Posted by jagger2k
Hey all, I've not been on this forum for a while now, mainly due to me no longer owning Sony Ericsson phones and the fact SE no longer exist. Now thinking back in SE glory days, this forum was booming, now it just feels like the same forum with very little lift left in it.
This made me wonder if Esato could do with a re-book, be less SE orientated, update the logos, banners, do away with the old themes and wallpapers for old school phones and be more and include more for Android, iPhone and Windows phone.
I think this will attract more visitors to the site and get this place booming like it once used to.
Only an idea. What's your opinions?
Posted by julias
It certainly needs a face lift and relaunch esato looks like its stuck in the 90's this is why so many old members have deserted and left.
Posted by razec
Being a member of this site for more than 6 years now, I think part of the reasons why Esato was a very prolific site was because the members are no less than average mobile phone fan. There used to be many experts and very helpful members here and I'm honored to have chatted with many big minds here that I thought it's impossible to find something similar to other forums as this, and the fact that this site used to be mainly for SE fans there was little infighting among its members who would go to the dark side and if they did, they brought their discussions to a proper debate and state their reasons and not just trash talk others like what's happening in GSMArena comment section. another would be because Masseur was always there to keep the forum's content quality. Also Esato users seem to respect each other's opinion before as compared today. I used to be a frequent poster on GSMArena comment section but I've been driven away by the growing fanatics/fanboys who can't bring a proper and decent debate to discuss and settle things and are notorious bashers/haters for the brand that does not appeal to them. and in fact the situation never changed there. I've chatted with several experts at the K750 comments section on that site and the one who'll always be in my mind when the term "expert" was brought into discussion was the guy/gal nicknamed @doul (@Tsepz, if were not mistaken I've chatted with you many times there as nokiamaniax/keiki
- feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) I've been tracking/reading esato forums 2 years prior to my registration and I'm one of those who felt how much esato changed not from the look and feel of the web site but on the members.
Also esato used to be the largest site where that became home to
concept artists, many concepts have been published in this site that became known to other sites too and everyone knew where those works came from which imho helped esato gain more popularity among SE concept designers. I've known some members here who join the site mainly because they felt at home making SE concepts and showing them to other artists/hobbyists. I honestly miss those days 
As for the looks, yeah it looks bland and boring, but hey Esato is one of (if not) the fastest loading forums on the net and if I were to choose between looks and speed I'd go for the latter anyday, afterall I've loved esato not because it looked retro, but because I enjoyed interacting with many people here who became part of my life in this site
Posted by goldenface
I'm not sure a reboot would work, although I'd be interested to see what one would look like. May be it just needs tarting up a bit.
I sometimes read the comments sections on other forums and the trash that gets thrown around sort of drives me away. I'm glad Esato is here, the way it is and there are some great posters here.
Posted by Dups!
Personally, esato is in the process of becoming like Gsmarena, it is slowly and dangerously going there. That is the main reason why I am posting less and less.
It is beginning to feel like there are now more of the childish, disrespectful and downright ignorant people in here than before.
I remember when we used to discuss issues without resorting to calling each other names, back then when SE and Nokia fans would really, really discuss about the two brands. I am not discounting the fact that the mobile landscape has drastically changed but real and constructive discussions have become a distant memory IMO. It is now all about being rude to the person/ people you disagree with.
On the site needing a face-lift, I think it could do with one, however, if the rude and immature people continue unchecked it will definitely drive some of us away.
Posted by Indiandawg
NO!
This is the most simple and sober site. This is what represent ESATO.COM
I have visited this site from day 1 when I bought my first mobile and nothing has changed nor I ever felt the need. It's just perfect.
I only use Forum. News and other things, I've never really used at all. Sure some additions and all are welcome but the layout is just too perfect.
EDIT: Talking about the childish crowd or mature crowd, I don't really care. I've always seen passionate smartphone lovers out here be it Nokia or Sony Ericsson or iPhone fans. We come here because we all love smartphones regardless of what OS it's got and ESATO.COM is the place where we keep coming everyday just to talk about what we really love. That's a beauty in it's own way!
Stop comparing, we're all the same just with different choices
[ This Message was edited by: Indiandawg on 2012-09-28 14:45 ]
Posted by jack00
On 2012-09-28 15:27:52, Dups! wrote:
It is beginning to feel like there are now more of the childish, disrespectful and downright ignorant people in here than before.
so true
one of the reasons why I don't want to post anymore (i simply had to agree with you
)
this site lacks a good moderator, who can also give penalties
Posted by randomuser
I agree, only thing needed are some active mods
Posted by hihihans
There are already separate chapters for all brands and you can have an avatar of every phone ever available.
