Web Use On Mobiles Surges, Says Google

[engine]

Google has seen an acceleration of Internet activity among mobile phone users in recent months since the company has introduced faster Web services on selected phone models, fueling confidence the mobile Internet era is at hand, the company said on Tuesday.

"We have very much hit a watershed moment in terms of mobile Internet usage," Matt Waddell, a product manager for Google Mobile, said in an interview. "We are seeing that mobile Internet use is in fact accelerating.

Web Use On Mobiles Surges, Says Google [reuters.com]

[newviewit]

Same over here in Asia...been happening for a while

[sem4u]

Just have a look in your own website stats...I see lots of mobile devices in there.

[lasko]

If you haven't already done so it would it be a good idea to set up mirror websites compatible for mobiles?

Are their any posts on WW on how to get started? am I right in saying that you check the browser header for detecting mobile phone use then redirect the user to a dedicated site for mobiles.

Cheers

[maximillianos]

I've taken the approach of designing my site to run and look okay on devices such as the iPhone. That mobile browser is the future of mobile browsers in my opinion. And very capable of handling most sites "as-is" today.

But a trend I am seeing (and I like) is how some sites offer you a "mobile version" link prominent at the top of the site when you visit. That way you get the choice. Sometimes I want the standard ESPN homepage, instead of the scaled down one. It should be my choice... Not the website owner's choice.

[dr_paul]

This is definitely the future.

Does anyone have any must-read links to articles about desgining web usability for mobile users?

[Josefu]

Thanks, iPhone. A few members of our company (including myself) got one, and for sure we use 'em for the web - like everyone who has one, I'm sure. I'm going to have to make a phone-handy answer-to-the-question-"why would one need to look at our website through a cellphone?" version of our website.

An link to an all-round educated answer to the "phone usability" of a website would be for sure welcome - but I'll look around later. Thanks!

[Josefu]

By the way, Google serves you, by default, the mobile version of its SE if you're connecting from your phone for the first time - but it gives you a link back to the "original version" right away, and remembers if you click it.

[kwasher]

Here is a good place to start...

mtld.mobi

[newviewit]

It's good to think of mobile web apps as a totally different medium with different informational needs and different audiences... quick, easy, fun and to the point.

A good place to start looking is: [paypal.com...]
dig into the links of partner companies.

The possibilities are huge for internet marketing, entertainment, m-commerce, contact centers, etc, etc.

This is another platform for distributing your product and services that will most likely out pace at home internet connections in the near future.

[Josefu]

Home-browsing has a certain percentage of "pleasure principle" in it that phone-browsing does not. Phones are information, information, information. Whether you, webmaster, can enrobe that in as little frills as possible effectively will determine how up-to-date you are with today's technology.

Honestly, in phones, I see a new market.

[nomis5]

So, Google has noticed an increase in activity but they don't mention any thing about revenue.

Is anyone here earning any significant sums from mobile phones and websites? Is anyone earning anything above a few cents a day? I just feel I need to hear a couple of us saying, yes this is earning me money. Without that, isn't developing websites for mobile phones breaking the number one rule in the computing sphere, don't be at the bleeding edge unless you have the muscle to bleed a huge amount before you begin to earn money.

Pessimism, realism or just plain cowardice?

[Musicarl]

Are their any posts on WW on how to get started? am I right in saying that you check the browser header for detecting mobile phone use then redirect the user to a dedicated site for mobiles.

I asked something similar in a recent post to this forum, but didn't get any heat. I'll try to update that thread with what I've learned so far about setting up a mobile version of an existing site. It's surprisingly difficult to find good information on this topic. Here's one link that might help: [dev.mobi...]

[kapow]

Is anyone here earning any significant sums from mobile phones and websites?

Not everyone here is running online stores or Ad-sites. We build and manage sites for 100+ very different organizations: Some online stores, Some subscriber services, Some online brochures, Some information resources... Its a big web and not all about Ads!

[nomis5]

Sure it's not all about ads for some but for others it is. Does the comment mean that sites for mobiles won't earn much as far as you know, but are good for other purposes? Any one out there who has earned any money from mobile sites?

[newviewit]

Don't think mobile web is mature enough for the small guys because the infrastructure is not there and the majority of consumers do not really know what's available on their mobile web browsers.

It is not a place for detailed information with long pages of text.

Mobile web is just starting out and there's huge opps for building the backbone or for large companies that are known everywhere and advertise in public areas such as magazines. Imagine someone flipping through Cosmo magazine and sees an ad with a link to mobile website. She can immediately login through her phone and buy.

Community sites and entertainment also have huge potential. It won't be long before people are constantly hooked up to Facebook/ebay on their mobiles. Checking weather, stock quotes, etc. I think it will start off with companies like Netvibes setting up homepage for individuals. One stop shop with news, entertainment, directions, reviews, etc.

What's going to be really interesting is if/when location based services will kick in. Say you're walking down the street and want to eat Italian. Go to a yet to be made mobile search site and it will find your location based on mobile network/gps...up pops a map with detailed options and directions to find what you're looking for. Location based advertising will be a key part of this system.

[kapow]

Don't think mobile web is mature enough for the small guys

I agree, but I suspect this next phase of Internet evolution is going to happen fast. It took perhaps 10 years for public web familiarity to evolve (say from 1990 to 2000). The mobile web has had a few false starts, but I think its about to kick-off for real now. I think it will be very popular just one or two years from now (instead of 10).

[nomis5]

I agree kapow, the kids I speak to are accessing pages using their mobiles now. Six months ago they weren't. The price of the sattelite packages for mobile internet access is now within their affordability levels. Not for all of them but definitely for the more affluent.

For the larger companies with piles of cash, their presence in the mobile internet market pays for itself. Just being there is an advert for them. But for the less "corporate" of us, I can't yet see how to monetise a presence on the mobile internet.

For example, if I had a diy site (I don't), I can imagine someone at the diy store wanting to access it to check what size of wood they need to make that shelf or what type of varnish, quantities etc. But I can't see them browsing those pages and then clicking on an ad that might earn me an honest penny.

Any thoughts?

[nippon]

In Japan the mobile is the preferred vehicle for accessing the internet. and has been for years. I was surprised about that, and even more surprised that most if not all major web apps have mobile versions.

[TravelSite]

It would be interesting to know how many people using mobiles are viewing the pages in normal HTML, and how many are viewing mobile/wap versions of pages.