.mobi Great .mobi names dropping...

[Embrand]

Hi, I haven't followed .mobi that closely, so maybe it is just me... But it seems that right now many great .mobi names are dropping.

First there was buddhism.mobi (auctioned yesterday at Pool), then betting.mobi and pizzas.mobi (now at SnapNames auction) and now concert.mobi and nightclub.mobi (still time to backorder) just to mention a few.

Is this a normal situation? In that case, I guess it is bad news for the extension. Or is it unusual and in that case a great opportunity for buyers? And are they worth paying high $xxx for?

Thanks

---------- Post added at 03:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:00 AM ----------

By the way, betting.mobi is already at $580 with more than two days left of the auction at SnapNames.

 

[seanboy]

Official Google Mobile Blog: The Iterative Web App: Feature-Rich and Fast (12/17/2009)

Every mobile engineering team -- including Google's -- struggles to make its applications available to all users on all devices. Even if you scope your work to today's smartphones, you're left with no less than five major operating systems. But we pay this cost because native code is often the only way to build an app that's rich enough and fast enough to meet users' needs. Enter the mobile web.

A growing number of mobile devices ship with an all-important feature: a modern web browser. And this is significant for two reasons:

As an engineering team, we can build a single app with HTML and JavaScript, and have it "just work" across many mobile operating systems. The cost savings are substantial, not to mention the time you can re-invest in user-requested features.
Having a web application also means we can launch products and features as soon as they're ready. And for users, the latest version of the app is always just a URL and a refresh away.

Of course: what sounds good in theory doesn't always materialize in practice. So back in April 2009 our team began re-building Gmail for mobile for today's modern browsers. We wanted to know: Could the mobile web support Gmail's basic and advanced features? Could we stuff the app with functionality while still keeping it fast and responsive? Today, and for the first time, we have answers to both questions...READ MORE

For anyone wanting to see what a great modern mobile web application looks like, go to gmail.com on your iPhone or Android phone. Mobile web sites aren't disappearing anytime soon, and anyone who thinks differently needs to do better reseach.. They're getting better. The days of text-only WAP sites are finally over. Now its possible to create mobile web applications like Gmail delivered via a modern mobile web browser.

The reason Yahoo Go failed wasn't because it was web based, it was because it sucked. Not to mention that Yahoo still has a mobile site, just go to Yahoo.com on your phone.

Try facebook.mobi aswell. :lol:

For the 10,000,000th time, THERE IS NO FACEBOOK.MOBI.

 

[mo_dork]

Official Google Mobile Blog: The Iterative Web App: Feature-Rich and Fast (12/17/2009)



For anyone wanting to see what a great modern web application is, go to gmail.com on your iPhone or Android phone. Mobile web sites aren't disappearing anytime soon, and anyone who thinks differently needs to do better reseach.

The reason Yahoo Go failed wasn't because it was web based, it was because it sucked. Not to mention that Yahoo still has a mobile site, just go to Yahoo.com on your phone.


For the 10,000,000th time, THERE IS NO FACEBOOK.MOBI.

Nice article.
Labrocca, back to the drawing board for you!

 

[snoop]

Why do pc users use the internet/websites?
Why not all apps on computers?
Way not a namespros app for my computer.

Its actually moving completely in the other direction.
Think chrome = the whole device is a browser.

I think the big difference is the PC has a large keyboard, versus a mobile device where typing is more difficult, so to go somewhere that you go all the time, an app makes alot of sense for a mobile device where you are navigating with one finger. For a PC the benefit would be pretty marginal.

I don't think it is right to say it is "completely moving in the opposite direction", very obvious that apps on mobile devices has taken off since the app store came out on the iphone.

 

[mo_dork]

I think the big difference is the PC has a large keyboard, versus a mobile device where typing is more difficult, so to go somewhere that you go all the time, an app makes alot of sense for a mobile device where you are navigating with one finger. For a PC the benefit would be pretty marginal.

