RMW Web Publishing has created a iPhone Tester that supposedly simulates the iPhone mobile web surfing experience. RW Web claim it works better using Safari. I tried it in Firefox for Windows and Safari and it did not pick up the mobile fix plugin for this site or other mobile ready sites I know off. Though it did render their example site perfectly. This leaves a couple of questions open to hwo the iPhone is rendering mobile web ready sites. I have not actually tried the iPhone as it is not available in Europe yet.
Feel like trying out the iPhone simulator then head over to http://iphonetester.com and kick the tires. Some of the buttons do not work on the simulator and it claims there are more features coming soon.
It’s that time again where I am getting restless and wanting a change of mobile phone. Once again I find myself trawling through the phone reviews on the various mobile phone review sites. I’m finding myself torn between giving up some of the functions of the Blackberry Pearl and moving to a different brand. I went downtown Bournemouth today and ahd a look at some fo the newer phones that Blackberry had to offer. I can’t I was that impressed, anything of interest such as the Curve or the 8800 series, I didn’t like the wideness of them. Why couldn’t Blackberry have upgraded the Pearl, made it a little deeper and enhanced its functions. Will I wait for the much hyped iPhone, I doubt it, I am curious but not that curious. It seems all play and no business from what I have I heard, and then the debate over which network in the UK will it partner with!
I am being swayed by the HTC Touch, not only is it a stylish looking phone, it has a neat array of functions for business use. I had the Hermes before which I didn’t really enjoy, but this one seems a bit more compact. It is minus 3G though and that is a downside. Most reviews I have found on the HTC Touch have been fairly positive. I have thrown out of the equation the Nokia N95 after reading MobilePhones UK that it’s sluggish even though it has some great features such as that 5 megapix camera. I’m not hip enough to carry a LG Prada and think that touch screen only feature would soon get annoying. So what’s left besides the HTC Touch?
Apple may be considering the release of a phone based on it’s iPod Nano player according to the press:
“We believe it’s a strong sign that Apple could potentially convert every iPod Nano into a Nano phone,” Chang told clients. The Nano, using flash memory for storage, costs $199 for a 4GB version or $249 for the 8GB model. (Apple Considers Nano Phone)
A couple of things here come to mind, firstly to take Apple at their word that they are genuinely interested in releasing a lower cost phone albeit with less ‘bells and whistles’ of the iPhone, or they (Apple) may have realized that exclusively jumping into bed with AT&T was not the best idea in the world. This would give them a chance to release the Nano phone that would be possibly available across all wireless networks. There are a lot of upset consumers with Apple’s decision to use AT&T to be the sole supplier of Apple phones through its network. AT&T believe that this will increase their customer base as fans of the iPhone or consumers wishing to purchase it will shift to the network. The problem is like Sony with their ill-fated Betamax that it opened the doors to competing technologies. In this case large networks are already clamoring and planning their versions of the iPhone and I suspect utilizing more popular formats than just simply iTunes.
Apple may have heard alarm bells here and the consideration of releasing a Nano styled phone across all networks would be their saving grace. (If they do decide to make it cross network available). In the UK consumers have been speculating which network will the Apple iPhone will be tied too. While some argue that ‘3′ would be a logical choice because of their reasonable success with music downloads and media, others feel O2 would be more appropriate. Everyone I have spoken too will not switch networks over this phone and feel it is not enough to move to a new network carrier especially if the iPhone has limited functionality like what usually happens when a multifunction phone hits the UK market.
Apple would be best to consider when coming into Europe to open the doors to more than one carrier and not limit themselves or the functionality of their phone.
It’s almost half a year since I started using the Blackberry and have grown to like it. Beside some of its short-comings as in speed of opening applications and available third-party apps of any real use, I do like the phone and am already thinking of upgrading to one of the newer global models on the market, unless I hold-out and wait for the release of the much hyped Apple iPhone.
What I would like to see is a way of remotely controlling the Blackberry from a desktop. Using it for work as I do, I don’t want to be fiddling with it when I need to use it. I would rather just handle all day-to-day operations directly from my desktop and use the Blackberry when I’m on the move. The post at the new Blackberry forum says it all:
As a front-end web developer and SEO, I work all day with my Blackberry in its
cradle near my PC. I am constantly in need of it to speak with clients and
speak with contractors via text and BB Messenger. If there was a way this could
flash up on the screen instead and not have to use the phone itself while working
it would be quite handy. Remotely Operate Blackberry from Desktop >>
I have looked at a couple of applications that may do this but have had no real luck as most of them allow you to control the desktop from the Blackberry but not the other way around. More upsetting there is available software for other phones such as Sony P series and Nokia.
It was only a couple of days I was in a discussion with the Search and Go Development Team about its upcoming release of it’s ‘long awaited home page’ (ahem), yes, they finally are out of the prototype stage and will start releasing the final stages of build 2 in the next few weeks. One of the main areas discussed was the mobile build that is sitting on a private server getting a daily tweak to its code and content in preparation for its launch (I think the mobile side will be in two months), the discussion was about delivering interactive advertising in the content of the mobile pages and best way forward for delivery of these ads.
While still no definitive agreement on how this will be approached, we are avid users of the mobile web and all share a common agreement - we don’t want it in our faces. All of us agreed that we wanted fast and speedy information and search results served up super-speed with no flaffing around. This mean we did not want to be confronted by ads spilling into our surf time when all we really want is to find the address of the nearest restaurant or the latest weather. Having pop-ups or flash driven ads blocking the view of your results is going to cost with time and money. So how are ads to be delivered? One way we agreed is for the Search and Go weather results to be sponsored by a company. For example you might have:
View the Latest Weather Results for the UK on a Blackberry!
Sitting next to this would be the company logo and a link to the company mobile landing page or mobile web ready site. Another idea that would suit Search and Go would be for them to have their info not only subtly sponsored by advertisers, also the ads placed in strategic areas of their content. I was told this could be confusing for consumers. I am not so sure though - if the ads were relevant to the content and were placed between paragraphs it should work quite well. This si where brand-awareness plays a strong part and should be a real breeze for companies with recognizable brands. Your on the mobile phone and looking for a hotel in London and you arrive at a information site and the recognizable branding of the Hilton is sitting right their in the middle of the content with call now for reservation - then yes - the chances are your going to click and go to the Hilton.
Marketing execs and developers on the mobile web platform need to take into account the needs of the average mobile web surfer. I am seeing a number of mobile ready sites lately that have been placing clunky ads or the pop-up text links onto their mobile ready sites, in several phones and browsers I tested these sites only to have some of them crash the phone and at times completely freeze the device. I can imagine this making consumers very unhappy and never to return to the offending site - which amounts to a loss of revenue and sales.
It’s all very well to put up your mobile ready website, but pay attention to how you are delivering those ads especially in size, and ignore the strategic placement rules they very well may not be the revenue generator you expected.
