[EDIT: For some reason I wrote iOS version 4.0.1, I actually meant 4.1...]
Hey there beebit, I've been using your app for a little while now so thought I would give you some of my feedback. Some of the things I will mention have already been said in this thread, and other parts I understand from your replies you will be trying to fix in the JSON release now that Dharma is the stable version, but for completeness of a power-user of your app I figure it would be good to include everything.
Firstly, here is a brief overview of my setup:
XBMC
Fully updated Ubuntu 10.10 Server with GNOME installed manually.
XBMC Dharma installed from Team XBMC SVN PPA (fully updated)
MySQL installed locally on server, XBMC uses MySQL syncronisation.
A few hundred movies, and a large number of series in library.
iXBMC
iPhone 4 running iOS 4.1
iXBMC installed from App Store at version 0.92
Here are the issues I have come across so far.
- Confusing for a new user that a Settings.app plugin has been added, and needs to be configured before iXBMC can be started and used.
- Typo in the Settings.app plugin saying "Nome" instead of "Name".
- When Sleep-Mode is activated, the screen is completely upside down (including the top bar containing the time, carrier info etc).
- When entering videos, "Movies" and "TV" show in the list in Source mode. Pressing the button to enter Archive mode produces an empty list containing 2 empty buttons that can be clicked. Clicking either of these produces an empty page. This may be related to using an SQL database, I have seen another post regarding a similar issue on this forums but the link evades me at the minute. I can probably find it if you require it though.
- In Source mode, pressing either "Movies" or "TV" loads the complete list, with a loading animation over the top. The GUI can be manipulated during this time, however this loading animation occasionally stays on top indefinitely, even once the list has been fully loaded.
- The app occasionally crashes to Springboard when opening various pages, most namely the page where you select the currently active XBMC connection.
- Some icons are not intuitive as to their purpose, and it involves trial-and-error by clicking on the button and seeing what happens in order to determine the use (settings button inside the app, actually controls which which XBMC is currently connected to or the green playlist option which I originally thought would load the context menu inside XBMC's Library mode).
As far as feature requests go, these are the things I would most like implemented (in the future, none of these are urgent or deal-breakers in terms of choosing this over an alternative):
- Video playlist support and playlist manipulation, including adding to playlist from both source and archive modes.
- Landscape mode when keyboard is available.
- Recursive searching
- An about page inside the app that shows current version number, creator and provides a link to the bebbit.it page, rather than it being at the bottom of the "select current XBMC" page. This would make version checking easier than having to load the App Store.
On the whole though, I really enjoy using this app; much more than other XBMC iPhone remotes I have tried. The adaptive controls based on the XBMC screen are intuitive to use, and helpful and more pleasing to the eye than other implementations that try to show all possible buttons all the time. Keep up the good work!
(If my setup and settings are of interest to you as a beta-tester, feel free to PM me for contact details and my iPhone details, it would be a pleasure)