We'd like to say thank you to X-Cart Community for the kind words and for the remarks and comments about the Mobile module.
They will be taken into account. Be sure.
We prepared a long post for the X-Cart Mobile release. But at the last moment we've reconsidered it and created a short version which might seen in
our blog.
However I think this long post should take a place and here it is:
Quote:
X-Cart Mobile released
Hello, X-Carters!
We are glad to announce you the release of X-Cart Mobile. The module which is long waited by our customers is finally done.
Since the time that mobile internet became available to the general public, more than once have we thought how we can develop X-Cart so it can be used on handheld mobile devices. There have been a few attempts at the development of a mobile version, but those were either solutions with a very simplified interface which could not accommodate X-Cart's features and functions in their entirety or just custom solutions that we implemented for certain of our clients, which were tailored to the needs of those clients' specific businesses and, for that reason, were not fitting the needs of everyone else.
There was not a generally available universal solution that could be used by all our clients.
In 2007 Steve Jobs introduced iPhone, which became a major milestone and gave an impulse to the development of mobile commerce. After the introduction of iOS, it did not take long for Android to hit the market with its version 1.0 in 2009, and Microsoft's Windows Mobile was soon to follow.
Continued advancements in the industry resulted in the development of a new standard for mobile applications and sites. There appeared a large number of developers who started to produce applications specifically for mobile platforms.
Finally there appeared some robust working products that allowed us to create a comprehensive cross-platform solution for mobile commerce.
We spent some time deciding whether to create a separate application downloadable from the Apple store and Google Play Market, or to make it a web-based application (website).
In the long run we decided we wanted to bring the power of mobile commerce to as many potential users as possible, not limited to the users of Apple and Android products.
So we decided to make it a web-based application so your store would be maximally available to the users of smartphones.
That is how X-Cart Mobile appeared.
X-Cart Mobile is not a simplified single-column layout, nor is it just a set of text links looking like an old-school wap-site.
It uses the advanced features of popular modern mobile browsers and gears your mobile storefront to look good no matter whether you are viewing it on a Retina display or on a mobile device with a display of an earlier model.
Yes, X-Cart Mobile is oriented primarily towards smartphone users.
Speaking about the code, we used the jQuery Mobile framework.
jQuery is well known for its vast community and has a long-standing history of success. It is a quality, easily available and developer-friendly JavaScript framework. While designing X-Cart Mobile, we tried to use the advantages of jQuery Mobile to the fullest.
http://www.x-cart.com/sites/default/files/node_310_multiple_mobile.jpg
X-Cart Mobile is not just a set of CSS styles. It is an X-Cart module that allows you to use the full scope of X-Cart's features by adapting the data acquired from X-Cart to be displayed nicely and clearly on the screen of your mobile device. In fact, it is a mini X-Cart that uses your store's core and database.
X-Cart Mobile has its own set of templates, color scheme and design, as well as its own PHP functions and code. That said, it does not lose connection with your X-Cart store.
For example, all the orders placed through the mobile storefront are marked with a special marker, which makes them easily trackable in your online store's admin back end.
http://www.x-cart.com/sites/default/files/blog/adm_mob1.jpg
The module has an easily adjustable color scheme. You can use the jQuery ThemeRoller tool to adjust the default color scheme of the module so it matches the look and feel of your store.
http://www.x-cart.com/sites/default/files/blog/color_1.jpg
We would like to say a special thank you to Olga Agafonova (designer of initial X-Cart interfaces and logo) who made a tremendous job helping us to create this module and owing to whom the module has convenient, well thought out design and usability, as well as a beautiful color scheme.
X-Cart Mobile works out of the box, without any fancy configuration. Simply install the module for x-cart web store (version 4.4.0 and higher is required) - and you are all set and ready to sell your products to mobile users!
What we can say for sure is that buying from a mobile device with X-Cart Mobile is fast and easy. Your customers are sure to enjoy their shopping experience!
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