Wikimedia Mobile engineering/Features

This page is intended as a whiteboard for collecting feature ideas and taking a first step at organizing them. Please no deletion here.

All features below are general, although some may be more relevant to an app, and some more to the mobile site. The intention is to bring all forms of mobile access up to a minimum level of functionality and usability.

Imminent on mobile site

 * Search suggestions 19956 – developed by a user, will be released soon
 * Inter-wiki language links 19834 – main request from new mobile gateway feedback
 * Beta release opt-in required to see new features, go to opt-in

Android app

 * Version 1.0 includes "Nearby me" article search
 * Version 1.0 tracking bug 31447
 * Version 1.1 tracking bug 31805
 * Localization (Turkish and others)

Immediate next steps

 * Finish first implementation of search suggestions


 * SSL and login - first step toward editing and other forms of participation, then other features become possible, and hopefully some of these will motivate readers to login


 * Photo upload for existing editors, to Commons only, app prototype (may be based on Weekend of Code contributions)


 * Possible tie-in with articles near me (some way of identifying photos for certain articles)


 * Possible staging area for uploads with curation method, or just part of normal workflow on Commons initially


 * Photo upload solution for iPad, such as making the main uploader functional or a link from normal site to iPad app


 * Here is the page for recent feedback on the Upload Wizard from Wiki Loves Monuments: Upload Wizard Feedback

Basic fixes

 * Horizontal scrolling enabled when content exceeds screen width, typically photos or tables 32123, related to bugs 31931, 22187, 31892.


 * New WAP view - change initial page into simple info, intro (maybe of constrained length) and make headings into simple links (this is a top request from the India and Brazil research) 31714 High


 * "Did you mean" corrections for search 	29560	High - just surface from form, easy


 * Wikipedia Zero heading banner - simple branded banner for an operator running the Zero program, to be added when we detect access from a limited number of known IP addresses, includes basic text of operator name in limited font styles, browser view is without images and WAP view must be supported 32001


 * Wikipedia Zero warning - when the user selects to view images or an external link, the heading banner changes color to red and a warning message appears, similar to: "You have selected an action that requires a charge for data access, click to continue" 32002

UI and UX

 * Font sizes preference for Wikipedia Mobile	19921	High - pinch and zoom, preset sizes for featurephones


 * Improved photo handling 1 - scale photos to screen width or nearest standard size in the main article view, then when a photo is clicked and the photo is larger than the screen width, allow horizontal scrolling 31931


 * Improved photo handling 2 - filter info page to show a subset of information, allow click to open to show original image at screen width but user can use zoom and scroll as supported natively 31933


 * Turn icon into Home link, create arrow for menu, include Random and inter-language links 31399, some menu items are general Wikipedia features, some are specific to the article


 * Featured Articles (High in India) - or Featured Pictures in menu, with inter-language links (currently idea stage)


 * Wikipedia.org should detect mobile browser and locale	28815	High - Squid layer, med difficulty, Ops support - Readers study says people often go straight to Wikipedia.org on mobile, as opposed to Google search, especially in Brazil and India - both quantitative and qualitative - could also use MaxMind for country detection

Languages on mobile

 * Inter-wiki links - tiering languages so most likely languages are at the top of the list, or save most recent languages visited


 * Test Narayam on mobile, phones that don't have jquery support
 * For input like Narayam extension? For output like the core MediaWiki LanguageConverter features for Chinese, Serbian, etc? Or something else?
 * For input, ideally working on WAP as well, needs more Indic language support


 * SMS/USSD gateway for Wikipedia access (simple at first) 31614 High - related to Summaries/New WAP view? Use to push Featured Articles (possibly by carrier)? - need virtual server on Labs


 * Saving content for offline reading, and possibly offline editing (Editors and Readers study) High - can we use printable version and PDF? HTML 5 and apps for sure, Kiwix app is a proof of concept


 * Dynamic fonts support in mobile gateway 	28515	High - Narayam, not yet Android 2.3X, rendering engine required


 * Log in and "watched articles" list in Wikipedia Mobile 	24387	Medium - login needed, watchlists UX - High in India


