All of the additional functionality you have/are adding is really appreciated by both myself, and I'm sure, by the many, many LEGO enthusiasts around the world.

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 24 May 2010 12:33

@jpmanalo, thanks for your kind words: it's comments like that that make it all worthwhile.

Posted by cosmo040 in United States, 24 May 2010 14:45

Please do add the I want/ I have functionality. It will be great when out shopping to see what is needed.

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 24 May 2010 16:06

@cosmo040, log in, click on 'Me' and there's your wanted list.

Posted by legofanatic2414 in United States, 24 May 2010 18:15

Thats great! I now have something to do during plane flights! ;)

Posted by Jayko543 in United States, 24 May 2010 20:26

I trying this on my dads blackberry curve and the links to the news articles are not working! I am posting this on the main site.

Posted by gjhartog in Netherlands, 25 May 2010 03:46

Works very fast and intuitive! Thanx!
(sent from iPhone)

Posted by brickzone in Ireland, 25 May 2010 04:16

I have an ordinary non-smartphone that I use from time to time for simple web queries (news, weather, facts from google) with image loading turned off. Unfortunately m.brickset.com doesn't work on it (it displays "file format unknown") though some ordinary brickset pages can be viewed by visiting via Google search results (Google will render a special dumb phone version).

As regards Lego search on Google I've used my phone in the past when out and about for a quick check on part count or RRP for a set that I'm considering buying (e.g. one I wouldn't normally buy but appears to be a good deal on sale).

Posted by arctrooper170 in United States, 25 May 2010 10:38

Thanks for doing this Huw, makes it easy to check Brickset all the time. Works great and no flaws that I've noticed

Posted by atkinsar in United Kingdom, 25 May 2010 15:48

Great work Huw, I've gone from not thinking I'd use the mobile site to using it all the time, even on a wireless network. Think you must have nailed it :-)

Posted by Leemonlime in United States, 25 May 2010 18:23

Very cool! I hoped something like this was in the works, but didn't dare ask. The site loaded quickly and is easy to see and use on my BlackBerry Storm. . .I would definitely be thrilled with adding "I own/I want" and also being able to see friends' "I want" lists. . .my daughter keeps her wish list on the site also, LOL. Nice work!

Posted by BatonMedved in Russian Federation, 26 May 2010 17:22

HTC Legend, goes smoothly.

Posted by bionicleboy95 in N/A, 26 May 2010 18:10

Another iPod touch, the sight is seamless so far! Great job.

(posted from iPod touch)

Posted by Holodoc in Netherlands, 27 May 2010 05:17

Thank you very much for doing this!
It works perfectly on my HTC HD2, where I'm currently writing this text on. This is a great addition to the site!
Now I always can have my whishlist with me. :-)

Posted by enki.0042 in South Africa, 28 May 2010 09:58

Works cool on Blackberry too!

Commenting has ended on this article.