Comparison

Shady Side vs BGXCommander

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Shady Side

Access school directories, news, and calendars on the go. This app provides quick access to important information for students, faculty, and parents, including contact details and event schedules.

Highlights
  • School news updates
  • Event calendar with filters
  • Faculty and student directory
  • Contact information access
  • Athletic schedules and scores
  • Quick access to school links
Features
Read full description

The Shady Side app provides parents, students, and faculty members with all the information they need in one place, conveniently accessed and explicitly formatted for consumption on their mobile devices. The App includes: - Blogs, news and announcements - Pictures and documents - Calendar events - Constituent directory and more Download the app today to ensure you are always aware of the most important news, announcements, and calendar events, and you have access to the most current community directory. Users can: - Browse the latest published photos - Filter content and store those preferences for subsequent use - Catch up on current news - Browse calendars for information about upcoming events. Filter calendars to see the events most relevant to their interests - Quickly find faculty, parent, and student contact information - Email a constituent directly from your device The information in the Shady Side app is drawn from the same source as the Shady Side website. Privacy controls restrict sensitive information only to authorized users

About

BGXCommander

This application facilitates communication with Silicon Labs BGX modules via Bluetooth Low Energy. It allows users to scan, connect, send and receive data, and execute commands remotely. An interactive tutorial guides users through the mobile Xpress library features.

Highlights
  • Connect to BGX modules
  • Send and receive ASCII data
  • Execute remote commands
  • Interactive tutorial
  • Over-the-air updates
Features
Read full description

Current: BGX Commander demonstrates connection and communication with Silicon Labs BGX modules. The app interfaces with BGX devices using the mobile Xpress library framework, which is a code base specially designed to simplify BLE communication with BGX in iOS apps. Source code for this app and the mobile Xpress library can be found at https://github.com/SiliconLabs/wireless-xpress. Using this app, you can: • Scan and connect with the BGX13P module on Silicon Labs BGX EXP evaluation boards • Send and receive ASCII data in ‘stream’ mode • Execute commands on the BGX module remotely using the ‘command API’ mode • Step through an interactive tutorial highlighting mobile Xpress library features • Update the BGX using OTA

Screenshots

Shady Side4 screens
BGXCommander4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: BGXCommander at 5.0 against Shady Side's 3.1. BGXCommander also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.5). Shady Side's advantage is ratings volume (8 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BGXCommander holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shady Side has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shady Side ships an update every 7 months, BGXCommander every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Shady Side versus BGXCommander: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShady SideBGXCommander
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.1 (8 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews40.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings8 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.512.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size94 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShady Side AcademySilicon Labs

Customer experience

Shady Side

All ratings8 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative40.0%

BGXCommander

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Shady Side

No in-app purchases

None

BGXCommander

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shady Side free?
Shady Side is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BGXCommander free?
BGXCommander is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Shady Side or BGXCommander?
BGXCommander is rated higher. Shady Side averages 3.1 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while BGXCommander averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Shady Side or BGXCommander have ads?
Neither Shady Side nor BGXCommander shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shady Side or BGXCommander?
Shady Side ships an update every 7 months, and BGXCommander every 2 months. Most recently, Shady Side was updated on November 1, 2026 and BGXCommander on November 2, 2026.

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