.mobi iPhone and .mobi

[sashas]

This little discussion is aimed primarily at those who have used/seen an iPhone more than casually (for more than a few days)

Now I don't think there are many people here don't know of the iPhone. Its been all over the place and pretty much hard to ignore.
From what I know, the iPhone has been a huge success (duh!), and will only sell more in the future.

If anyone here has used an iPhone, you would know of its mobile browsing features. The websites on an iPhone are full fledged pages...you get the same Yahoo.com page you would get on your computer.

Now of the very little mobile browsing I've done, I've come across pages that are 'made for the mobile', which basically means that they're impossible to navigate, ugly and lacking in information.

But the iPhone mobile browsing is like having a mini laptop in your pocket.

So please enlighten me: if the iPhone is the shape of things to come, and the iPhone allows you to view the exact pages that you would see on your computer, then why would anybody want to host (or go to) a .mobi site? As an iPhone user, I have the option of going to Yahoo.com. So why would I even want to go to the ugly Yahoo.mobi website?

In a recent survey, 27% of the iPod users confirmed that they would get an iPhone within this year. Thats 30 million iPhones right there. So that does mean that the iPhone is a success, and from what I know, it'll be even bigger if they can get Verizon etc. on it too (there are already hacks for that - another cool iPhone feature - hacks - my friend hacked his iPhone and it now works as a remote car lock).
Naturally, Nokia and Motorola won't be left behind. They WILL come up with phones similar to the iPhone (and perhaps better...Nokia has tremendous experience of working with phones. Apple has none).

So within the next 2 years, you can imagine phones like (or in the same ballpark) the iPhone becoming the norm, just like color phones have become the norm in two years (from b&w phones). With these incredible phones, there will be no need of .com sites, because people can simply go to .coms, and companies can save money by not developing (and buying) .mobi names.

Opinions?
(If you're madly in love with .mobi and are short-sighted and abusive, don't respond. If you've never used an iPhone or seen one in action, then please don't respond again. I've seen way too many ugly discussions on the .mobi forum and don't wanna be dragged into one).

 

[garrett200]

I've used an iPhone, and half the time the "full blown" .com's take more than 2 minutes to load. Secondly, once they do come up, you are forced to zoom and scroll in to see sections of the page, because the page is way too large for the small screen.

Remember, .mobi isn't a replacement for .com, it just insures a quick, mobile compliant page that you know will fit the screen of a mobile.

.com and .mobi can coexist peacefully together. Also, not all .mobi sites are "ugly". I've seen many that are very cool looking!

These are just a few points. There are more, but it's late and I'm tired. I'll let some other people respond to this thread, which I'm sure they will.

 

[sashas]

I've been using my wifi with the iPhone, and the websites load up as fast as they do on my computer.
And I'm talking of two years. The networks will improve, Nokia and Motorola will come up with their phones and they'll hopefully be on Verizon than AT&T. I don't see the browsing speed as a problem.

And yes, if you've used the iPhone just a couple of times, you may find the browsing to be a bit cumbersome. But believe me, use it for about a week, and it'll seem second nature...

 

[binaryman]

Quote"( I've seen way too many ugly discussions on the .mobi forum and don't wanna be dragged into one).'Unquote

So if you dont wanna be dragged into one and have seen so many ugly discussions here then why start this topic here with such an inflamatory title????? Your posts since you joined this forum as a self confessed "newbie" a month ago indicated that you were so happy with the 1 .mobi that you have.
__________________

 

[sashas]

binaryman:

Like you said, one month ago, I was a newbie. I did not know better. Moreover, one month ago, I had never used an iPhone. Using it for a month has made me realize how it'll change mobile browsing.

This is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to avoid.
If you think the title of my post in inflamatory, I'll change it. I don't really believe that there is anything abusive/inflammatory in my post. I did not write such a long post to incite people into an ugly discussion. If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't have wasted my time typing so much.

Please try and see that...and I expected a genuine discussion, not a mudslinging match. Moreover, I did not expect anybody to get into personal allegations. My domains have nothing to do with this post. This was meant to be an impersonal, objective discussion.

I personally wish for the .mobis success because I know many people have good money riding on it. In fact, a few days ago I even posted a thread about how making the .mobi to be the default extension for mobile browsers would make it a success, even though I have only one .mobi name. I consider .mobi to be among the strongest TLDs right now, but this post was meant to ask one simple question: is it sustainable?

I do not believe I have any history of posts that would suggest that I enjoy ugly discussions. I do not enjoy giving or receiving personal attacks. So please respect that.


And If my views were taken the other way, I apologize again.

And you're right, the title might be inflammatory, but maybe that's because I've been used to writing such titles after writing for school and college newspapers for so long. I'll edit it.

And if anyone so desires, I'll ask the mods to delete the thread too. Like i said, I do not want a mudslinging match. I only wanted opinions.

edit: mods, can you change the title of the thread to simply iPhone and .mobi? I've tried doing that but it doesn't show up.

