The Best forum browsing apps for your iPhone or iPad

What do you think of forums? Did you ever get an answer regarding an issue you experienced? Or did you help someone when he needed, using forums and discussion groups? Are you a member of more than one forums and communities? Then you should continue to read the article.

Well, the history of forums is back in the CompuServe, AOL and USENET days and they were seen like places where people sharing the same hobbies met and talked about what was important for them, giving and receiving advice from the community. Improvements have been made from that moment, as now technology is all about mobile devices. So, the alternative for forums was to turn into apps, available for iPhone and iPad. There are many forums existent at the moment, but we wanted to investigate which is the best forums app.

After searching for all the forums available for the iOS devices, we came to the conclusion that the best of all are Tapatalk 2 (which is available for iPhone)  and Tapatalk HD (which is available for iPad). They are both developed by Quoord Systems. Of course you won’t believe us unless we have some good reasons. And we have! You will find them in the following paragraphs:

In order to be easier to follow, we will split them in chapters, according to the advantages they have:

1/ User interface and design

2/ Forum support

3/ Forum boards: View & Posts

4/ Push notifications & syncing

5/ Price

6/ Extra: The bottom line

First, let’s start with the user interface and design.

What is good to know before we begin:

Tapatalk 2 and Tapatalk HD are 2 different apps according to the device they are used on,  but they have the same functionality, more or less. Of course we should not forget that one is for iPhone and the other for iPad. So, taking into consideration the different user interface elements, we will separate them.

Tapatalk 2 for iPhone: You should know that the 2 in the name comes from the fact that this app is an update to the existing Tapatalk. Regarding the design, after entering the app, you will need to browse the Explore section.

In this section there will be a collection of forums where you can search for different forums.

You will see you have a search bar on the top of the page, which you can use in order to search for the forum you would like to add.

 

What about the system menu?

Well, you will see the differences between other forums and this one by the vertically bottom menu – you know that the others have horizontal bottom one. Here’s how you can deal with it if you want to:

• return to the screen: by sliding to the right on any menu bar.
• want to reveal the main menu: you have 2 options if you are on a top menu; either you tap the menu button in the top left or you slide to the right

Tapatalk 2 has a menu compounded of 4 options. These are: Explore, Accounts, History and Settings.

• With the Explore tab you have the possibility of browsing different forums (in order to find them, they should be compatible with Tapatalk). If you don’t have a preferred one you would like to search for, you can just browse the explore tab in order to find one you would be interested in.
• Next comes the Accounts tab. This will help you cumulate all the forums you are connected to. If you use a Tapatalk ID you can see it at the top of the tab. This is a very helpful function if you use Tapatalk on a regularly bases. But this is something we will detail later in the article. Coming back to the forums, you should know that if you tap on any of the forums listed in the Accounts tab, the program will launch the forum for you.

 

The third tab, the History tab, has the function of showing you all your history in the app, as the name says. It is a very helpful tab, as it helps you go back to different forums you went before, as they are stored in your history.

Last but not least, we present you the Settings tab which helps you edit push notification settings and choose browser settings. Also, you can change the font size of the reading and posting setting, the number of posts shown per page and other options you can discover by yourself browsing this tab.

Now that you know what each tab does, we can actually interact with forums. The method is simple: you use the vertical navigation technique as you do for the main menu of the forum (keep in mind that the navigation may differ from one forum to another, according to each developer of the forum; the implementation might be personalized, but the user experience remains the same).

So, if you want to browse a special forum, you go to the Accounts menu and tap on the preferred forum. The drop down menu that appears gives you the chance to go to different sections, such as: unread, participated, timeline, subscribed, main forum list, search, people, and messages. In order to go to any of them, you just have to tap the section you want to.

Don’t worry! You will enjoy reading forum posts and if you want to post responses you can do it easily, being the same as composing tweets or text messages. Now you can try navigating through Tapatalk 2 on your iPhone! It’s easy and engaging!