The power of Esato is in it's simple look and the members who tend to help each-other. I don't like forums where the moderator gives all the answers and makes you shut-up, that results in very short threads. The fun part starts where people get a little off-topic. The longer threads that seam to lead nowhere sometimes gives you a great idea or a different way of looking at things.
A little extra colour would be nice but please, no flashing banners and jumping GIF animations in every signature.
Posted by Marly
On 2012-09-28 15:27:52, Dups! wrote:
It is beginning to feel like there are now more of the childish, disrespectful and downright ignorant people in here than before.
Totally agree, some post utter garbage in the tech-forums, and are even proud of their high post-count, which they wouldn't have, when they'd posted their crap in the garbage forum, where it belongs. This puts people off.
Nothing wrong with the forum layout, imo, I like its simplicity, which is why it loads very fast.
Posted by emporium
[ This Message was edited by: emporium on 2012-12-22 18:05 ]
Posted by Hobbs
i like it just the way it is
Posted by tranced
Esato was created with the purpose of being a clean and simple site. Not a rocket-science forum
Posted by etaab
On 2012-09-28 20:06:50, Hobbs wrote:
i like it just the way it is
Me too. I wish Masseur was still here though. I think the only thing Esato needs is a couple more moderators who're around a bit more often.
Posted by jagger2k
I see we have a lot of different opinions. The reason I ask this question is, while the forum is one the the best, its clean, not clutter with millions of flashing sigs etc, but when someone posts anything, it is a while before you get any sort of reply, which leads me to think, not many people are visiting this site.
While I would not want this site to go through a massive transformation, This site has been rocking the same look for YEARS now!!! I mean just look at the logo, its dated and actually looks worse than the original one.
What I am suggesting is keeping the forum how it is, but change the layout so it is more appealing to new members, Do away with the old school content and maybe have apps, wallpapers for current devices.
Lets breathe new lift into this site!!! We need Esato 2012!! not Esato 2006.
Posted by hihihans
I guess you're right about the themes and wallpapers, there is hardly any use for that now.
What is that talk about more active mods??? Esato is clean and if we all help Tranced and Laffen a bit, they are more as capable to do the job.
Posted by chunkybeats
No keep esato as it is. There still people in this world have Sony Ericsson phones, plus it is the only real good resource on the web now for queries and fixes etc
I like the layout and the way things are. Its simple and clean and could be worse it could be like phone arena which just looks like any other site.
I reckon the only real good thing to do is put a little memorial for Masseur as I know he wouldnt want the site to change. Please keep it the same please!
[ This Message was edited by: chunkybeats on 2012-09-30 23:59 ]
Posted by Ricky D
I think esato's structure, content and subject is right still. It is still an important resource for Sony Ericsson owners and over time this will become more along the lines of Sony owners but that doesn't mean the site has to change.
The visuals and layouts I've always found to be slightly clunky and there are a few bugs in the forums like after editing a post you're taken back to the first page of that thread instead of the last or where your post is and there is no way to access your sent PMs which can be frustrating to not know exactly what you wrote last time.
If these small bugs are fixed and the graphics and layouts are updated to something more modern, there is no need to change the original purpose of the site.
On things like the themes/wallpapers section, perhaps a section of CyanogenMod themes, or walk-throughs on updating and customizing FWs and ROMs, complete with a glossary of terms explaining 'root' and 'bootloader unlocked' would be cool. To have this placed alongside the current themes section would be fine.
No doubt it will take time and effort to initially write these things, but would be worth it.
Posted by Indiandawg
Who are the current Mods of Esato.com?
Posted by Tsepz_GP
Razec
Nope, neither one was me, i post under the name Tsepz at GSMArena, although i dont really post there anymore, as its full of ignorant dumbasses.
All
The layout of this site is perfect! I generally use this site to benchmark web browsers as its layout is clean, subtle yet full of info, helps to point out flaws in a browser. Maybe remove the Themes and Wallpapers, thats if there is no download activity around them.
Much like SE's Java phone UI, Esato has a distinct and unique look, i have never come across a similar forum, very well laid out. One big USP of Esato is the photo gallery, and i think if anything must be changed, its that. It must be brought up towards the top and made bigger in the front page so that its one of the 1st things a 1st time visitor sees.