 * Add "e-mail to friends" functionality to MobileFrontend (prefill email)	24359	High – include SMS


 * Country-specific landing pages, India in particular (English and links to other Indic language versions), see Page views by country


 * Add GPS coordinates within a location-related category, link up with desktop to refine - needs some API support on main platform - see New functions, above


 * Custom map apps - Having custom maps that can be developed using GPS data as well as generated and shared via mobile devices could open up contributions to content-specific maps on Wikimedia sites. These custom maps could be incredibly useful to view with articles on places, treks on topics such as hiking in the Himalayas or Alps, tracing historic battlegrounds, or trekking though wildlife sanctuaries. Android recently released an open source app named CustomMaps to help build such apps. Check out Google custom maps.

Potential new functions

 * Photo upload for articles near me without photos, with some basic photo curation, for current editors only initially - requires login (Weekend of Code may generate some work) - see above


 * Add GPS coordinates within a location-related category, link up with desktop to refine - needs some API support on main platform


 * Augmented Reality with articles near me - like Wikitude app


 * Create a new article - upload a photo and create a stub


 * Article Feedback Tool - current V1 in mobile form, possibly combined with MoodBar or simple calls to action


 * Annotation - see Brainstorm and Wikignome


 * Casual communication - see Brainstorm - should this require login?


 * Featured Articles, Pictures, etc. - can be part of menu upgrade or treated on their own


 * Fundraising mechanisms - one idea is to provide versions of the iOS and Android apps that "cost" money and are really convenient ways to donate

Photo and location ideas
(priority not clear but could be good for Hackathon)
 * Slideshow or swipe-able view of photos in article, and also related images from Commons (when present in an article)
 * Link to related pictures but change language of referral regarding "Wikimedia Commons has media related to..." on main site
 * Photo upload - user-generated into Commons (as part of article editing later), currently part of Weekend of Code and could apply to Wiki Loves Monuments
 * Easy way to curate photos, possibly as part of photo upload or new editor
 * Articles near me missing photos, easily add photos - currently requires GeoNames database
 * Add GPS coordinates within a location-related category, link up with desktop to refine - needs some API support on main platform - see New functions, above
 * Custom map apps - Having custom maps that can be developed using GPS data as well as generated and shared via mobile devices could open up contributions to content-specific maps on Wikimedia sites. These custom maps could be incredibly useful to view with articles on places, treks on topics such as hiking in the Himalayas or Alps, tracing historic battlegrounds, or trekking though wildlife sanctuaries. Android recently released an open source app named CustomMaps to help build such apps. Check out Google custom maps.

Other high priority

 * Browsing history across devices (Readers study), might require login and profile work, or is this search or bookmarks?


 * Device partnerships for "native" Wikipedia search, like on iPhone


 * "Find" function for Wikipedia Mobile 	20146	High - some UX, not too hard


 * Reformatting of Portals (multiple columns formatting too wide)	22187	High - not lock screen? not force squish, prototype


 * Support for collapsed infoboxes and tables in Mobile 	29504	High for featurephones, difficult but less than edit, Articles iPhone app research


 * Summaries - widget to scrape HTML 31612 High for featurephones - slider tool for Webkit scrapes HTML - marked as duplicate of New WAP view, bug 31714 above

Remaining in Bugzilla

 * Auto-complete based on history too 	31598 Low


 * Give projects the opportunity to add mobile specific JS/CSS 	22659	Medium - project-specific, get admin feedback, stylesheet per device


 * Add geolocation functionality to MobileFrontend to support Articles near me 	19920	Medium - HTML5 only, some UX and Open Streetmaps integration, new phones only, already in Android app


 * Support language variants (different language interfaces - same wikipedia) 	21806	Medium - do-able, related to inter-wiki language links


 * Display the categories 	22660	- UX, get feedback


 * Option to permanently see mobile frontend from PC render 	29503 	Medium - last part


 * Distinguish external links from internal links. 	30831	medium - CSS easy


 * Random button for Wikisource 	30902	low - easy workaround Namespace 0


 * Cleanup duplicate CSS for mobile devices 	31050	medium (good idea) - depends on the project for Admin CSS (see bug 22659 above)


