Notes from the 15th International World Wide Web Conference in Scotland (May 22-26, 2006):
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Mobile devices constitute the newest and biggest access media ever. There may be 3 billion cell phones by next year. It is estimated that in 2008, more people will access the Web on mobile devices than on computers.
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.mobi (dotMobi) is the new mobile-specific top level domain.
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Mobile devices are cheaper, always available, personalizable, and increasingly location-aware (GPS-enabled). Location-aware, combined with personal preference, opens a whole new world for context-specific content and services.
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The current adult generation thinks of the PC as their primary device for the Web, calendaring, contacts, etc. The younger generation primarily thinks of the mobile phone for these functions.
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We need better cooperation between the developer communities of the leading mobile players (device manufacturers, mobile operators and application and content developers) to identify open standards applicable to content and data services. We then need developer handbooks for the .mobi domain to ensure a better and more predictable user experience in accessing content and data services, regardless of operator, device, or platform.
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Context changes requirements. Mobile users today don’t “browse the Web.” They have a specific task, such as finding a flight arrival time or finding an address. The display on the mobile device needs to be adapted to this need, not just refactored from the original Web site. (Some disagree with this notion. Since this is such a new area, we really don’t know what the user needs. What about users who will never have a computer and the mobile device is their own access to the Web? Note that in 2005, more people in Japan accessed the Web with cell phones than with a computer.)
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Cost is a large factor. Mobile users in most countries don’t know how much their access of the Web will cost. It is typically expensive and variable by which sites you access.
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It is difficult and costly to develop content to work well on the wide variety of mobile devices. There aren’t nearly as many variations on computers.
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Compliance with standards is critical. We need to follow W3C standards religiously.
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Many of the performance and reliability issues have been solved, but it is still critical to follow Mobile Web Initiative standards and keep the content simple and uncluttered.
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