NamePros.Com - .mobi domain names are on the way

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- Dot MOBI (http://www.namepros.com/dot-mobi/)

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.mobi domain names are on the way

Mobile Top Level Domain (mTLD) today announced the rollout plan for the new mobile-friendly dotmobi domain name. Dotmobi provides the world’s first domain name optimised for consumers using the Internet on a mobile device.

Quote:

The rollout will commence with the “Sunrise Registration Period” for trademark holders in June 2006, followed by the “General Registration” in September. mTLD is working closely with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), registrars, copyright bodies and site owners to ensure that trademarks are properly protected during the Sunrise Period.

The Sunrise Period will be unique in this case as mTLD plans to offer the mobile industry a week long advance period to register their trade and service marks, at the end of May. This week long period is referred to as the “Limited Industry Sunrise”. Leading mobile industry associations such as the GSM Association (one of mTLD’s founding investors), CTIA – The Wireless Association®, and the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) among others have lined up to support the dotmobi sunrise for their membership.

“Dotmobi’s sunrise launch is an important milestone in the path towards making internet access from mobile handsets easy, quick, reliable and rewarding,” said Ameet Shah, Chief Strategy and Development Officer of the GSMA. “We are delighted our members have the opportunity to be in at the very start of something very exciting” he added.

“It is through wireless technology that many Americans will experience broadband for the very first time. This announcement is yet another indication of the consumer’s strong desire to access the Internet and other data services wirelessly. Ensuring predictable and reliable Internet access from any device on any network is an important topic for CTIA – The Wireless Association®,” said Steve Largent, President and CEO of CTIA.

“We are pleased that MMA members will have an opportunity to participate in the dotmobi sunrise registration period. Dotmobi will become a catalyst to simplify the mobile web experience for millions of consumers worldwide,”
said, Laura Marriott, Executive Director of the Mobile Marketing Association.

Neil Edwards, General Manager of mTLD, said, “Dotmobi is the first domain name to garner real support from the some of the world’s leading mobile players and associations. We hope to accelerate the number of mobile-friendly websites available to consumers on the internet in 2006 by inviting companies to register their trade and service marks in the dotmobi
domain.”

After the Limited Industry Sunrise, all companies will be able to register their trade- and service-mark names as a second level dotmobi (e.g.,
myname.mobi) domain name from June to August 2006. Dotmobi will then be available for registration by the general public in September 2006.
Companies and individuals who want to register can get their dotmobi domain names through participating ICANN accredited registrars.

The rollout announcement follows the recent publication of the consultative edition of dotmobi’s Switch On! Web Browsing Guides – handbooks to ensure the best possible internet experience for the mobile user.

Organisations can find additional information as well as view showcase sites by referring to the mTLD site. Many of the companies backing mTLD plan to demonstrate dotmobi-based sites at 3GSM, the mobile industry’s annual conference and exhibition taking place in Barcelona, Spain in February.

For more information on the dotmobi sunrise program check out mtld.mobi.

Source: Net4Now.com

Yes, I have been on their website yesterday: http://pc.mtld.mobi
Does anyone know what will be the price of a .mobi ?

Yet another extension added which I figured would eventually come. I too wonder what the price will be.

too bad it's not a .mo or .mob something shorter, people dont want to type lots of letters on their phones

Originally Posted by Cheyne

too bad it's not a .mo or .mob something shorter, people dont want to type lots of letters on their phones

I agree but if this becomes the standard for mobile access to information, I’m sure people will adapt.

IMHO it should have been shorter like mob, or mb, four letter extentions arnt that popular, but maybe this one will kick off!!! Who knows!

Another pointless extention.

Thank you

Sin

Originally Posted by Sinfully Wicked

Another pointless extention.

Thank you

Sin

It’s anything but pointless since it will clearly define that the information will be specially designed for mobile devices i.e. Cell, PDA’s, and Smart Phones etc. In fact .mobi might become the most distinct extension to date.

If you’ve ever tried accessing the net using a mobile device you know how difficult it is, the .mobi extension plans to change all that by creating a whole area of the internet designed to provide content for mobile devices.

Best of luck,
Kimmy

Right, just like the .areo extention which was intended for aviation purposes, take a close look, Boeing dosent use .areo, Lockheed dont use .areo, all other airlines done use that extention either as far as im aware. Again, a pointless and useless extention.

Thank you

Sin

IMO ICANN approves too many useless TLDs.
I don't really see how we badly need this ext.

If it is about sites optimized for mobile devices, subdomains have been used for that purpose. For example www.google.com (main site), wap.google.com (WAP version).

Originally Posted by Sinfully Wicked

The difference is that the design of sites that would use .aero would be no different than those using any other extension, while .mobi websites will not appear aesthetically pleasing to the standard online browser (check out www.vodafone.mobi to see what I mean) but will offer a great alternative for a mobile user.

