.mobi .Mobi's missed the boat

binaryman · Oct 4, 2007

I really am starting to think that. There is absolutely nothing to indicate that .Mobi is starting to catch on in the world. There is just a lot of hot air which is mainly being created by the domainers on this forum still hoping to see their investments taking off. The Mtld site also does not inspire any great confidence and it looks like they and sedo are trying to squeeze the last dregs out of the .mobi gravytrain before it halts to a grinding stop. I invested too(67 .Mobi's) but I have given up hoping that it's going to go anywhere. I think (IMO) .mobi's going nowhere. It is not going to take off and is not being accepted as the great big new mobile internet revolution for mobiles. There still has been no grand promotion to bring it to the general public and I dont think there will be either. And by the time there eventually is such an awareness campaign it will be much to late. The much vaunted investors like Microsoft, Nokia and others have not shown any signs of support and I think never will. Sorry to be so pessimistic but I for one have given up hope and will just let my 67 .mobi's expire quietly. Not even worth putting them up for sale on the market place here as no-one makes any bids or offers on the .mobi's being offered there. Which goes to show that the market for .mobi is slowly dying. I'll count my losses on this one. I did think that .mobi was going to make it big like most of you but I think the writings on the wall now.
Good luck to the rest of you.

satsdifference.com · Oct 6, 2007

..notice ALL of us are Improving here towards the unfolding truth (.mobi)

I like Jeff

Kind Regards,

Yelo

mejcdj · Oct 6, 2007

RJ..

I don't think anyone here wishes Jeff any harm. I know I don't.
However, please take a look a the threads. OK not every.. but 99% of the posts with any subject has at least one post by Jeff slipping in a negative tone. MOST conversations turn into a debate about the valididty of .mobi in one way or another ending with a .mobi supporter defending what he sees in this extension. There is precious little productivity in this. Its very aggrivating.

Your place is not alone tho. DNF is actually much worse. Jeff is NP's .mobi sceptic.. and yes I agree he is very passive aggressive about it. He has not been rude or unkind.. ever. But it's like talking to a nice wall, if you see my point. When the discussion really was not about Jeff's views.. but could have been about anything at all. It always ends up being about Jeff.

It seems like there is one place alone that actual .mobi conversaitions can take place, and I am sorry it can't be here.

Mej

Sam · Oct 6, 2007

All i can add to this thread is that I love my iphone and the technology it uses. IMO, this will become widespread like the good old RAZR, although I seriously doubt the production costs would fall under $100 anytime soon, thus no "FREE" iphones with 2 year contracts

.

Regardless, full blown websites on my iphone during class rocks

. I am in love with my iphone and the full scale internet hitting the mobile landscape.

THAT is the FUTURE of the internet, where all devices will have access to the full blown internet, and where satellite's will eventually extend internet coverage to the ENTIRE US for a nominal charge.

Hopefully that comes within the next 10 years.

TO egnited:

#2 - You are so completely against .mobi that you refuse to admit that the recent auction over at Sedo was successful. Come on, get real. DotMobi is one year old, yet the average sale price was what, ~$8,500.00? Many of which you consider "DUDS"!? How the hell can you possibly consider results like that anything but a success?

Such a fallacy. .ASIA's average landrush auction price SHOULD give a good comparison. However, if .EU did the exact same thing as .mobi, I would have NO DOUBT that an aution of the top 100 keywords would net at least $8500 per name or EVEN MORE.

The point is, every other major TLD launch before .eu was in A DIFFERENT MARKET AND DIFFERENT TIME PERIOD.

2002 is not 2006. 1989 is not 2002.

People, please STOP saying how much "success" this extention has over the others just based on SALES PRICES.

This kind of thinking is just pure CLOSE minded.

Screw the debate about auto redirection, formatting issues, etc. People need to wake up and realize the "watered down web" will die out in the next decade.

To put my thoughts in ONE phrase:

There is No Mobile Web, Just the Internet.

scandiman · Oct 7, 2007

Sam said:
To put my thoughts in ONE phrase:

There is No Mobile Web, Just the Internet.