I don't think it is right to say it is "completely moving in the opposite direction", very obvious that apps on mobile devices has taken off since the app store came out on the iphone.

The keypad is a non issue. I use a blackberry and routinely write long emails on it, so a little URL is not a problem. However a bookmark makes this process even quicker. You can also make a bookmark appear on the home screen like an app icon if you wish, at least on an iphone.

Regarding "completely moving in the opposite direction", maybe not in the short term, as apps are currently flourishing. But new browsers are arriving and flash for mobile and chrome OS etc, these will all make apps less optimal. So over time apps will diminish. Ignoring .mobi for a second, I would absolutely put my money on the mobile web beating apps. And by a factor of well over 100:1.

 

[snoop]

The keypad is a non issue. I use a blackberry and routinely write long emails on it, so a little URL is not a problem.

I don't think the average person on ths street finds it easy, especially when they are trying to do other things at the same time. eg trying to type in maps.google.com while you are stopped at the lights looking for directions.

So over time apps will diminish. Ignoring .mobi for a second, I would absolutely put my money on the mobile web beating apps. And by a factor of well over 100:1.

Hope you have a backup plan in case you are wrong. In any case of the two people in this thread who who seem to know exactly what is going to happen regarding apps versus browsing one of those people is going to be completely wrong.

 

[Keith]

Apps are only good to a certain point. I currently have about 60 or so apps on my iphone. Honestly that is about the limit, otherwise I'm looking through pages of apps for the one I need. It's not realistic to have hundreds or thousands of apps on a phone. That's why websites will be in demand on mobile. Simply too much content floating in cyberspace to have an app for everything IMO.

Snoop, I don't have the exact article from Morgan Stanely in which they talk about mobile web dominance vs. PC. It is a recent piece which talks about mobile web internet usage surpassing PC usage within 5 years. I also recommend watching "inside the mind of google". There is a segment specifically related to mobile usage and how it is steadily gaining momentum.

Does anyone here doubt that the mobile web will be bigger than the PC in the near future? I know some of you may have
blinders on but the future of mobile is blatently obvious to most

 

[Kate]

Snoop, I don't have the exact article from Morgan Stanely in which they talk about mobile web dominance vs. PC. It is a recent piece which talks about mobile web internet usage surpassing PC usage within 5 years.

This one ?
Not one single mention of .mobi in this report. Seems like the .mobi investors have their own vision of the mobile Internet.

 

[mo_dork]

Firefox for mobile 'days away' from launch-
BBC News - Firefox for mobile 'days away' from launch

"Because it is a browser for a mobile device, the add-ons will be different," said Mr Sullivan. "You'll see ones that use geo-location and exploit how the device is tilted."

The add-ons will add functionality to the phone that is currently offered by mobile apps.

 

[labrocca]

Rather than developing fully functioning apps for every platform, they woke up and smelled the coffee and realized it makes a whole lot more sense to simply build for the web across all devices, be it iPhone, Android, Windoze, Palm, Symbian, etc.... So while you and others are hooked on apps as a user interface, the movement behind the scenes is to mobile web, the app simply being one gateway to the mobile web content.

They will all be using Android within 2 years except maybe iPhone. But heck look now their Mac OSX is using FreeBSD so you never know.

Do you know how easy it is to build a website that can be accessed by multiple phone platforms?

They why are apps so widly popular?

So therefore people who develop alot have an insight as to whether people are going to download everything via app in the future whilst those who don't develop will not know?

It gives them an insight to the difficulty of creation. It's not any more difficult than building a php application website.

Now if you are planning on developing android apps it sounds like you are right into it, but that does not mean you insight is any better than the guy who doesn't.

Sure it does. If I can take a week to build a great app for my site it's going to be a lot more beneficial than mysite.mobi. With the app you're already in their marketplace ready to be installed by users. No need for SEO or even marketing.

I'd go for the app, because I use the site alot and I'm a geek, that is different to the average small-medium size site which gets occasional visitors from regular people.