In terms of moderators, IMO, Laffen,Tranced, Goldenface and tranquil are doing a great job, maybe one or two more mods could be added to help out, id vote for Hans and razec. Hans due to his very friendly nature and love for photography and razec due to his very technical knowledge, but thats down to the mods to decide.
Also, i think we need a mod who updates the news more frequently, we used to have a user who did that a few years ago until he went rogue and got banned,lol.
Must say i miss PeterKay, he also kept this site very much alive with his prototype SEs, i'll never forget how he teased us especially with the SE P700 which became the P1i.
Posted by xell
On 2012-09-28 15:27:52, Dups! wrote:
It is beginning to feel like there are now more of the childish, disrespectful and downright ignorant people in here than before.
It is beginning to feel like there are now more of the childish, disrespectful and downright ignorant people in here than before.
On 2012-09-28 17:38:37, Marly wrote:
Totally agree, some post utter garbage in the tech-forums, and are even proud of their high post-count, which they wouldn't have, when they'd posted their crap in the garbage forum, where it belongs. This puts people off.
Totally agree, some post utter garbage in the tech-forums, and are even proud of their high post-count, which they wouldn't have, when they'd posted their crap in the garbage forum, where it belongs. This puts people off.
Agreed. I really really can't stand some certain people here, and the lack of an Ignore User function is one of the reasons I am not that frequently around here for almost three years now.
Posted by jcwhite_uk
I am hardly ever on Esato anymore because it got boring and I moved away from
Its not the same without some of the old regulars like Masseur, Fatreg, Bobafett and PeterKay.
Posted by tranced
Alright guys. I'm taking notes right now.
But now I'll talk as a member.
I really miss some guys here. I wish Esato would be like before. Not layout-wise. As you know there were two active mods during the last couple of years. Unfortunately, it's not like that anymore. It's only laffen and me now. It's not a bad idea having other mod(s). That'd be handy. And it would be good to have a news guy as well. Esato is not only a forum. It's also a news site. Yeah, and a photography site. As this guy said
On 2012-10-01 10:57:10, Tsepz_GP wrote:
Snip (in masseur's memory)
Much like SE's Java phone UI, Esato has a distinct and unique look, i have never come across a similar forum, very well laid out. One big USP of Esato is the photo gallery, and i think if anything must be changed, its that. It must be brought up towards the top and made bigger in the front page so that its one of the 1st things a 1st time visitor sees.
Esato needs to take advantage of its resources. Highlighting the photo section would be great. There are a lot of mobile and pro photographers around here.
Regarding the looks of the site:
- a new top banner
- some extra light colors
- don't know what else
Honestly I need to be more of a tough guy. Sometimes I'm quite permissive(in real and virtual life as well) and I think it is a -ve in me. But hearing you all saying this makes me see that I cannot be indulgent or accommodating to the people. We cannot hide the fact that social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and others have taken its toll on sites like this.
Btw, having an Android, iOS or WP app would be a plus. Don't you think?
[ This Message was edited by: tranced on 2012-10-01 21:12 ]
Posted by jagger2k
On 2012-10-01 22:10:51, tranced wrote:
Alright guys. I'm taking notes right now.
But now I'll talk as a member.
I really miss some guys here. I wish Esato would be like before. Not layout-wise. As you know there were two active mods during the last couple of years. Unfortunately, it's not like that anymore. It's only laffen and me now. It's not a bad idea having other mod(s). That'd be handy. And it would be good to have a news guy as well. Esato is not only a forum. It's also a news site. Yeah, and a photography site. As this guy said
On 2012-10-01 10:57:10, Tsepz_GP wrote:
Snip (in masseur's memory)
Much like SE's Java phone UI, Esato has a distinct and unique look, i have never come across a similar forum, very well laid out. One big USP of Esato is the photo gallery, and i think if anything must be changed, its that. It must be brought up towards the top and made bigger in the front page so that its one of the 1st things a 1st time visitor sees.
Esato needs to take advantage of its resources. Highlighting the photo section would be great. There are a lot of mobile and pro photographers around here.
Regarding the looks of the site:
- a new top banner
- some extra light colors
- don't know what else
Honestly I need to be more of a tough guy. Sometimes I'm quite permissive(in real and virtual life as well) and I think it is a -ve in me. But hearing you all saying this makes me see that I cannot be indulgent or accommodating to the people. We cannot hide the fact that social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and others have taken its toll on sites like this.