From a networking perspective you are absolutely correct. But from a content perspective you are way off. The computer and the mobile device are 2 different mediums with different presentation needs. To think one presentation of information will suffice is extremely naive. It's been heavily discussed outside this forum, some call it the 3rd screen, some call it the 4th. Whatever you call it, it has unique needs that beg for unique presentation of content and an entire industry has sprung up as a result.

I am glad you enjoy the iPhone, it has done wonders for bringing more consumer awareness to the mobile web. Verizon's wireless data sales are skyrocketing, and they have nothing to do with the iPhone.

Here are a few links that I hope will help to better explain what the mobile web is all about.

http://www.w3.org/Mobile/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Web
http://www.mobileweb20.futuretext.com/
http://www.mobilewebexpo.com/

allnicksgone · Oct 7, 2007

Sam said:
However, if .EU did the exact same thing as .mobi, I would have NO DOUBT that an aution of the top 100 keywords would net at least $8500 per name or EVEN MORE.

I am not disputing your views, everyone is entitled to an opinion. But, to clarify, the recent auction did not include "the top 100 keywords". If it did, the average would have been more than $8,500.

GeoOwners · Oct 7, 2007

newdomainer.mobi said:
this needs to be sold hard B2B before it hits the man in the street. This will take another year or two but it is happening and will continue to do so.
I cannot see the point in pushing this onto the public just yet because lets face it, the content isn't their yet and it will take a long time to develop.
I have recently sold a domain to a top DJ who is developing a .mobi music site and this is where the action is, cutting edge youth applications & quite simply the most simple & practical & useful sites for the public at large (weather, news, gossip etc...)
2008 may well be a quiet year too but this cannot fail to happen, the internet cannot fail to go mobile (especially in the developing world) thats why In have a number of VISA type domains (for passport type visa's not credit cards & water supplies / batteries etc.. useful applications for working people across the world.
I can't see a knitting site becoming a big hitter on the mobile web but focus on practical uses & it will work for you... .mobi is a potential part of that development & personally I can't see how that can fail either but then again, I don't have a crystal ball..

Regards

Gary

exactly...and this is happening...more and more businesses pop up with mobi sites all the time and today while listening to a podcast on mobile web design they brought up .mobi.

.

hawkeye said:
badg, I've got to dispute you here. There's no doubt Jeff has a very thick skin after all that is thrown at him, and yeah, he doesn't disparage anyone outright. But you also have not been in these threads for the last year, having to deal with his relentless 'same lame' POVs on things over and over and over, no matter what the thread!! He 'always' puts a damper on any thread! He's been asked, pleaded with, begged, etc. to please stop posting the exact same things in every post, and yet he still keeps doing it. He owns 'maybe' 4 names, which for some reason are a secret, and yet he consistently posts in any thread of any type of mobi talk/news between posters, with his unrealistic demands of 'corporate intentions', 'ecosystem', 'usual suspects' etc. The reason a new forum was created and members left here was literally 90% because of him! Like it or not, that is fact. I'm sure he's a nice guy overall, but he's nothing more than a complete downer in this forum to those that want to discuss the mobi extension. Even the other emphatic naysayers here have gotten bored, and left. This is not about people only wanting to hear or say 'good' things about .mobi, it's about a consistant, and constant, ragging of the same things, in 'every' new thread, from the same person, over, and over, and over!!

ps: this was not an unfriendly comment

SPot on...this is all true...peeps here everyday all know this...an opinion is different from the constant flip flopping and BS.

.

Sam · Oct 7, 2007

scandiman said:
From a networking perspective you are absolutely correct. But from a content perspective you are way off. The computer and the mobile device are 2 different mediums with different presentation needs. To think one presentation of information will suffice is extremely naive. It's been heavily discussed outside this forum, some call it the 3rd screen, some call it the 4th. Whatever you call it, it has unique needs that beg for unique presentation of content and an entire industry has sprung up as a result.

I am glad you enjoy the iPhone, it has done wonders for bringing more consumer awareness to the mobile web. Verizon's wireless data sales are skyrocketing, and they have nothing to do with the iPhone.

