Consumers will soon be able to recognize Web sites specially designed for use by mobile phones by the new .mobi suffix, which will be introduced alongside the popular .com and other top-level domain names. Update: Opinion of a mobile phone web browser engineer on this (& ex-Be kernel engineer).
What’s with the short TLD’s? “mobi” sounds like some sort of plural for “mob”.
Mobi = Mobile.
They could use three letters, but, erm, ‘mob’.
maybe they should have gone with cell instead?
oh wait, ibm is knocking on the door…
1. “Cell” is not an international term
2. You’ve actually increased the number of keypresses required to enter the domain
1. well neither is .com, .biz and a lot of the other top level domains. if you look closely, english is the language of the net, like it or not.
2. maybe i did. i didnt bother to check
This is sooo invented by clueless n00bs.
How many serious .biz-sites have you used? .info? .name? .aero? .museum?
The .mobi TLD will crash and burn after a lot of people have lost their money. And the blamestorming will start at Nokia, Ericsson and other clueless companies.
Is it really asking too much to get people to type in .mobile?
Is it really asking too much to get people to type in .mobile?
Yes. Ever typed a URL using a numeric keypad? They should just use ‘m.website.com’ or something.
Very good point. I’ve never used a mobile device to check out the Net.
Honestly, a better recommendation would be that all sites use mobile.sitename.tld.
So, mobile.cnn.com, mobile.slashdot.org, mobile.osnews.com, etc.
That way you always know you are going to the stripped-down, lower bandwidth, properly loading version.
as in wap.osnews.com?
http://osnews.mobi
.
Actually, I don’t care.
Just go to osnews.com with your mobile device and we’ll auto-recognize it. That’s one of the reasons why I think this TLD isn’t really necessary. Why make a TLD for a mobile ghetto when you don’t really have to?
Just go to osnews.com with your mobile device and we’ll auto-recognize it.
Correct. Skilful web publishers already does this.
But have in mind that “mobile browsers” will become more and more competent.
Some of SonyEricssons small phones (not the PDA types) already have a beatliful 320×240 screen (S700 etc), can use SVG and Flash Lite and Nokia is developing new browsers based on Apple WebCore (Safari), with a built in disk drive etc which means we will have full featured web browsers in our small cell phones within a year or two. Ordinary, small sized phones. Not the clumsy PDA-bricks.
Who then would like to be redirected to a crappy WAP 1.0 compliant information .mobi page with 1-bit WBMP graphics?
The focus should be on making your web content XHTML compatible and allow the browser to make the best of it; desktop, server, laptop, embedded, game or cell phone browser.
.mobi is an clueless invention by a bunch of fucking MBA n00bs.
Skilful web publishers know how to provide good information for mobile browsers. The rest of us are already using http://wap.example.com/ or http://www.example.com/wap/
.mobi is an clueless invention by a bunch of fucking MBA n00bs.
What’s up with top-level domains? I can understand .xxx as it’s a way to categorize this content that lot’s of people don’t like to access or don’t want their kids accessing it… but .mobi? The tendency wasn’t about integration? About mobile devices catching-up with the rest of the web soon? What justify a .mobi top level besides selling ring tones and other really specific content?
Just wondering if all these new top-level domains aren’t just about the money they make… =|
I dont get the new TLD.
I would never register it even if I had a mobile site running.
a mobi site can be a hobby one, a company one, or an edu one –
mobile.institution.edu
or
mobi.apple.com
makes much more sense to me
There was a markup language specifically for mobile devices…what happened to that? What about using different style sheets? Why a whole new domain?
When I registered a domain, I had a whole bunch of TLDs to choose from, but .biz sounds really stupid and cheap, etc., and I just picked a .com, because it has credibilty. I just didn’t feel that the average clueless user would be comfortable typing in a credit card number to *.biz–it’s psychological, yes, but this matters in business.
Maybe the people who make such domains dont’ own a mobile device. Usability is something that comes least when I hear .mobi. Isn’t it hard enough to use the 10 buttons to type 26 charcters and special charcters to have come with .mobi extension.
I can’t wait to go out and buy up .mobi domains to mirror all of my existing sites! Hooray!
And I can’t wait till I start getting letters from the pseudo-domain slammers who have registered .mobi versions of my domains and are trying to sell them to me.
To make ICANN realize what they have accomplished, I think they should be forced to try typing it http://www.xyzzy.mobi on their mobile from 2001. Then let’s see how much better they like JBQ’s .wap instead.
Also, did anyone notice how Reuters misspelled Luxembourg in the article?
Make that “typing in,” not “typing it.” Oops.
Later .chembros or .daftp
Sorry, had to say it. Seriously talking I just can’t see how the TLD system can get any more absurd.
I agree.
If you follow XHTML/HTML web standards properly, then developing a mobile page is easy. Your page will already be lightweight from following the standards and avoiding tag soup (no tables for layout!). All that is necessary is to specify a good style sheet for mobile devices. Any mobile device worth its salt will pick up on this style sheet. The mobile style sheet just has to be basic and not include a lot of large images or funky placement on a page.
You would also want to customize any ads for a mobile device. Possibly go with text or a small image. Hide any big ads, too.
” The mobile style sheet just has to be basic and not include a lot of large images or funky placement on a page.”
and about every page out there contains atleast some elements like these