Btw, having an Android, iOS or WP app would be a plus. Don't you think?
[ This Message was edited by: tranced on 2012-10-01 21:12 ]
I think an Esato app is a fantastic idea, more people will be able to post on the go and keep up to date with the latest tech news.
I think we could do with someone who can update the news section more often.
Maybe have an IOS and android corner which isn't just tucked away, where members are able to discuss this like rooting and jailbreaking, custom roms etc.
Also I was thinking content wise, maybe we could have tutorials for various things, like how to guides, phone repairs, rooting etc.
Posted by jplacson
This has been my favorite site since my
days... then and now Sony. (I can't remember when I joined, but the oldest post I found of mine was in 2002, but this was after Esato had a major overhaul since my post was already related.
A relaunch? I think a migration to HTML 5 would solve a lot of maintenance issues as well as improve mobile access without the burden of multi-platform incompatibility and inconsistency. I like having apps, but I don't think a website needs an app, unless you're going to introduce a completely unique UI (Like what Flipboard does for Social Networks)
Jagger2k, a tutorial section is a great idea... something separate from the forum (just links to it from the forum) perhaps?
Forum moderation is always difficult. User post regulation and spam elimination is very tedious. I commend the Esato team throughout the years for doing what they do. For this to work, Esato would need a whole lot more mods to screen posts in all the forums round the clock to distribute the workload.
Posted by Del
On 2012-10-01 22:10:51, tranced wrote:
Alright guys. I'm taking notes right now.
But now I'll talk as a member.
I really miss some guys here. I wish Esato would be like before. Not layout-wise. As you know there were two active mods during the last couple of years. Unfortunately, it's not like that anymore. It's only laffen and me now. It's not a bad idea having other mod(s). That'd be handy. And it would be good to have a news guy as well. Esato is not only a forum. It's also a news site. Yeah, and a photography site. As this guy said
On 2012-10-01 10:57:10, Tsepz_GP wrote:
Snip (in masseur's memory)
Much like SE's Java phone UI, Esato has a distinct and unique look, i have never come across a similar forum, very well laid out. One big USP of Esato is the photo gallery, and i think if anything must be changed, its that. It must be brought up towards the top and made bigger in the front page so that its one of the 1st things a 1st time visitor sees.
Esato needs to take advantage of its resources. Highlighting the photo section would be great. There are a lot of mobile and pro photographers around here.
Regarding the looks of the site:
- a new top banner
- some extra light colors
- don't know what else
Honestly I need to be more of a tough guy. Sometimes I'm quite permissive(in real and virtual life as well) and I think it is a -ve in me. But hearing you all saying this makes me see that I cannot be indulgent or accommodating to the people. We cannot hide the fact that social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and others have taken its toll on sites like this.
Btw, having an Android, iOS or WP app would be a plus. Don't you think?
[ This Message was edited by: tranced on 2012-10-01 21:12 ]
I think an app for esato would be great, how about being able to get esato on tapatalk ?
Posted by Tsepz_GP
Tying Esato up to Tapatalk would be awesome!
Posted by tranced
I brought the idea of an application because most of the mobile users are very attracted when it comes to apps. Specially Android users. The Esato's mobile version is very mobile friendly. Even more after it was redesigned for that purpose.
But let's go like Jack the Ripper: by part
First, the simple things: the layout?
Then we would look at the possibility to have an application or include Esato in Tapatalk.
Posted by djin
Its great to see so many of us feel the same about esato. But many people who made this an awesome place have left or barely post. It used to be a great stop for all resources. But now it feels somewhat like a dried lake. I mostly come here for leaks, and I find the people here still in general are much much better than other forums although in recent times, things haven't been the same.
I think there should be some changes that should be made to esato, as pointed out by others, to keep it relevant. Its no longer a race dominated by nokia and
nor platforms created by them. As such there will be more people here with sony or because of google's android, not because of their timescape ui.
I personally think, we should aim to include more of rooting, custom firmwares, etc for sony devices. Something like xda-dev, but more focused on sony. Also focusing on photography, concepts, news and reviews.
Having wallpapers or apps here would not be of much help because that's what play store is for.
Also a major part of esato re launch depends on sony. If they keep repeating the old trends, they will eventually loose even the most die hard fan. But if they are really competitive, and get out great products for which we all loved sony, then there will be more people here just like old times.