Here are a few links that I hope will help to better explain what the mobile web is all about.

http://www.w3.org/Mobile/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Web
http://www.mobileweb20.futuretext.com/
http://www.mobilewebexpo.com/

Hi there,

Yes you are right, there is a 3rd screen. But its a third screen which can display "full" content.

I just checked out wikipedia.org via http://www.testiphone.com/. It looks great

Even namepros surfing during class isn't hard. This "scrolling" feature will eventually take over the mobile internet IMO.

Regarding top 100 keywords. Hmm, yes I guess I was off there, but I am sure if we did this auction with the same keywords with .eu during the .EU Heyday they would hit $8500+.

Sam

Mobi Cheap · Oct 7, 2007

Sam said:
...
I just checked out wikipedia.org via http://www.testiphone.com/. It looks great

Even namepros surfing during class isn't hard. This "scrolling" feature will eventually take over the mobile internet IMO.
...

With respect Sam, Wikipedia and Namepros must be among the worst examples to use if you want to be fair in your analysis.

Sam · Oct 7, 2007

Mobi Cheap, I am positive that most if not all of the top 100 alexa US sites can be surfed easily via the iphone.

Mobi Cheap · Oct 7, 2007

Sam said:
Mobi Cheap, I am positive that most if not all of the top 100 alexa US sites can be surfed easily via the iphone.

That's fine Sam, I shouldn't have entering this discussion as I need to go very soon - I'm just very sensitive to experiments being carried out on data that's obviously not a representative sample.

Just to clarify what I meant above: one of the primary purposes of .mobi is to eliminate all the fluff and eye candy from PC oriented websites and leave only the really useful bits, so people on the go don't waste their time and bandwith.

Both wikipedia.org and namepros.com already do that anyway (although obviously not to the same extent).

Steven · Oct 7, 2007

Sam said:
Hi there,

Yes you are right, there is a 3rd screen. But its a third screen which can display "full" content.

I just checked out wikipedia.org via http://www.testiphone.com/. It looks great

Even namepros surfing during class isn't hard. This "scrolling" feature will eventually take over the mobile internet IMO.

Regarding top 100 keywords. Hmm, yes I guess I was off there, but I am sure if we did this auction with the same keywords with .eu during the .EU Heyday they would hit $8500+.

Sam

Since I don't have an iphone, I have a question for iphone users.
Does iphone allow you to scroll up/down and side-to-side like what we've seen in testiphone.com ?

At the moment, I don't use mobile browser as much (thus my lack of knowledge in mobile browsing) due to bandwidth cost (I don't have the cell phone plan specifically made for PDA yet).

Sometimes I do, and it's really convenient when I go to some website, and it's simplified for me (mobile web).

BrandonG · Oct 7, 2007

I agree with you binary. They're worthless and the only reason to have them is if you're developing a WAP enabled website. Some people are selling local area codes for $xxx and it's just ridiculous.

Sam · Oct 7, 2007

Yes you can! and its quite easy with the flick of a finger

I never use the EDGE network, just my school's wireless (which blankets all the major campus buildings). Eventually I imagine a massive wireless network being built in the US.

Until then, surfing in class will have to suffice.

italiandragon · Oct 7, 2007

.mobi or not .mobi , this is my dilemma....

How annoying.

RJ · Oct 7, 2007

.MOBI hasn't reached its tipping point, and could go either way when it does. I'm still in a "wait and see" mindset. A plus for the TLD is that there is a lot of money backing .MOBI with some passionate people that are doing their best to push it forward.

It is somewhat true that new mobile browsers that display the normal internet "fine" can be a challenge to MOBI's usefulness. In my case, I was compelled to create Mobile NamePros (namepros.mobi) only after trying NamePros on my own phone. It was a horrible experience! If a domain views fine on a mobile device, the business owner or webmaster may be less motivated to create a mobile-optimized version of their site.

Still, I think the threat of these new devices to MOBI is limited at best. Even iPhone users can benefit from using more streamlined versions of websites.

