Abysmal
Even worse than the last 2 years' versions-the developers of this app would do well to spend a couple of hours studying usability in software. Just to name a few things that made this app a mess: there was no map of the campus (to see where buildings were located, some people may have figured out they are labeled in Google Maps as a workaround), insanely long lists of authors, events, etc. were not sortable alphabetically—only sorted in the default chronological by event time, etc. This app was did not keep up with the frenetic pace that the event demands–I hope U of A can get some beginning programmer college students to do this next year—with a few hours of work they could totally destroy this pile.
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Can't update my app
Seems that whoever wrote the Obamacare website is designing the iPhone app for the Tucson Festival of Books.
There are in fact some iDevices that CAN'T update to the iOS 7, and other individuals who WON'T update to it, and yet this particular app REQUIRES it. So those with older devices and those who refuse to update to the iOS 7 are stuck without being able to use this app.
And of course the app is made solely and only for the iPhone. It is not universal for both the iPhone and the iPad, just like the University of Arizona's own school app.
Last year's app left much to be desired in leaving out a grid or way of finding events. I still had to rely on the printed paper that proliferates at the festival. I was hoping that the app would eliminate the need for such a thing.
I find it disturbing that people at the University of Arizona, who are supposed be on the cutting edge of education, can't even design an iPhone app that does the job it's supposed to do.
There are in fact some iDevices that CAN'T update to the iOS 7, and other individuals who WON'T update to it, and yet this particular app REQUIRES it. So those with older devices and those who refuse to update to the iOS 7 are stuck without being able to use this app.
And of course the app is made solely and only for the iPhone. It is not universal for both the iPhone and the iPad, just like the University of Arizona's own school app.
Last year's app left much to be desired in leaving out a grid or way of finding events. I still had to rely on the printed paper that proliferates at the festival. I was hoping that the app would eliminate the need for such a thing.
I find it disturbing that people at the University of Arizona, who are supposed be on the cutting edge of education, can't even design an iPhone app that does the job it's supposed to do.
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No functionality
The alphabetical author sort is sorta useful, leading you to an author's appearances/events.
BUT you can't sort authors by genre, and WORST of all, there is no way to "favorite" an event or create a calendar.
You would think the purpose of an app would be to save time. Unfortunately to use this app you'll have to tap through multiple pages each time you open it. Your advance work on this app cannot be "saved."
BUT you can't sort authors by genre, and WORST of all, there is no way to "favorite" an event or create a calendar.
You would think the purpose of an app would be to save time. Unfortunately to use this app you'll have to tap through multiple pages each time you open it. Your advance work on this app cannot be "saved."
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Update or reinstall?
First I let it update from 2012 to 2013 versions, but then I couldn't figure out how to edit or delete favorites.
Deleting and reinstalling the app gave me a clean slate that seems to be working OK.
Deleting and reinstalling the app gave me a clean slate that seems to be working OK.
Downloaded and almost promptly deleted
Knowing that the TFOB website would be popular, I downloaded the app... warily. I'm not a fan of the AZDS app, and this was developed by the same crew. My skepticism was well-founded. As has been mentioned by other reviewers, the Authors tab crashed the app - repeatedly. Another big beef - many of the events I clicked on listed no venue. What could have been a useful tool was rendered useless by bad design. The physical newspaper schedule saved the day. Bummer, guys.
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Good concept, Bad execution
Love the set up of the app and being able to put things in my festival. But the app keeps crashing when I go to the authors list!
Constantly crashes
I am giving this 3 stars but that is generous. The app crashes regularly and there are large portions of data missing (for instance, the authors list is empty and every update that runs crashes the app). Future versions also really need some search capability and a map - preferably location aware. Maybe this app has that already under INFO, but that's another part of the interface that I can't access without a crash. I will forward crash logs via the support site if possible. Thanks for at least trying - it's not easy to manage apps like this that center around an annual event...but please put more time and testing into it next time! It really needs some help.
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Crashing
Great app for volunteers...I used it while volunteering in 2011. Looking forward to using it again on my iPhone. One problem: any time I try to access the list of authors, the app crashes! A fix by next week would be helpful
Good start
You can only search authors, events and exhibitors alphabetically. This app will be handy if you already know what you want to find. It would be much more useful if you could search by genre. I would also love to see a map of the event that could be enlarged to the size of an iPad screen.
Could be So Much Better
I didn't end up using this app because it was mainly a long list of sessions and it was just easier to use the printed schedule, as we could mark interesting sessions and see more details than this app provided. My advice: 1) add a search function, 2) allow me to mark sessions as favorites so I can view my own custom session list and not have to scroll through the entire list each time, 3) allow filtering the list by time - no need to look at sessions that are over, 4) add a map - since this app didn't have one, we had to get a paper schedule anyway, 5) leverage the Internet and include links to author websites, etc.
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