P.S.- I wouldn't mind a playtime re launch too
. Never won anything so far 
Posted by jagger2k
On 2012-10-02 23:23:09, djin wrote:
Having wallpapers or apps here would not be of much help because that's what play store is for.
But if we are taking about modding and jailbreaking, they could have apps which are not available on the market places. APK files etc.
Posted by goldenface
I think I visit here most for the forum because it's fast and well laid out. Esato.com front page isn't very well laid out IMO.
A blog to complement the news section might be a good idea and it would be great for the site as a whole, However, I'm in agreement with those that said that it should may be put more emphasis on the Photo's and Reviews and build on it's strengths.
Posted by tranced
@goldenface: we have a blog already
Posted by goldenface
Is there no link to it from the main page? We need a regular blogger to take over I think. It's not as if there isn't enough to write about.
Posted by tranced
A redesign for the front page is a good idea. Make it look not so charged could be more eye-catchy.
Posted by razec
If ever this site would be redesigned once more, I'd suggest that the designers to keep it light and fast. In fact whenever my 3g/4g Connection got screwed and my connection temporarily reverts to EDGE/GPRS mode, Esato will be the only site that loads the entire page, others SNS sites such as Facebook/twitter will show an error and not load at all.
Posted by djin
@Jagger2k,
Good point. We could do that too.
@tranced,
Yes and a new logo. Also I think the forums should be made easier to notice newer threads. Also, some more measures against spammers. Last I checked, there was some one here selling fake passports
Posted by tranced
Laffen is in charge regarding the logo. He's the admin.
And about the spammers...we do our best. Sometimes we have to eat
On 2012-10-05 13:56:28, djin wrote:
@tranced,
Yes and a new logo. Also I think the forums should be made easier to notice newer threads. Also, some more measures against spammers. Last I checked, there was some one here selling fake passports
Posted by djin
No I meant like for signing up, I am not sure how it is presently, but i think it should have more steps, like captcha code etc. to avoid spammers/bots for signing up.
I mean you guys do a great job keeping them away from the site, but for a relaunch, and considering if this goes much bigger than it is, then there should be more steps to prevent them.
Posted by hihihans
New members can post only 3 times. This keeps spam controlable. You can also pm Laffen or Tranced if you spot a spam.
Posted by Bonovox
Maybe Esato given a splash of color too
Posted by DSF
The forum needs badly a facelift
. Same for the site.. I'm mean that the site could look modern and maintain its simplicity. It could look far more elegant. Better spaces between elements (padding), highlights, etc..
Esato & Ericsson are 2 special things for me. Because of them I felt in love with mobile internet (wap).
Thank you laffen!
[ This Message was edited by: DSF on 2012-12-31 23:20 ]
Posted by tranced
Esato has a new logo. Did you notice it?
Posted by laffen
I needed to order some new business cards with updated details for Mobile World Congress next month when I realized that the old logo with the joystick inside the "O" was kind of outdated. Is it easy to see where the idea for the new "O" comes from?
Posted by tranced
I guess I do. But I'll wait others to have their thoughts in.
Also the banner has a WP phone.
Posted by Tsepz_GP
I really like the new logo and the minor touches done to the forum, I noticed the new logo as I was switching from Google Chrome browser to Safari on my iPad, so I in Chrome I had the old logo and in Safari I had the new one
The new O seems to come from the task switcher button on the Android on-screen keys.
Posted by Bonovox
Something I've noticed on mobile phone recently on the main site not the mobile one. The front web page of Esato does not show the whole page only half if it. Will upload a screen shot tomorrow. Never noticed this thread
Posted by Tsepz_GP
You mean like this:
With that Menu button? Yep, noticed that to, you no longer get the Forum etc... options, yet when i load it on the iPad or PC it shows them.
Posted by Bonovox
Yes that's it
Posted by bart
Hmm the new logo looks boring and ugly. Making a new logo isn't easy, but i'm sure something can be down.
I also suggest more news, also about Ericsson (as a tribute to the origin of Esato)
The forum looks abit pale, but i personally like it.
Maby you can reintroduce some contest where people can win great stuff (phones, gadgets, merc, acc. ...)
The idea of re-launching Esato is good, but you need to do make it special. Try to get some of those special guys back that everyone knows. And why not ask Sony if Esato can be the first to introduce a new cellphone?
Posted by adriatic
What do you think of implementing number of views in photosection?