The second challenge, and a bigger one imho, is convincing businesses and webmasters that .MOBI is a better domain choice for their mobile site than just using "m." (mDot) subdomain on an existing domain. With a subdomain alternative, the webmaster doesn't have to worry about acquiring a new domain and visitors can be assured they've visiting the proper company. I still haven't heard a compelling reason why DotMOBI is be a better choice over mDot. Maybe someone could provide a refresher.

RJ

gou · Oct 7, 2007

Japan, as we know, has some of the most advanced phones. Countless "mobile only" sites exist which can be said to be the "watered down" version of the internet. However, in a country where mobile internet surfing is more common than PC internet surfing, it just makes more sense to have simplified websites.
My speculation is that America and the rest of the world will soon follow this trend, and as with the people who use .net as an alternative to .com, people will start to use .mobi for their mobile only sites.
I could be wrong, but I am willing to pay the price.

mjnels · Oct 7, 2007

Sam said:
Yes you can! and its quite easy with the flick of a finger

I never use the EDGE network, just my school's wireless (which blankets all the major campus buildings). Eventually I imagine a massive wireless network being built in the US.

Until then, surfing in class will have to suffice.

easier than what? not being able to view the site at all like before these devices/browsers existed?

of course its easier than that... it wasnt possible before, now it is. imagine that, its easier.

i own an iphone too... and you are missing a big piece of the picture.. it appears you are still extremely happy that a portable device can render "full" websites. neat aint it...

but, what you seem to be implying is that nobody would ever be interested in a streamlined version, whether they use a mobi address or not.... you say people PREFER the full website on their handheld device?

am i correct here? zooming and scrolling is the future? opening webpages that are too small to initially read is the future? manually zooming in and scrolling around the screen in little puzzle pieces is the future?

GeoOwners · Oct 7, 2007

mjnels said:
easier than what? not being able to view the site at all like before these devices/browsers existed?

of course its easier than that... it wasnt possible before, now it is. imagine that, its easier.

i own an iphone too... and you are missing a big piece of the picture.. it appears you are still extremely happy that a portable device can render "full" websites. neat aint it...

but, what you seem to be implying is that nobody would ever be interested in a streamlined version, whether they use a mobi address or not.... you say people PREFER the full website on their handheld device?

am i correct here? zooming and scrolling is the future? opening webpages that are too small to initially read is the future? manually zooming in and scrolling around the screen in little puzzle pieces is the future?

BINGO...there's so many bingos around here the bingo parlor will be broke soon...

I just got an itouch...yes its very cool but the tapping in and out and scrolling is not the coolest part...I do go to .mobi sites BECAUSE they are easier to use .

.

mrdomainman said:
Since I don't have an iphone, I have a question for iphone users.
Does iphone allow you to scroll up/down and side-to-side like what we've seen in testiphone.com ?

At the moment, I don't use mobile browser as much (thus my lack of knowledge in mobile browsing) due to bandwidth cost (I don't have the cell phone plan specifically made for PDA yet).

Sometimes I do, and it's really convenient when I go to some website, and it's simplified for me (mobile web).

the iphone and itouch do scroll in all directions BUT you also have to double tap to enlarge the area being viewed...THEN you have to scroll even more because the image is now huge and you can only see small bits at a time...

.

scandiman · Oct 7, 2007

Sam said:
Yes you are right, there is a 3rd screen. But its a third screen which can display "full" content.

That's your definition, not the one recognized in the industry. Like I said, iPhones are great and also the new iPod touch. They're doing wonders to expand consumer awareness of the mobile web. They are capable of viewing most full sized pages so please tell me why it is all the rage now to build iPhone optimized sites? They look astonishingly similar to .mobi sites. Zoom and scroll is great when you need it but most folks don't want to bother with that forever.

I was just doing research a few weeks ago on some newspaper articles from the 1970's and my only option was microfilm. I'm glad it was available but it would be a horrible way to read the daily paper. Scroll up, down, left and right, zoom in, out, in out.... very much like using an iPhone. The presentation needs to fit the medium and computer sized web pages don't fit a mobile sized device.

