Leave a Review FirstClass Mobile
Not that great, but all there is
If your school or business uses FirstClass, you'll download this because it's all there is. Unfortunately, though, this is a poorly designed and executed app that is almost impossible to use.
Most importantly, the app leaves all your sent mail in your in-box. There is no way to change this. If you send/receive a lot of email and have a lot of on-going exchanges, your in-box ends up as a confusing morass of sent/received items that are difficult, if not impossible, to tell apart. This by itself makes the app almost useless as a way to communicate effectively.
Equally frustrating is that the app only displays recipients in the "To:" field when you reply to a message. To add or see cc: or bcc: recipients, you have to make extra taps. As a result, addressing your messages appropriately is often a frustrating process, and it's hard to feel sure about who your message is going to.
Finally, it's just buggy. For example, you can open a message, read and delete it, then return to your in-box to see the message still there.Show lesstopskyasdgasd
*Must* have ability to "Open In ..."
I use Firstclass Mobile constantly and, for the most part, it is adequate. However, as a teacher who has, over 8 years, built my entire course management approach around the use of Firstclass conferences, an essential and missing feature is to be able to open attachments and files in another app like iAnnotate or Keynote. This ability is fundamental to how we have integrated Firstclass with our campus laptops and desktops. As we are moving to a 1to1 iPad program in the very near future, the lack of this ability will cause major problems with our workflow.
Many iPad apps provide this feature and it is an essential requirement for Firstclass to be a viable groupware offering on the iPad.Show lessWombatsFromSpace
Multitasking not implemented well
I use this app frequently throughout the day for work. Unfortunately, with this update, you aren't taken to the login screen when you open it. The bad thing about this is that since you can't keep a connection to the server all day, you are constantly forced to log back in. This was fine when you were directed to the login page upon running the app. Now, you are taken to the last message/container/conference you were in, given a connection error message, and have to back up several steps to the login page. Then log out and back in then navigate back to where you were. This is a huge pain. I reinstalled the old version and will not take this update until this is better implemented. At least take me to the login page automatically if the app is run and connection was lost. It would be nice if you could log back in and keep your place, but I know the desktop client doesn't even do this...Show lessSirvolley
Thumbs up!
I love FirstClass for email and its conferences. I even use the built in webserver with the blog support. I love that I can get to my email from a Windows, Mac, or Linux client as well as via the web, POP, and even telnet. The jwhole system's just so fast and the filtering and searching are so nice. Makes going through many years of emails to find somyething specific a breeze. Best of all, the system's hosted by my school, not some giant corp with an interest in selling information about me.
Now there's even this very slick iPhone app! Fantastic!Show lessJollyGreenJoe
Love it!
This is exactly what I needed. I use it on my iPod touch to connect to my school email. It works very well for me, I don't really care about push notifications or anything because I don't mind checking it once and a while.
It's quick, simple, and has everything that I have needed, at least so far. It is so much better than when I had to navigate to my school's website and login there.
I love this app. It's straight forward, easy to set up, and great to keep up to date. It's probably the application that I use the most.Show lessSublime51
My Eyes...
I can't think of a more aesthetically displeasing application that I have bought. The only reason I purchased the app was to access my school's firstclass server. Admittedly, I didn't expect much, but I can't stand how it looks and feels. The app needs A LOT of work. The developers worked hard to emulate the iPhone's home screen, but it comes out ugly and a lot of the design choices give me a headache everytime I have to open the app.
I'd love to see a complete redesign of the app because there are a lot of usability issues with the way the app behaves. Also the icons have so little meaning, I have to tap them and see what they do to figure it out. The app uses different icons than you'd expect for things like searching.
Anyways, the most important thing I think the developers of the iPhone (and desktop clients needs) to do is to overhaul the interface to match the simplicity of the concept. However, I'm not optimistic because in the about 4 years my school has been using firstclass, there has been little to no progress on this front.
I know some people will think that I'm being overdramatic with the aesthetics, but to me the way you interact with the service is just as important as the service itself (which is pretty much how the iPhone is designed). If I have to look at this app several times a day, I'd better like what I'm looking at.Show lessGoRoderickGo
Update
So far the update is a good addition but there are still improvements. Please add mailbox options I don't like seeing sent draft and new emails all at the same time. Also please try to add the calendars that would be a big help. Another great function that would be good to have is being able to move around the icons like you can on the desktop version. There is no need to have to scroll over 3 pages just to get to my school. This would make it much faster. But thanks for making this app I don't always have the ability to access a computer so it helps me be able to check my mail anywhere.Show lessRedPhoenix789
Works, but not all features available
Search was fairly ineffective, the user interface uses different icons and gestures than the iPhone OS 2.2.1 or 3.0 Mail application for the same functions. Not clear how to forward or reply to a document (such as an uploaded picture). Option to delete e-mails requires the gesture rather than a dedicated "Edit" or "Delete" button, like found in the Mail application. No customizable settings from the OS Settings area and few customizable options within the app itself. Software identifies itself as Version 1.044 in the information area, not version 10.0, which is what is stated on the App store. Server administration tools do not (unsurprisingly) work as they do in the full client.Show lessSean Herman
good start...still a ways to go
First off, this is an outstanding jump from web access to get at your FC email. The problems I've come across so far: trash can doesn't work..you have to swipe and delete to get rid of messages, calendars aren't accessible, can't use contacts, and the interface is not intuitive...clicking on the bottom icon that looks like the icon to move a message to a folder actually changes your view to the subfolders in your current folders instead of the messages/documents in your current folder....still not sure why we can't see the full contents of a folder all at once....overall, it's a great start...fingers crossed for a quick updateShow lessteacher95
Welcome - but very basic
The long-delayed arrival of this FirstClass Mobile Client should be very welcome for FC users who'd like mobile access. However this is a pretty stripped down release, arguably more of a beta v0.9 than even a v1.0. A number of what should be core functions, such as the ability to quote the original in a message reply, appear to be missing entirely. Others are implemented oddly: for instance although both landscape and portrait modes are supported, once you start typing a message you can't change orientation. There's no instruction or help screen — perhaps with the sparse functionality provided none was thought necessary? The message screen layout has room at the bottom for several times more buttons than are provided, so perhaps we can look forward to them and the corresponding missing functions being added in an update. However the functions that are present appear to work. I experienced no crashes, but did get one "out of device memory" alert that required exiting and restarting the app. Bottom line: much better than web access to your FC system, but falls rather short otherwise.Show lessNCM-Indiana
