I notice that lately there have been a number of threads again suggesting that .mobi is obsolete, redundant or irrelevant.
Look it's like this. Besides .Mobi being a guareantee that you will visit a website that is mobile friendly there's more.
Sure..You can design your .com site to re-direct to a mobile specific version as soon as it detects a mobile accessing the site. Fine. No problem.
But now picture this scenario:
Company is relatively new and does not have a .com site ( the domain it wants is taken already) So the .Mobi domain is the answer. It can be viewed by both PC and Mobile.
There is only 1 .com for any given name and there are many companies wanting to use that given name. Ie: Apple.com So the guy who is an apple farmer cant use Apple.com. He can use .net or .info or .biz but he does not really want any of those and anyway they are also taken already. So Apple.mobi is the answer as it offers both Pc and Mobile access and is just as INTERNATIONAL as .com
Even guys who have sites ending in a country tld like .NL, .CO.UK, .DE and so forth will find .Mobi a nice alternative to have as the mobile web becomes more of a reality.
I suppose country extensions could also use device detection or the .M method but again there are more companies in any given country that would like to use a domain name but find it's already taken. Here again the .Mobi domain gives them the possibility to go online with an extension that will give them a Pc and mobile compatible site.
This is why .Mobi is NOT obsolete. It just needs to be marketed properly and get brought into the limelight more.
A lot of the generic names like apple are taken in all extensions including .mobi
The farmer can go for keyword + apple/ apple + keyword .com , .net, .org, .info or .biz
You can make m.domain.net, m.domain.org, m.domain.info or m.domain.biz
.mobi is just an extension... a gTLD with 4 letters.
Yes, you can build full websites with it. However, you need to comply with the mTLD rules and also build a mobile version.
I think mTLD should really do a better job in enforcing the rules.
Go to google, and type: site:.mobi
I checked out 40 random sites listed near the front pages, and most of them were full sites and not mobile device compatible (according to ready.mobi)
I mean people typing in .mobi has to feel comfortable that any site .mobi will be mobile device friendly right?
The technology is moving forward, and I predict that many of the phones in the future will allow viewing of full websites with no problem (which is a good thing for those who like surfing on the web using mobile devices).
If that happens and people are more inclined to view full websites through their phone, the companies currently utilizing .mobi may simply scrap their current mobile version and redirect .mobi to their .com (now this is just what "may" happen imo).
Essentially, there is no special mobile web. It's just a regular internet viewed on mobile device with limited browser technology. However, technology is constantly improving and newer phones with better browsers are coming out.
Our current perception of "mobile" web will bound to differ with time.
You still dont get the point do you. It's got nothing to do with technology or browsers. IT GIVES PEOPLE OR COMPANIES AN EXTRA TLD THAT"S INTERNATIONAL DUDE! SO WHAT IF APPLE.MOBI IS TAKEN? JUST GOES TO SHOW DOES"NT IT?
Yes, I get the point that .mobi gives people global/international tld to work with.
However. you can pretty much replace .mobi in your post with any other gTLD like .net, .biz, .info, .org
Being a .mobi doesn't guarantee anything at the moment unless stricter enforcement is made by mTLD.
The thing is... you don't have to prove to me or to any other domainers here.
You have to prove and get the point out to them... the people using the internet via mobile device.
If that's my company, I'm registering a .COM, even if I must have a domain like this:
CompanyCo.com
CompanyCorp.com
CompanyInc.com
...or even ccTLDs. My main site isn't a mobile site -- it's a regular Internet site. I'd probably pick up the .mobi if I had the opportunity, but it shouldn't be a .com replacement.
If you're using .mobi to replace .com to be used on PCs and mobile devices, you're restricted in design and site functionality. By that logic (if we're moving the Web to mobile), why is there a .mobi at all? Why don't we design mobile-friendly .coms to begin with?
I agree that .mobi needs to be promoted properly and brought into the public eye, but the chance of that happening is severely limited by domainers that buy up the "good" names. Why not develop and promote the .mobi domains you have as their own new brand?
In the end, I think the Web is too established to morph into mobile devices. I believe mobile devices will be changed and developed to utilize the Web we have now (see Apple iPhone).
I don't disagree with any of this but would point out the main problem isn't with the technology to render the full website, it is the limited screen size to view it.
Until there is a practical solution to the small screen, mobi offers a solution.
As manufacturers try to invent new ways to "view" the screen, they run up against the same resistance. Customers want a "cell phone" size gadget. If they wanted to lug around a laptop or notebook sized device, those are already available.