 * Links to page history don't surface actual revisions 	29387 Medium - UX, same as edit history below


 * Keep home-random menu expanded after clicking random 	30842 Medium - test on devices


 * Merge search icon into search bar (requires new graphic) 31934

Leading app UI
app overview
 * tabs
 * read later list
 * visual history using article graphics
 * find in page
 * font, brightness, color
 * arrange bookmarks in folders

Internal grab bag

 * Start new article with a photo, stub
 * Keyword search in languages other than English needs improvement (Readers Study)
 * New Page Patrol, possible smartphone app for specific tasks
 * Article rating as entry into annotation and editing
 * Annotation, private or public, separate from discussions and as entry into editing
 * Simple comments or discussion, at minimum notify Talk-page participants of replies - see Brainstorm
 * Citation entry by photo of book - see Brainstorm
 * Photo upload
 * Articles near me missing photos
 * Add GPS coordinates within a location-related category, link up with desktop to refine
 * Curating photos
 * Enlarge/reduce text easily (such as by number keys), with reflow - pitch and zoom easy, presets CSS for featurephones, see bug above
 * Dynamic header/search width to fit multiple screens
 * Voice input search, aka Apple demo (possibly no work required)
 * SMS/USSD gateway for Wikipedia access (simple at first) - HACK, see bug above
 * Wiktionary and WikiNews

Extras from mobile research

 * Auto-complete search – overlaps with Search Suggestions?
 * Transliteration using English is common in India
 * Confirm deletion of bookmarks only (not creation)
 * Multiple tabs
 * wapedia includes an option when clicking on a wikipedia link to open it in the app – Intents on Android

India and Brazil research

 * Summaries - High for featurephones, see "New WAP view" above
 * More media - yes, but not heavy - see Featured Pictures above
 * Editing - or entry points into editing
 * Language detection - see above
 * Handset detection (already implemented)

App features wishlist
Mobile Projects/App Features & Roadmap

Qgil:
 * Share this – easy with Android Intents, maybe clickable links in browser on iOS
 * Patrol a new article, could be suggested by the app - complex, Brandon
 * Geotag an article
 * Upload and embed photos - comm apps POC Wikisnap exist, basic already in gateway
 * Add comment on discussion page – using newsection edit is simple, LiquidThreads integration longer term - complex
 * Community Portal – learn more about Wikipedia, Things to do, RSS feed of The Signpost - easy Hackathon
 * Editors near you - complex
 * Landing page - based on Last news + On this day + Featured article + Pic of the day + Media of the day - complex?
 * Related articles, leaving genuine links to external articles - External links - low
 * Limit searches and browsing to pages of certain quality - no good UI, not all languages - complex
 * Edit profile – auto-input from device info, insert user banners as gallery?, auto location update, auto update of “Pictures I have loaded from my device” - complex, no SSL concurrently

Ryuch:
 * Proofreading mode, could be similar to or same as annotation - not so complex if simple text, get feedback

Other:
 * SuggestBot to suggest a mobile task - comm dev, based on past contributions
 * LiquidThreads integration

Wikimedia services

 * Bookmark for device pre-install - in progress
 * Search API
 * Share API for upload to Commons - part of upload
 * Accounts and OAuth API - and OpenID, both require SSL on mobile - Medium

Mobile site wishlist

 * View edit history - time, username, edit, then diff (basic diff appears now), clear workflow to see edits
 * Community – Signpost, Village Pump, Article trending, meetups near me - hackathon
 * API usage data and traffic through large mirrors like Facebook (open RFP) - platform, tokens, not so complex but time-consuming

Mobile site testing feedback
Mobile_site_rewrite/Testing


 * Move “Mobile View” to top - UX needed
 * Reduce line-height - CSS percentage, test across devices, UX
 * Keys for navigation - not complex, some UX
 * Content lists non-touch - ?
 * Thumbnail to screen width, or inline if screen is more than 300 pixels wide - UX, store in some standard sizes
 * Mobile editing UI - complex, Trevor, Ines, Brion
 * Change table.metadata to metadata - 31510

iPhone app

 * disable the automatic download of the featured article when launching Wikipedia Mobile for iPhone?