When it comes to Tapatalk HD for iPad, the first main difference compared to Tapatalk 2 is that it has the advantage of being used on a larger screen. Although many of the features remain almost the same, there are some options which differentiate this app,as you will see.

Now let’s move forward to the app and see what its menu offers. Launching the Tapatalk HD for iPad will get you through the Home menu.

If you already have a Tapatalk account, you can log in into it. If not, you can create one, following some easy steps. You can explore different forum communities using the navigation menu on the left.

Also, you can find forums you’ve heard of or you already belong to using the static search bar which is on the top.

If you want, you can link forum communities with your Tapatalk HD account. After that, you will easily browse them by following the list from the right side of the screen.

While you browse a forum you will see the menu system that switches to a navigation setup.

The options might be different from forum to forum, but the main ones remain the same, having tabs for gallery, topics, messages, people, search, and. If you are moderator on one or more of the forums you browse, you can also see a moderation tab.

You launch the section wanted by simply tapping on it. There are also sub forum trees which will be shown in the forums window. You have the possibility of discovering them and backtrack them however you want.

Earlier we said about the differences between the iPhone and iPad Tapatalk versions. Well, the most important one is the gallery section on the iPad.

Still, you should keep in mind that this depends on the forum. If it supports it, then you will see a gallery with all the images users upload in real-time. It is a very interesting property and it turns into an addictive activity. A good thing is that you can find threads hard to be discovered otherwise. Still, you might experience nudity or inappropriate images as it might be difficult to expel them. If you want to view images all in one go, then Tapatalk HD on the iPad is the perfect choice. Just try this feature and you will enjoy it, especially if you use it as a moderating tool.

Another difference between the 2 versions of Tapatlk according to the device used is the fact that Tapatalk HD has more moderation tools available. The good news for the iPhone users is that the app might experience an update and also have them, as the original version of Tapatalk  had more moderation options.

If you are familiar with any of them, you can use the other easily, as they have almost the same options and features. We invite you to experience the design of Tapatalk 2 and Tapatalk HD, as you will be pleasant surprised by their interface and design.

Now, let’s move to the forum support.

If you are a user of Tapatalk you will easily see that you have a great selection of forum communities you can browse. That is because over 40,000 different communities are part of the Tapatalk apps, by being added in this “world” and interacting with the users.

You have a specific forum you use? Then you should check if it is compatible with Tapatalk.From our experience we can tell that the forums browsed loaded without any problems on both Tapatalk 2 and Tapatalk HD. You can verify if the preferred forum supports Tapatalk using one of the  2 ways described below:

-      Ask before buying – this is always a safe way

-      Check the posts from other users and see if they appear that are posting from Tapatalk. It implies that the Tapatalk supports the forum in discussion.

Maybe one of the most important aspects of Tapatalk (2 and HD) is that the Explore section helps you find boards and communities you are interested in. Other apps just let you find the ones you already know and connect to them. This is a very good opportunity for a user, as he might discover new forums, maybe ones you wouldn’t have thought about.

Next we move on to forum boards and ways of viewing and posting.

What differentiates these apps from the competitors? The right answer when it comes to forum apps is posting and viewing. And both versions of Tapatalk are better than their competitors when it comes to this. Why? Well, it is simple: you can post basic messages to boards, but you can also interact in other ways. Just follow us and you will see how.

In order to compose a message in the app, you should follow one of the following steps, according to the situation:

-      You are inside of a thread and you want to create a general post to the thread: you will find the compose button in the right hand corner, the upper side (available for both versions of the app in discussion). Tapping the button will open the compose section.

-      If you want to reply to an already existing post, you just need to tap on it and you will see the reply button in the  sub menu, which will pop up.

Also, interacting with forum posts may be made through different ways, as we said before – not only posting comments. According to what each forum offers when it comes to functionality for its users, Tapatalk adapts to it. For instance,you can like or thank a post, if the forum gives you the possibility. Also, if you see a post which might be interesting for your social media friends, you can post it on Twitter or Facebook, or send it via e-mail or text message.

In the case you are a moderator of a forum, Tapatalk helps you edit posts very simple, by tapping on them and choose the option.