So by this statement you make it clear the non-app site will be less successful. Companies already know this. Now skip the app and reg a mobi and you're pretty much bottom of the barrel. The old adage...location,location, location.

The is no different to saving a login and setting on a web page.

Actually imho there is. Webpages use cookies and other methods for security and they do have a shelf life. And there is so much more that can be done from an App for a website such as a Twitter app I mentioned.

Most people think that those with an opposing view are "small thinkers", that is nothing new.

Probably. How about instead I call them "guessers" because they are just guessing at what the technology does versus seeing the code itself and KNOWING what it can do. The benefits of apps far outweighs building and promoting a mobi website for mobile use. The application is going to be the winner every time.

I'll throw out another example of how it's a benefit.


Dir.mobi is at face value a decent idea. A search engine for mobile friendly sites. Now if they had an Android App for a direct search of their database to get results it would probably be even more popular. The site btw didn't load for me yesterday and today it's super slow. Searching gave me errors.

Fatal error: Cannot redeclare admob_append_params() (previously declared in /home/aptana/domains/dirmobinew.aptanacloud.com/web/htdocs/admob.php:10) in /home/aptana/domains/dirmobinew.aptanacloud.com/web/htdocs/admob2.php on line 12[/qote]

Good conversation so far. I think the whole mobi argument is imho going to be reinvigorated by adding apps into the discussion.

 

[seanboy]

..

 

[newton]

If I can take a week to build a great app for my site it's going to be a lot more beneficial than mysite.mobi. With the app you're already in their marketplace ready to be installed by users. No need for SEO or even marketing. Now skip the app and reg a mobi and you're pretty much bottom of the barrel. The old adage...location,location, location.

Let's cut to the chase Jesse as I know you are a gambling man, and if you'd like to put your money where your mouth is, then I am certainly willing to wager.

You build your own purchasable app, since you are a developer (it must all be coded by you in its entirety). When you are ready to launch this, then I will use an existing mobi URL for my product.

As you say, you do not need seo or even marketing for your app, so let's see how it does.

The one who makes the most money and has the most mobile traffic (has to be both) purely from their product / url in a month wins $100 from the other.

We can work out the details

 

[mo_dork]

Sure it does. If I can take a week to build a great app for my site it's going to be a lot more beneficial than mysite.mobi. With the app you're already in their marketplace ready to be installed by users. No need for SEO or even marketing.

Your confusing me. Now the app is an add on to the site? Previously you implied that the app replaces the site. No need for mobile websites, thus no market for .mobi.

And what's this- "With the app you're already in their marketplace" you are already in what marketplace? The holy grail! no more marketing, users mysteriously find your app and download it because it must be amazing, its an app! This is craziness. Noone is going to find your app without marketing. And where are they downloading it from? a website maybe? a mobile website? Or are you just going to take your chances amongst the other 100,000 apps on the app store.

This android you refer to has an app store with I believe around 20k apps, currently playing catch up to the iphone app store. Thats great. But in the long run even google's (android's) senior management have stated that they believe the future of mobile is on the web not in apps.

Are you aware of chrome OS?
This is browser as OS. If you believe in android then believe in chrome OS, its going to be powering all sorts of dummed down netbooks and tablets and other HD-less devices. Everything online, everything a service. Its not pro mobi, but its anti-app.

 

[labrocca]

You sound like someone that's not using an Android phone.

Android Market

I don't see any method to add apps to the ipod store. Probably requires an Apple license and all types of BS.

IMHO you're completely out of touch with what's going on with Android.

BooRah - Select your City to see restaurant reviews, menus, pictures, and more!

That's not a very popular website. Alexa ranking about 23k.

Android Market

Their Android app is a top 10 free application.

The mobile internet is not used in the same way that the desktop internet is used. Members here have to get over that hurdle especially mobi fans. It's going to be more likely that someone will use their top 5 applications and interact with the internet than open 5 different websites off their browser. Again...if you have a smart phone do you use apps more than the browser?