It’s easy to see why this extension will succeed in differentiating itself from the pack.

Best wishes,
Kimmy

Most mobiles i use have there own built in browser which automaticly log onto there networks WAP site, especially "todays" mobiles, Orange/Hutchingson have them built in, Vodafone have them buillt in, T-Mobile have them built in, so theres no need to type in the web address for anything else, thats the whole purpose why the modern mobiles have browsers already built in, because the network make money from the user using there WAP service and i really cant see major ringtone companies like Jamster, Ring Tone King and others like that use the .mobi extention because everytime you order a ringtone or whatever it comes through via SMS and its just a simple download link.

Thank you

Sin

I agree 100% wit you slaughterbeck. The mobile phones and PDA's create a set of new challenges on the internet. A defined extension for those devices is definitely needed so that the right type of content is delivered.

Originally Posted by Sinfully Wicked

"No need"? Do you really think mobile internet users will be satisfied with only what is given to them?

Best wishes,
Kimmy

Yep, i dont think they have a problem with it, ive never heard any mobile user complain about there WAP. If there was a major uproar about people using there phones on the net, i think it would have been pointed out a long time ago.

Thank you

Sin

I’m happy you’re satisfied with the current content available to mobile internet users but I for one happily welcome the increased possibility for content consolidation and the possibilities for the mobile net that this new extension can help to provide.

.mobi doesn't seem like a bad idea, but it will require websites to maintain two versions of their sites. I still don't get why businesses can't just do this as a subdomain, like mobile.cnn.com or something.

Originally Posted by Anthony

Many prominent sites are already maintaining an additional version for mobile users and in your scenario they would simply redirect cnn.mobi to mobile.cnn.com. I don’t see any harm in allowing mobile users this type of simplicity.

Originally Posted by .net

Have dotmobi.net :p

You have a valuable domain name Sam.

Don't want to beat a dead horse but... :]
TLDs like .coop or .museum have been around for a few years. I can't remember stumbling on a single site that use one of these TLDs *yet*.
I guess it says something about what they stand for... pointless TLDs.
Just because you create a new TLD doesn't mean demand will follow or that it will be readily accepted, even with all the advertising and hype.
That being said, I do hope a lot of domain speculators will rush in to grab .mobi names so I will have less competition when hunting .com names :laugh:

i cant figure out how folks seem to think that a special extension is needed for accessing webpages specially designed for mobile devices. This is more about the underlying technology, the page markup and similar stuff all of which do not require a special TLD to be used. Also, the strength of internet (as in network based) technologies comes from the fact it can be accessed by heterogeneous devices like PCs, handhelds etc with different OSs without the need to alter in any way the end users perception of the technology being used for accomplishing the distribution of data. There is NO need for a .mobi TLD for an end user any more than there was a need for a .BLOG TLD for distinguishing certain types of websites that were quite different from the others......

This move can only be of benefit to domain traders and land grabbers and no one else... for end users, it can only add to the confusion. All these new TLDs are making the case for .COM even stronger than it was when there were just a handful of TLDs were around...

an interesting article by tim berners lee :
http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/TLD

So, if I hold I trademark, in June 2006 I can register domains? I'm considering registering a trademark for my website. If that would make me eligible to register .mobi domains early, I wonder if I could go and register nice keywords... unlikely.

Originally Posted by sm

This is more about the underlying technology, the page markup and similar stuff all of which do not require a special TLD to be used.

There is NO need for a .mobi TLD for an end user any more than there was a need for a .BLOG TLD for distinguishing certain types of websites that were quite different from the others......

Make no mistake about it, .mobi is not a necessity. However, why not allow consumers to be able to recognize Web sites specially designed for use by mobile devices?

Originally Posted by sm

This move can only be of benefit to domain traders and land grabbers and no one else...

This new domain extension was requested by a group of powerful mobile phone operators and handset makers, which set up a joint venture to encourage companies and Web site designers to create mobile Web pages. Member companies include Hutchison 3, GSM Association, Ericsson, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, Telefonica Moviles, T-Mobile and Vodafone.

I don’t think these companies had the domain name community in mind when they initiated this venture, far from it.

If more Web pages are optimized for mobile devices, rather than desktop or laptop computers with larger screens, these companies hope more consumers will upgrade their cell phones.

"As .mobi will encourage the usage of advanced functionalities in mobile devices, the market potential for those devices will increase," they said in a joint statement”.

Best wishes,
Kimmy

I agree, beck. I know the telecoms industry like the back of my hand and .mobi is a much needed extension to distinguish the wheat from the chaff when accessing the Internet with your mobile.