BB blasted over official app.

[erinp5]

Big Brother bosses have been blasted by viewers and fans over their Official app.



This year has seen Big Brother decide to give power to viewers by offering them chances to influence goings on in the house via the mobile app.

Last night us fans were given the opportunity to decide the first ‘Power housemate’, who were put in control of the house and decided on one housemate to reward and punish.

But the new app is only available to those with iPads and iPhones, and only then to those able or choosing to run iOS7.

It rules out anyone else, such a Android and Windows Phone users, or those with older iDevices, from voting and that’s despite a product placement deal with Microsoft to have their own Surface tablets featured in the house itself.

One user complained: “Can’t believe it’s not on android, have an app which at least reaches the 2 main handheld device operating systems or don’t have one at all!”



And on Twitter, another wrote: “No phone voting, no Android app. Half your audience are now excluded. Long time viewer now disillusioned.”

A third added: “This is rubbish @bbuk I’m being excluded from voting because I’m not an Apple fanboy! What happened to more interaction? ”

In the UK, Android mobile phones account for more than half of all sold (55.7%) while fewer than a third (30.6%) run iOS. Just over 10% use the Windows Phone operating system, meaning the app is not available to more than two thirds of all mobile phone users.


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[Drew.]

I was able to vote but i've got to agree with them

[HBB1508]

Well at least it will save me money.

[Christmas Dynasnow]

to have an apple app only is beyond appalling

[Tinsel Toes]

As usual BB makes another massive blunder on day !
No surprise there then !!:devil:

[reece(:]

thank god I have an iPod or I wouldn't be able to vote

[Good King Glennceslas]

I'm with apple and the app, and I have to agree its pretty bad it isn't available on all platforms.

[Bluerang1]

Also make it available in the US :idc:

[JohnnyBB]

Theres no phone vote this year just in app voteing what!!?

[Christmas Dynasnow]

Theres no phone vote this year just in app voteing what!!?

that cant be true:conf:

[erinp5]

that cant be true:conf:

No phone vote regarding the 'power' and how it's used .Pauline was picked by the app voters only .
There will be a phone vote for evictions as the tarifffor both app/phone is on the website .

[Gstar]

I was able to vote but i've got to agree with them

.

[armand.kay]

-doesn't care for lame android users-

[jackc1806]

They shouldn't be so cheap :hmph:

:laugh:

Odd though, considering BB has a pp deal with Microsoft so Windows phone should have one

[12bigbrother12]

Why can't they just do an ONLINE VOTE? Why does it have to be an App at all?

[jackc1806]

Why can't they just do an ONLINE VOTE? Why does it have to be an App at all?

So people download their app, obviously

[jackc1806]

It worked too, number 2 in charts now when it was 150

[Josy]

Surely these are only about the poll last night and not the actual eviction phone voting?

And on Twitter, another wrote: “No phone voting, no Android app. Half your audience are now excluded. Long time viewer now disillusioned.”

:think:

[Marsh.]

You can vote for evictions through the app but phone voting is still going to be available.

App only stuff is just for these instant 2 minute polls when they want the audience to make a decision.

I agree they could just make it available on the website.

[jackc1806]

They're obviously pushing the app though

[Christmas Dynasnow]

Its like having a phone vote but only for those with grey home phones

any other colour can feck off

[Marsh.]

They're obviously pushing the app though

Yes, of course. But people are overreacting. The app isn't replacing phone voting.

Half the people whinging probably wouldn't think to vote in the first place. :joker: Just the letters iOS are like red rags to a bull.

[JohnnyBB]

To be fair i havent voted since BB7.

[Marsh.]

To be fair i havent voted since BB7.

I don't think I've voted since I begged my mum to nominate Jade on the launch of BB3 back in 2002. :umm2:

[jackc1806]

Don't really vote during CBB, apart from Luisa

[user104658]

Literally the ONLY reasonable explanation, is that whoever they hired to make the app was incompetent, and couldn't get it working on Android. In fact, their tech team probably did it themselves, blundering around with little app experience.

There's no way that making it iOS7 (not just iOS, even more specific than that) was deliberate from the start. At a guess, I'd say less than 20% of viewers are even theoretically able to vote, and how many of those will? Half, maybe? So these decisions made "by the public" are actually being made by maybe 10% of the viewers. It's stupid.

[Sophiee]

I agree so much. I wanted to vote last night but couldn't and I imagine a large proportion of the viewers felt the same way. it should've been an online vote.

[Verbal]

Its a marketing ploy, I would bet £100 by the time of the first eviction, it will be available on all platforms. And the 'outraged' people will download it in their droves, falling right into their trap.

[Jordan.]

It's just stupid & annoying how much they were trying to shove it down our throats last night

[starry]

Literally the ONLY reasonable explanation, is that whoever they hired to make the app was incompetent, and couldn't get it working on Android. In fact, their tech team probably did it themselves, blundering around with little app experience.


This is nothing new. Remember, I think it was the first season on CH5 probably, there was supposed to be some app and people were kept waiting right through the series. It may have eventually appeared in the following CBB I've forgotten. Doesn't matter to me as I don't use it but they are incompetant.

[emmetmcl]

It is annoying to say the least.

But as has been pointed out on DS, making an app for iOS and Android are different.

With iOS you have basically all the same screen resolutions, same OS versions, same hardware specs, etc. With Android you have to deal with a crappy Samsung that freezes when try to make a phone call and others which are basically smaller netbooks.

However, if they'd got anyone of worth it should still have been easy to make an app for Android; its hardly an intensive app now is it?

As for Windows Phone, it works similar to Apple, in that all phones are basically equal, unless you're making a data intensive game; something a BB app is no where near.

Also, with Microsoft paying for Surface's to get exposure, its somewhat surprising a Windows 8/Windows Phone app wasn't made; considering about 90% of the code between a WP app and Windows 8 app is the same.

As for users; iOS is just under 20%, Android under 70% and Windows Phone a little over 10%, with Blackberry and others making up the rest (of which there is little). And that doesn't count the approx. 13% of PC users running Windows 8.

Overall, Big Brother have only about 20% of the market, many of which probably aren't even on iOS 7 devices.

The question is, does it come down to laziness, cheapness? Or is it the fact that their much loved "TOWIE" viewers are more likely to have Apple devices, and they know they'll vote in line with their wishes?

And now to plug my Windows Phone Big Brother app: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-gb/store/app/big-brother/a9f597e7-9a03-4693-a641-234006fad7a8