Who knows what the future will bring, but I don't see an answer to this problem on the horizon just yet. Perhaps someday we will have "hologram" technology, but that is a long ways in the future.
Solutions like "roll out screens" etc. are doomed to failure because of their flimsy nature. Cellphones get no respect. They are tossed around, dropped, and generally abused until they need replacement.
Regardless of whether mobi or m.domain or whatever extension is used, they have to fit within the small screen or people won't use them.
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Personally, I hate all cell phones. I find them annoying as hell and if someone wants to reach me, they can leave me a message at home.
To think that everyone will like using zoom-in screens like the iPhone has is a bit dense imho. There's still people in the world like me who're afraid of cell phones, nevermind cell phones with tiny screens that half the population over 30 would have to squint to read.
That 5" screen just doesn't render NYTimes.com well, no matter whether it runs Windows XP and has Internet Explorer 7 or not. If a $1500 UMPC like the OQO can't do the job, I really wonder how a toy like an iPhone can.
The other factor is useage.
Will people look up informaton on cell phones? Only the information they can use - restaurants, movie times and locations, what taxi to call, directions to somewhere.
It is the internet, yes, but seen from a different perspective. People are not going to do involved projects on mobile devices, like they do on PCs. Because of their size, phones are not well suited for in-depth research.
But a website offering coupons to the store in front of them, that will be of interest. .Mobi would be a great extension for that coupon site.
I always wanted to get around to making a site for counting calories, but have just never managed to find the time. Being able to see how many calories are in that Big Mac would be very useful for many of us.
There's alot of good uses for .mobi... People just have to think outside the box and stop thinking .mobi just means mobile, small, uncomplicated. Mobi is much more than that
dot Mobi uses a standard for a reason, not everyone lives in the USA w/top notch cell phones/mobile devices.
Look at the developing countries, some villages have only one cell phone for the community, so having a functioning dot mobi site actually helps them.
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To those who carp on about .mobi not being a viable 'replacement' for .com - will you please shut up! - No one in their right mind has ever suggested that this would / could / will happen...
To those of you who still can't understand why I wouldn't want to see a full size site on a 3" screen just because I can... Will you think for one moment about what .mobi (or mobile sites) are all about...
They are meant to be user friendly; that means no side to side scrolling, no zooming in to read & no frustrations getting to the info that is being sought!
It doesn't really get much simpler;
2006 - a web site was a site you looked at on a computer screen
2010 - a web site will be just the same as in 2006
BUT... in 2010 there will also be a wide range of mini sites (mobi sites, wap sites call them what you will) These will be driven by a number of factors... technology will allow the delivery of these sites quickly & efficiently (something WAP never truly delivered)
Media will be looking for the widest possible audience; be it news, gossip, trade, promotion..
Advertising will need to be part of this (& certainly will be)
Youth: social networking; friends / music / education / current affairs / gossip
Financial: Banks / building societies / insurance - they will all produce a consumer friendly mobile interface; it's as predictable as a member of the BUSH family never being US president again!
Producers; consumer groups.... in fact everyone!
I posed a challenge a while back & I'm happy to play again...
PM me with a company or entity (what they do) & I'll give you a reason for a mobi site... you can choose any company / entity & no matter how convinced you are that the mobile web is not relevant to them, I will find a viable use for you... If you are outlandishly silly I reserve the right to respond with a similar answer but believe me, I haven't been stumped yet!
By default .mobi is the only extension that can offer consistent branding... no other option works across the board... because not every company is going to have a .com, nor use the exact same sub domain etc etc.
But some say that words like "apple.mobi" have gone... & there is only one; therefore it's a shocking disaster!
Well this may come as news but apple.com has gone too!
The answer is best that apple in the Uk register "appleuk.mobi" & then when someone in Leeds wants the same name they have to go with "appleLeeds.mobi" or "appleNorth.mobi" or whatever other brandbale derivative they can think of (much the same as has to be done registering .coms today)
There are a 1,000 ways to create a decent domain name but there is only one uniform platform & that is .mobi (this isn't an opinion, it's a fact.. by default .mobi is the only global & uniform TLd for mobiles).
So like it or not, it's where my money is...
m.appleleeds.co.uk is not as good as appleleeds.mobi when it comes to branding / graphics / artwork etc.. so what if apple.mobi has gone already.. there are nearly 6 billion of us out there; sometimes you simply don't get 1st pick! ;-)
