Thread: Sidebar (beta): Personalized mobile news

Today seems to be the absolute 'beta' day: 'Sidebar delivers what's new just for you'

OK, after I've installed the app, I had to manually allow all permissions via options/applications to get it to run properly, and, to be honest, I am far from fully understanding all the features of this app. Yet, it is claiming, that it is delivering mobile content, just filtered to suit my personal needs, only. Hm. Curious how this could work? Me, too! Here's the link to download:

• Download Sidebar (beta)

The web site lists certain carriers that this will work on.
It also has a bar code on the left of the page and as my carrier is not listed I scanned it.
Downloaded no problem and installed in a few clicks.
Seems fine at the moment but I will play tonight and tomorrow and give you all a review.

Laters...

Oh, yes, sorry, forgot to tell, I went for the bar code install as well! So, let's see, what it is doing for us

Ok so this evening I have had a play and it gives lots of tips on start up.
The screens dont rotate very quickly when scrolling but its not too slow.
I have found the controls to delete content that doesnt interest me but I have not found where to get content that does?

i have set the options in preferences but it only gives the options to be interested in:
Entertainment
Green Planet
Humor
Deals and Steals
Health Mind & Body
Style & Culture
Modern Man
News & Info

It doesnt tell you what is in these sections so i guess they are going to upload content they think is right for you?

One good thing i have found is the ability in the preferences/options to save the data to the SD card in my STORM.
Lets hope it works or I will have no memory by tomorrow night.

thats all i have for now.
i will update again tomorrow night after I have had it 24 hours.
(And yes, dont worry, I will supply this feedback to the makers as well).

Laters......

Without having chosen anything in preferences it suggests and DLs film and entertainment news, famous quotes, parenting advice, stock market and football news, and crazy laws - rotfl, with this combination I am now well prepared to start a new day

What I like, that is offers a bar code reader!

Hi guys,

Thanks for downloading our app! We are excited to have launched for BlackBerry. We have been working hard to make sure that it is a great experience and that it is properly optimized for the platform. Please let us know what you think and if you have any suggestions or you find anything buggy. We are adding content all of the time too, so if you think we missed something that you might like to get feel free to shoot us a note at feedback@sidebar.com.

Thanks again and hope you enjoy!

Jason

Originally Posted by Jason@sidebar

Hi guys,

Thanks for downloading our app! We are excited to have launched for BlackBerry. We have been working hard to make sure that it is a great experience and that it is properly optimized for the platform. Please let us know what you think and if you have any suggestions or you find anything buggy. We are adding content all of the time too, so if you think we missed something that you might like to get feel free to shoot us a note at feedback@sidebar.com.

Thanks again and hope you enjoy!

Jason

Jason thanks for taking the time to address our members.

Originally Posted by Jason@sidebar

Thanks for downloading our app! [...]

Hi Jason, Thanks for stopping by - maybe just a few more words on your app and why we all can't live without it?!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by breiti

Without having chosen anything in preferences it suggests and DLs film and entertainment news, famous quotes, parenting advice, stock market and football news, and crazy laws - rotfl, with this combination I am now well prepared to start a new day

What I like, that is offers a bar code reader!

Have you seen some of the crazy laws? LMSO!!!!!!
So very funny...:laugh2:

Originally Posted by Madasafish

Have you seen some of the crazy laws? LMSO!!!!!!
So very funny...:laugh2:

Indeed, they are 'great', aren't they :banana:

Of course! Overall, it's a must have app because there is so much content out there, and if you aren't paying attention to this stuff every day it can become frustrating to find things beyond the top apps, games, etc... that are already recommended on every app store. So we make it easier for you to find those gems that you will enjoy without having to hunt for it.

But, we also have some really cool things going on in the app:

You already discovered the barcode reader, which links to Google product shopping pages and also supports QR codes. We have a bunch of content that shows you where to "spot" QR codes out in the world to use with our reader. You'll get those soon enough...

We also have a very sophisticated personalization engine. We use your selected preferences to learn a little about you, but the more you click on things and use the thumbs up/thumbs down functionality, the more truly personalized it becomes.

Another item that you may have noticed is streaming video. Our library of video is growing every day. You will likely start with some movie and video game trailers, but expect to see a lot more variety in the future.

So check us out and let me know what you think. We are wide open for any feedback you have.

Cheers!

Jason

OK so the first 24 hours...

After i found the delete (remover content) in the app i quickly got rid of the stuff that didnt interest me.

The HELP section is good and shows how easy the app is to use (thats a good point for me).

It didnt load new content right away but I did expect that, so no problems there.
Later when I went back to the app new content was there along with some of the old ones, unfortunatly it was some of the stuff I gave a thumbs down to previously.

I have carried out the same remove action again and I am now showing five pages instead of the seven I had previously and two of these are the same crazy laws. While funny, an app to bring just those is not really worth it.

I am looking forward to some of the updates Jason says are coming and I will play over the next few days to see what happens.

i will update you again when there is some more news.

(The news app is very good especially if you are in the US. Wider content or national news from where you are? (just a thought).

Laters...

One thing I should add is that i have had no memory or battery problems and the app runs well on my STORM in both landscape and portrait views.

Think I'll give it a try, free is usually a good thing. I'll let you know how it works out on the Tour.

Downloaded and installed without issue. Looks pretty neat. I was able to delete content that I did not find interesting. Can't figure out the scanner though. In most of the tests I tried, it read the bar but then it did not go anywhere? My available memory dropped 4.1 MB after install and playing with it. Rebooting phone now, we'll see what happens. Oh well, so far so good. We will have to wait and see.

I have uninstalled it now.

I selected the content I liked and deleted the content I didn't.
This left me with three content pages yesterday and only two today.

All said the same things as they have said for the last four days, Crazy Laws - the Scottish Toilet.

Yesterday I also had to delete items I had deleted previously.

It could be a good app but... there is not enough content for me just now, it doesnt update enough and it hogged my memory in the end.

Once these bugs are sorted out I hope to try it again, but it really isn't that clever at the moment.

Come on Jason, there is the challenge... bring it on and prove me wrong (oh and by the way, good luck)

So in the end its gone but its interesting and i hope in the future it will work out.

Thats my view, what about yours?

To be honest, you will not find it on my berry any longer as well, due to the same things you've described! Could be a great app...but it'll have to go a bit to really reach it!

I deleted the app as well, my free memory dipped to much for my level of comfort. This morning I was booting up with 101mb free after install I was at 99. Less than 6 hours later I was at 88.3 It had to go.

Great to see we have all come to the same conclusion.
As i said its a pity as the more apps available for the BB the better.
If there is an update I may give it a go again, depends on the change logs.

Laters...