British Birds - indispensable journal but rubbish app (1 Viewer)

[DavidJ2021]

British Birds is essential for birders, especially for those of us involved in survey work or ringing. It is measured, academic in tone and a vital resource for field ornithologists.

For several years I downloaded issues to a tablet so that I could take its accumulated knowledge with me into the field to where internet connectivity was poor or non-existent.

Then, in October last year, BB terminated it's association with a commercial intermediary and took its internet presence in house.

Since then I have been unable to download issues either to my tablet or phone. Neither are old. The tablet runs Android 10 and the phone Android 12.

In both cases the app crashes. I have tried every method suggested by on-line experts without success.

I have raised the issue with BB's editor, who assures me he has forwarded it to the app developer. Nothing has changed and it is clear from Google app store that the last revision was in December 2020. It seems to me that BB is being taken for a ride. I have reluctantly terminated my subscription after some 25 years.

 

[Bismarck Honeyeater]

I have also raised the issue. The app is rubbish, I have now given up on it and access it through the website. It is now readable but not in an enjoyable format. I have been a subscriber for over 40 years but am sadly close to jacking it in.
I suppose I could go back to the paper issue but that seems retrograde nowadays.
Someone should really get a handle in the problem, or at least keep subscribers posted on what they are doing, or not doing about it.

 

[dipperone]

British Birds is essential for birders, especially for those of us involved in survey work or ringing. It is measured, academic in tone and a vital resource for field ornithologists.

For several years I downloaded issues to a tablet so that I could take its accumulated knowledge with me into the field to where internet connectivity was poor or non-existent.

Then, in October last year, BB terminated it's association with a commercial intermediary and took its internet presence in house.

Since then I have been unable to download issues either to my tablet or phone. Neither are old. The tablet runs Android 10 and the phone Android 12.

In both cases the app crashes. I have tried every method suggested by on-line experts without success.

I have raised the issue with BB's editor, who assures me he has forwarded it to the app developer. Nothing has changed and it is clear from Google app store that the last revision was in December 2020. It seems to me that BB is being taken for a ride. I have reluctantly terminated my subscription after some 25 years.

I have done exactly the same!
I had the added problem that I was unable to download BB onto my Kindle Fire after the intermediary ended its association. Even reading the journal on line was a nightmare: it simply ceased to be the journal I was used to as I could only read "chapters" . I used to read it offline on my tablet, but the continuing spat between Google and Amazon put paid to that and my phone is a bit to small to read it even when the app worked properly. As it continued to crash, I was unable to read it.
As a BB reader for over 45 years, I am saddened to end my subscription; almost all my reading is done digitally and wanting to be like everyone else in attempting to save the planet, I ditched paper versions some time ago.
It appears that BB is unable to/ is incapable of rectifying the problem- the buck passing appears to be endless between publisher and app developer. Once the situation has been fixed, I may resume. I will miss its authority , if nothing else; after all it is still the only credible medium around.

Rhys

 

[Mono]

As far as I am aware there in now no app for British Birds, if you want to view it online you have to use the webpage. You can still view content you downloaded to the old PocketMags app, but you can't download fresh content to the app, be it new or old issues.

 

[DavidJ2021]

As far as I am aware there in now no app for British Birds, if you want to view it online you have to use the webpage. You can still view content you downloaded to the old PocketMags app, but you can't download fresh content to the app, be it new or old issues.

BB's editor is certainly under the impression that there is an app. He has very recently said that he has been in contact with the developers. If this thread is anything to go by they are losing long-term subscribers.

If anyone knows a trustee, perhaps this is the time to approach them.

 

[Mike Crawley]

The latest edition on PocketMag’s App. is October 2021 (if I remember correctly)

I can’t imagine giving up my subscription but I didn’t cancel my paper copy, so don’t feel like I have missed anything.

 

[Mono]

The how to access section of their website makes no mention of any app.

About British Birds

British Birds is a journal for everyone interested in the birds of the Western Palearctic. Published monthly since 1907, the journal contains a range of material on behaviour, conservation, distribution, ecology, identification, movements, status and taxonomy, as well as the latest news items...

britishbirds.co.uk

 

[dipperone]

As far as I am aware there in now no app for British Birds, if you want to view it online you have to use the webpage. You can still view content you downloaded to the old PocketMags app, but you can't download fresh content to the app, be it new or old issues.

The app is listed as" British Birds Online" in Google Playstore- you must sign in to access issues. The efficiency of the app ends there though...

Rhys

 

[Mono]

The app is listed as" British Birds Online" in Google Playstore- you must sign in to access issues. The efficiency of the app ends there though...

Rhys

Thanks for that, it's strange that it's not mentioned anywhere on their website. If does seem to be just a web-wrapper style app, that just points at content on the website.

 

[DavidJ2021]

Thanks for that, it's strange that it's not mentioned anywhere on their website. If does seem to be just a web-wrapper style app, that just points at content on the website.

In theory, the app enables individual articles to be downloaded for access offline, unlike the website which requires an internet connection to access articles. Stephen Menzie has told me today that he raised the issue with BB directors last week and he will cite this thread as evidence of lost subscriptions, some of many years' standing. That must be a concern to any journal/magazine publisher. I imagine that financial considerations led to the cancellation of the PocketMags connection. That may prove to have been an expensive decision.

 

[Telephoto Paul]

The FAQ page still mentions an app and links to the respective app stores. The other option is to just Print to PDF the articles you want to offline access too...

 

[DavidJ2021]

The latest edition on PocketMag’s App. is October 2021 (if I remember correctly)

I can’t imagine giving up my subscription but I didn’t cancel my paper copy, so don’t feel like I have missed anything.

The FAQ page still mentions an app and links to the respective app stores. The other option is to just Print to PDF the articles you want to offline access too...

That isn't an alternative. You will not know which articles will be of use in advance. The value in PocketMags was access off line to entire issues in past volumes, back to January 2015.