More to say, Tapatalk HD for iPad is even more useful when it comes to editing posts. If on Tapatalk 2 it is almost the same with the option the moderator has, described above, on Tapatalk HD tapping on a post will lead you to a sub menu. Now, if you are a moderator of the forum, you will get to the moderate options automatically, by tapping on it. If you do this, another sub menu will appear – this time with the actual options of editing, deleting, moving or not accepting a post. Also, if you want to ban a user you can do it easily, following the option.So, if you are a moderator of a forum and you found it difficult to handle on devices, your life is much more easier now, using Tapatalk HD for iPad.

Tapatalk also gives you the possibility of uploading images and links together with the created post or thread. Of course, the text can also have a title and other options for writing, using the special options for each of them. Uploading images depends on the forum functionality: if it supports image uploads, you can do it directly, if not Tapatalk saves you again. How? The apps will host the image and use its service in order to upload it. The good news is that there is no extra charge for this option, neither for Tapatalk 2 nor for Tapatalk HD.

In conclusion, the recommendation for Tapatalk versus other apps is based on the advantages for posting and reading threads and posts; also being a moderator for a forum is easier to be handled using Tapatalk HD.

Next, we will go to the section for push notifications and sync.

What if you are registered to 10 forums and constantly receiving annoying notifications?

With Tapatalk 2 for iPhone you can handle this situation. The push notifications can be turned on and off, depending on the needs. At the moment you can use this feature for your account, but you can choose the types of notifications you want to receive for each forum, also. The 2 options available for now are private messages and subscribed topics. This should be enough if you follow one of the categories above and the other is only for when you have spare time.

Tapatalk HD for iPad doesn’t have an advantage here, as it has no push notifications. What is weird is that the old version of Tapatalk for iPad supported this option and the update one doesn’t. Still, it remains a good app when it comes to many other points, so overall it wins in favor of others.

The second point here was sync. As we said at the beginning of the article, Tapatalk gives you the possibility to log in with an ID. This ID lets you create a unique login using Tapatalk native service which keeps the record of all your forums and communities. This is an advantage in case you have the app on your iPhone and want to purchase the iPad one also, as you have the communities sync and you don’t need to search for them all over again. Signing in with your Tapatalk ID will automatically restore them.

What you should be careful to though is that you have to enter the passwords for the forum logins the first time you launch them on the other device, just for security.

To sum it up, the push notifications for Tapatalk 2 for iPhone are very fast and useful. As for Tapatalk HD for iPad, if you really need them, you can use the original version of the app which is available for both iPhone and iPad. This version allows you to receive push notifications, in case you want. The only inconvenient will be for the design and interface, as it does not have all the bells and whistles as the Tapatalk HD

 Now let’s talk money: Tapatalk prices. The apps are great, have good reviews and they are also cost efficient, as you will see. 

Tapatalk 2 – for iPhone – is available in the App Store for only $3,99 and, taking into consideration its advantages, posting and repling without any effort, it is a really good deal.  

The price for Tapatalk HD is $4,99, which for some of you might be too much taking into consideration the fact that it has no push notifications.  You have an alternative if push notifications is a must, you can buy the original app  - Tapatalk – which is available for iPhone and iPad for only $2,99. The disadvantage is that you need to pay an additional fee in case you use the native image upload.

Last, but not least, you should know that both Tapatalk and Tapatalk 2 are the best on this category. Even if Tapatalk HD lacks the push notifications, it is still in the top. The members of different communities support these apps.

Tapatalk has solutions for every type of client. For instance, if you want to purchase a single app for both iPhone and iPad, you can do it by simply choosing the older version of the app.

You can download the products from the links provided, as it follows:

- Tapatalk 2 for iPhone for $3,99

-Tapatalk HD for iPad for $ 4,99

-Tapatalk for iPhone and iPad for $2,99

If you have already discovered Tapatalk world with all its advantages, please share your impressions with us. It will be helpful for the other readers also, ’cause we are a community here, right?