Comments on: Web Standards for Mobile - Beyond iPhone http://experiencecurve.com/archives/web-standards-for-mobile-beyond-iphone Social Media and New Marketing Strategy Tue, 7 Oct 2008 06:19:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Karl http://experiencecurve.com/archives/web-standards-for-mobile-beyond-iphone#comment-2922 Karl Thu, 24 Jan 2008 20:58:19 +0000 http://experiencecurve.com/archives/web-standards-for-mobile-beyond-iphone#comment-2922 I would certainly be interested in any solid numbers you might have, I was just using the flickr example to demonstrate that there were plenty of other types of mobile customers using web 2.0 services beyond iPhone. I took a look around the Netapplications site and the only data i found on mobile browsers and all operating systems didn't list any Symbian devices so i'm wondering if they actually track Symbian? What actually inspired this post was when I tried out some of the mobile GTD apps listed on http://mashable.com/2008/01/22/gtd-toolbox-get-things-done-on-mobile-devices/ - The web based ones did not work so well on my N95, and were advertised to be tuned for the iPhone, hence my post. The only GTD focused web app that works well on the N95 was http://todoist.com BTW A couple of the mobile apps i use on a regular basis which work great on my browser are the Google Reader, Yelp, Facebook, and i'll soon be working more on Todoist (i hope) I would certainly be interested in any solid numbers you might have, I was just using the flickr example to demonstrate that there were plenty of other types of mobile customers using web 2.0 services beyond iPhone. I took a look around the Netapplications site and the only data i found on mobile browsers and all operating systems didn’t list any Symbian devices so i’m wondering if they actually track Symbian?

What actually inspired this post was when I tried out some of the mobile GTD apps listed on http://mashable.com/2008/01/22/gtd-toolbox-get-things-done-on-mobile-devices/ - The web based ones did not work so well on my N95, and were advertised to be tuned for the iPhone, hence my post. The only GTD focused web app that works well on the N95 was http://todoist.com

BTW A couple of the mobile apps i use on a regular basis which work great on my browser are the Google Reader, Yelp, Facebook, and i’ll soon be working more on Todoist (i hope)

]]> By: Wills http://experiencecurve.com/archives/web-standards-for-mobile-beyond-iphone#comment-2921 Wills Thu, 24 Jan 2008 20:34:13 +0000 http://experiencecurve.com/archives/web-standards-for-mobile-beyond-iphone#comment-2921 Other than a user agent string, is there anything in those web apps that would stop you from browsing with any other phone? As far as I can tell, there is nothing proprietary going on. They're all built on web standards. They all work fine on Firefox right now from what I can see. If the Nokia device can't access them, its because of the poor browser they ship with (and yes, it is a poor browser - there is more to a browser than the Webkit rendering engine). They are however optimised for the iPhone's screen size and touch input. Anybody with even a passing interest in UI can see that what we have are two different methods of accessing the net, when comparing an N Series to an iPhone. This goes beyond web standards, but importantly, Apple support them. Lastly, regarding your numbers - people posting pictures on Flickr doesn't really say anything about web use. I am more interested in the number of people who are actually using those Nokia's for frequent web use. I am sure you are aware of that report (NetApplications I think) that said that iPhone already has a greater market share in terms of page views on the web than all other Symbian devices combined. So how is it a poor business decision to have a dedicated, iPhone optimised version of the site? Other than a user agent string, is there anything in those web apps that would stop you from browsing with any other phone? As far as I can tell, there is nothing proprietary going on. They’re all built on web standards. They all work fine on Firefox right now from what I can see. If the Nokia device can’t access them, its because of the poor browser they ship with (and yes, it is a poor browser - there is more to a browser than the Webkit rendering engine).

They are however optimised for the iPhone’s screen size and touch input. Anybody with even a passing interest in UI can see that what we have are two different methods of accessing the net, when comparing an N Series to an iPhone. This goes beyond web standards, but importantly, Apple support them.

Lastly, regarding your numbers - people posting pictures on Flickr doesn’t really say anything about web use. I am more interested in the number of people who are actually using those Nokia’s for frequent web use. I am sure you are aware of that report (NetApplications I think) that said that iPhone already has a greater market share in terms of page views on the web than all other Symbian devices combined. So how is it a poor business decision to have a dedicated, iPhone optimised version of the site?

]]> By: Karl http://experiencecurve.com/archives/web-standards-for-mobile-beyond-iphone#comment-2920 Karl Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:08:35 +0000 http://experiencecurve.com/archives/web-standards-for-mobile-beyond-iphone#comment-2920 Hmmm, that's kind of like saying the browsing experience is better on Firefox so lets only build sites for Firefox :-) My point is that if you want to build a web application for mobile devices if it doesn't work on Nseries (safari based) web browsers you are making a poor business decision because you are ignoring a very large chunk of the mobile browsers out there. Look at the flickr numbers, each of the Nseries devices is equal in numbers to the iPhone. Hmmm, that’s kind of like saying the browsing experience is better on Firefox so lets only build sites for Firefox :-) My point is that if you want to build a web application for mobile devices if it doesn’t work on Nseries (safari based) web browsers you are making a poor business decision because you are ignoring a very large chunk of the mobile browsers out there. Look at the flickr numbers, each of the Nseries devices is equal in numbers to the iPhone.

]]> By: Wills http://experiencecurve.com/archives/web-standards-for-mobile-beyond-iphone#comment-2919 Wills Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:41:36 +0000 http://experiencecurve.com/archives/web-standards-for-mobile-beyond-iphone#comment-2919 I disagree somewhat. I have both an iPhone and an N95 and the browsing experience on the iPhone blows the Nokia away. Why should we be catering to the lowest common denominator? Besides, on the whole a site optimised for the iPhone is still adhering to web standards. Its just that with no buttons and a touch screen interface, it represents different problems to solve than your traditional mobile. I disagree somewhat. I have both an iPhone and an N95 and the browsing experience on the iPhone blows the Nokia away. Why should we be catering to the lowest common denominator?

Besides, on the whole a site optimised for the iPhone is still adhering to web standards. Its just that with no buttons and a touch screen interface, it represents different problems to solve than your traditional mobile.

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