-REECE- · Oct 7, 2007

scandiman said:
That's your definition, not the one recognized in the industry. Like I said, iPhones are great and also the new iPod touch. Their doing wonders to expand consumer awareness of the mobile web. They are capable of viewing most full sized pages so please tell me why it is all the rage now to build iPhone optimized sites? They look astonishingly similar to .mobi sites. Zoom and scroll is great when you need it but most folks don't want to bother with that forever.

I was just doing research a few weeks ago on some newspaper articles from the 1970's and my only option was microfilm. I'm glad it was available but it would be a horrible way to read the daily paper. Scroll up, down, left and right, zoom in, out, in out.... very much like using an iPhone. The presentation needs to fit the medium and computer sized web pages don't fit a mobile sized device.

Sony used to make a really cute handheld/mini-laptop called the U101 . I loved the little thing to death.. But a 7 inch screen was a pain in the arse sometimes... I don't have an iPhone/iPod Touch, but looking at pics I'd imagine it can't be more than half of that...

edit: It had scroll in/out as well. Time sure flies.. Seems like yesterday, can't believe that was 2003. Getting old

domainitrix · Oct 7, 2007

italiandragon said:
.mobi or not .mobi , this is my dilemma....

How annoying.

One of the most eloquent things I've heard this year. Thank You italiandragon
you spoke my mind!

Sam · Oct 8, 2007

dentalpro said:
BINGO...there's so many bingos around here the bingo parlor will be broke soon...

I just got an itouch...yes its very cool but the tapping in and out and scrolling is not the coolest part...I do go to .mobi sites BECAUSE they are easier to use .

.

the iphone and itouch do scroll in all directions BUT you also have to double tap to enlarge the area being viewed...THEN you have to scroll even more because the image is now huge and you can only see small bits at a time...

.

Unless you dont know how to tap, steve jobs counts on those good old bloody frames to make sure you dont "zoom in" too much. EG. tap on the "central column" of major sites and it will zoom into that central column. Quite convenient IMO. I have rarely been forced to zoom all the way in. Oh yes, never hold your iphone in the "potrait" position

. Landscape mode does the trick.

NewWorldArk · Oct 8, 2007

Ok this is My first post, after observing the NP dotMobi Area and All it's frequent visitors for several months now. (Just a side Note: I believe after further review "Jeff" is actually a automated software response system.)

Regardless of what the iphone is capable of, and Regardless of Auto Detection, I will Say this to all of You.....It is .Mobi's Device, Plain & Simple.

.Com does not belong and was not Designated, Nor Designed with the Mobile Phone in Mind., .Com belongs on the Personal Computer. Why is .Com King,
Because it was the first Extension Designated for that Device.

Personal Computer: Extensions; .Com, .Net, .Us, .Org, .Biz, .Info etc.

Personal Mobile Phone: .Mobi

You cannot compare any other Extensions to .Mobi

Period.

I don't think People really understand just how Big this New Extension is.

From a Business stand point of view,

It's Huge.

Sam · Oct 8, 2007

.mobi is definately not designed for the iphone.

Try iphone facebook on your cellphone and you will definately see what i mean.

I would NEVER want to surf the watered down web with my iphone. Who would just want a watered down site when you can have the full version?

Mobi Cheap · Oct 8, 2007

Sam said:
Unless you dont know how to tap, steve jobs counts on those good old bloody frames to make sure you dont "zoom in" too much. EG. tap on the "central column" of major sites and it will zoom into that central column. Quite convenient IMO. I have rarely been forced to zoom all the way in. Oh yes, never hold your iphone in the "potrait" position . Landscape mode does the trick.

I'm very happy for both you and Steve, but - as you're in danger of turning this thread into another pi$$ing contest - please note: it's not how you hold it, its the tld that counts:

Wrong Way 1 (.com, portrait)

Wrong Way 2 (.com, landscape)

Right Way 1 (.mobi, portrait)

Right Way 2 (.mobi, landscape)

.mobi .Mobi's missed the boat

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