Chrome OS and HTML 5.0 might change some things but Chrome is still Google and it's going to probably have some Android compatibility. For all we know all Android apps will be Chrome ready. If Google is smart they'll do that and I suspect they will.

Everything online, everything a service. Its not pro mobi, but its anti-app.

This is where your thinking is skewed. The applications aren't 100% local. They require the internet. They just bypass the url bar basically. They do also have certain things locally just as a browser has cookies and cache. The local apps are going to also hold settings and certain information that will make the app run smoother and interact with the remote app half. Example is that restaurant search at Boorah. All the data is actually on the internet network but obviously the application to search is local. Hence that's why it's an application.

But in the long run even google's (android's) senior management have stated that they believe the future of mobile is on the web not in apps.

You're not correct. They believe in exactly what I am describing to you.

Official Google Mobile Blog: The Iterative Web App: Feature-Rich and Fast

If you're using this blog from Google as your evidence of sr. management one only has to read the actual title to see my point.

The Iterative Web App: Feature-Rich and Fast

Read those words again and place them into context of my posts. It's not an interactive website. It's a WEB APP. I think because you don't develop you're not understand the terminology, how it works or how it's applied.

All this is a great discussion and it's clear to me that mobi is irrelevent for the future of mobile internet usage no matter which way this goes.

 

[mo_dork]

This is where your thinking is skewed. The applications aren't 100% local. They require the internet. They just bypass the url bar basically. They do also have certain things locally just as a browser has cookies and cache. The local apps are going to also hold settings and certain information that will make the app run smoother and interact with the remote app half. Example is that restaurant search at Boorah. All the data is actually on the internet network but obviously the application to search is local. Hence that's why it's an application.

I know what an app is of course, infact i have a few installed on my phone.

 

[labrocca]

Which phone and can you describe your normal phone usage where it concerns the internet?

Do you open apps more often than you view webpages? Do you have a Gmail/email app or do you go to a website? Do you get your weather from a website or an application? Do you do restaurant and movie searches from an app or from a website?

Old applications used to be directly related to cell providers. Now they're on the internet and that has to be realized by webmasters looking to hook into mobile.

 

[snoop]

Dir.mobi is at face value a decent idea. A search engine for mobile friendly sites. Now if they had an Android App for a direct search of their database to get results it would probably be even more popular. The site btw didn't load for me yesterday and today it's super slow. Searching gave me errors.

You keep giving examples and I keep agreeing, but your argument was the apps will be used in all occasions for mobile devices and that therefore .mobi has no audience,

"And this is EXACTLY why mobi is dead. All the phones use mobile APPLICATIONS. They are bypassing urls completely. The .mobi namespace has no audience."

There is no point bringing out examples of where apps work well and ignoring the instances where I'm suggesting it won't work well. Like I said I think people are going to use apps and web addresses depending on the type of site, how often they use that site, the size of the company etc.

---------- Post added at 08:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:24 PM ----------

Snoop, I don't have the exact article from Morgan Stanely in which they talk about mobile web dominance vs. PC.

As I said suggested previously this development is no surprise and we'll be waiting forever for you to find it, because what you have stated is your own piece of bias rather than anything Google or Morgan Stanley have said.

Original quote below,

I think that .com in 5 years or so will be shelved for life! Sure most big .com companies will cross over to mobile (if not already) and use m. or whatever works for them. But, days of just seeing keyword.com advertised will come to an end. Big investors with .com could stand to lose a bundle in the coming years.

PC in 5-10 years = obsolete for internet usage.
Mobiles 5-10 years = internet dominance!

BTW, it's not me saying this but rather players like Google and Morgan Stanely.

Does anyone here doubt that the mobile web will be bigger than the PC in the near future? I know some of you may have
blinders on but the future of mobile is blatently obvious to most

? That wasn't your previous claim, you stated that the PC would be obsolete for Internet usage,

"PC in 5-10 years = obsolete for internet usage.".

Now it seems you have scaled back your argument to "the mobile web will be bigger than the PC in the near future".

 

[Keith]

The mobile internet is not used in the same way that the desktop internet is used. It's going to be more likely that someone will use their top 5 applications and interact with the internet than open 5 different websites off their browser. Again...if you have a smart phone do you use apps more than the browser?

Labrocca do you own a smartphone? I have an iphone and always have 4-5 websites open
at all times. It is not faster by any means to access an app over one of the sites I already
have open. I would say my app usage vs. internet usage is split down the middle at this point.

---------- Post added at 09:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:38 AM ----------

As I said suggested previously this development is no surprise and we'll be waiting forever for you to find it, because what you have stated is your own piece of bias rather than anything Google or Morgan Stanley have said.

Here's some info. Looks to me like mobile internet is here and already taking over!

Communities Dominate Brands: Ten Findings out of Morgan Stanley's massive Mobile Internet Report

Below is a quote in regards to the Morgan Stanely Report.

"In a nutshell, the mobile Internet is the future - and Morgan Stanley sees it surpassing the PC as the primary way of accessing online information within five years."

 

[Kate]

Here's some info. Looks to me like mobile internet is here and already taking over!

Communities Dominate Brands: Ten Findings out of Morgan Stanley's massive Mobile Internet Report

Below is a quote in regards to the Morgan Stanely Report.

"In a nutshell, the mobile Internet is the future - and Morgan Stanley sees it surpassing the PC as the primary way of accessing online information within five years."

And it does not disturb you that in 424 pages there is not one single mention of .mobi ?
It's pretty clear in the minds of many observers that the mobile Internet is following its own road and does not depend on specific domain name strategies put forward by parties with vested interests :gl:
To put it differently - .mobi or any TLD is not considered a catalyst for the growth of the mobile Internet :talk:

 

[mo_dork]

Getting back to the topic of this discussion. Two mobi names made it into the DNJournal sales list yesterday-
Pair of Six-Figure .DE Domains - Including the Largest IDN Sale Ever Reported Leads This Week's Abbreviated Sales List

coupon.mobi $7,754
betting.mobi $4,100

I was expecting a few more names. I know of at least two more sales over $1000 from snap last week...or maybe the sale didn't get paid yet?

 

[scandiman]

And it does not disturb you that in 424 pages there is not one single mention of .mobi ?

Does it discuss any TLD's?

 

[Kate]

Does it discuss any TLD's?

No it doesn't. No need whatsoever to reinforce the existing TLDs embraced and known of all :gl:

 

[scandiman]

No it doesn't.

I didn't expect so since it's not a report about naming conventions. Nothing to be disturbed about at all.

 

[mo_dork]

Happy holidays everyone!
Looking forward to your gradual embrace of mobi in 2010!

 

[Keith]

And it does not disturb you that in 424 pages there is not one single mention of .mobi ?
It's pretty clear in the minds of many observers that the mobile Internet is following its own road and does not depend on specific domain name strategies put forward by parties with vested interests :gl:
To put it differently - .mobi or any TLD is not considered a catalyst for the growth of the mobile Internet :talk:

No mention of mobi that I see. The point of the article and the point I'm trying to make is that the mobile web will be huge. Surely there is room for mobi, com, m. or whatever else in the mobile space. I simply do not see one clear cut way of accessing the mobile web. It will be a variety in the end!

 

[labrocca]

Getting back to the topic of this discussion. Two mobi names made it into the DNJournal sales list yesterday-
Pair of Six-Figure .DE Domains - Including the Largest IDN Sale Ever Reported Leads This Week's Abbreviated Sales List

coupon.mobi $7,754
betting.mobi $4,100

I was expecting a few more names. I know of at least two more sales over $1000 from snap last week...or maybe the sale didn't get paid yet?

Coupon.mobi is probably priced well but betting.mobi is really low. These are actual premium domains and even semi-relevent to mobile. Flowers.mobi if dropped would probably sell for $2500.