 

[binaryman]

OK Sasha I get your point. Your post's title threw me a bit but I see now you just want some genuine feedback. Well who knows hey...Mobi's a gamble. It could work if all the right things fall into place and it can fail if those things dont fall into place.I dont see the Iphone or other emerging phones as a threat because I see .mobi as a brand more then just a Tld giving companies without a.com site (and even those with an excisting .com site) the oppertunity to get a great platform for getting their message out there to the mobile users.

 

[aggieuk]

One of the lads who uses DNF he isn't a NP regular, lives in Japan he seems to think that the Iphone is a cheap reproduction of what the Japanese had years ago...........it failed! They have far better phones now, but they still use .mobi sites out there!! So i suppose .mobi will always have a use but in what capacity no one knows.

 

[GeoOwners]

I think the iphone is too expensive to be mainstream...I'll be buying a treo as my next phone.



.

 

[-REECE-]

The guarantee of mobile compatibility (provided it is properly enforced) should be .mobis strongest selling point.

Even a 10ghz cell phone with a wireless connection running at 10GB/second -- while clearly no longer have a bandwith or load time issue, can still be a victim to having a small screen. Imagine how horrible a photography website would look with a whole bunch of 1600x1200 pics downscaled to iPhone resolution, losing quality in the process. Wouldn't it be better to make actual versions of these photos tailored to the iPhone's resolution? On some websites, you have to click 5+ links to get to a particular page unless you have it bookmarked... Mobile versions of such sites could include "favorite" pages on the homepage -- catering to the sites visitors (cell phone users).

 

[cac14850]

what is wrong with your logic

I ll preface this by saying I think mobis future is very unclear and it is a risky proposition at this point. However, there are several major holes in your why iphone is a mobi killer.
1. And this applies to any extension, there is space for another major extension. Most any .com worth registration fees are taken and there is room for another extension to step up. I think mobi is particularly situated to fill this gap in that it seeks to address a whole different use/market while .net, info etc.. are really targeting the same audience. So, argument 1 is that if, in the near term mobi can make inroads to the general population regardless of how good mobile phones become there is room for a new extension and mobi might fill that gap.
2. Operating on the assumption (which I dont think is accurate and Ill get to in a minute) that mobile browsing will be able to replicate the experience I get on my p.c. that doesn’t change the fact someone using the mobile phone is likely looking for something different (content wise) than someone at a pc. So there is space for a company to have two sites uniquely tailored to these two audiences.
3. Your assumption that mobile bandwidth will catch up making browsing as fast and as easy on mobiles assumes nothing will change in the computing realm. I expect my desktop experience to also evolve and I expect mobiles will always struggle to match exactly this experience. This also gets into the idea mentioned above that there are two different audience experiences needed and I expect to see this evolve over time.
4. In any event, I don't know if mobi will succeed or not although I hope it does. However, it has the chance to fill a needed gap by becoming a needed new extension and there is a need for content tailored to two different groups (mobile users and pc users).

Last but not least, I tried to answer your questions in a reasonable fashion but if you truly think your post is non-inflammatory and written in a 'nice way' you are truly ignorant. Basically you have come on to a message board populated by many who significantly more invested in mobis than you, (also more experience in domaining than you) and basically said I think you all are idiots. Your use of terms like "please enlighten me" are patronizing and while you seek to dismiss anyone who has not used an iphone I can tell from your post you have not read most of the discussion which has occurred previously on the very points you think you have uniquely uncovered, have probably visited only a small number of mobi sites and did so, probably mostly, from your pc.

 

[scandiman]

edit: mods, can you change the title of the thread to simply iPhone and .mobi? I've tried doing that but it doesn't show up.

Just bumping your request since the mods missed it. I think Binaryman was correct to call you on your thread title, hopefully the mods help out with it.


I had the opportunity to use an iPhone over the weekend and for me the device is proving to be exactly what I expected, a catalyst for consumer adoption of the mobile web. Under WIFI it is speedy enough but the scrolling and zooming got old..FAST! I hate doing it on a PC and it is even worse on the tiny mobile screen. While I was glad I COULD access full sites with the device, the truth is that the content is designed for a PC user, not a mobile user. I found .mobi sites loaded faster, and were much easier to navigate than a "regular" site, no horizontal scrolling or zooming to read. There were plenty of instances where I was zooming just to read the menus. That gets old fast. Some of you may not be old enough to have ever used microfilm readers but that is what it felt like. Though it CAN be done, microfilm is a horrible way to read the newspaper. Similarly, you CAN read "regular" websites on an iPhone (well, not all, flash and some JS kills it) but it just wasn't the same. Mobile is a new screen with different needs from users. iPhones help bridge the gap as mobile content continues to be built.

The question then remains how will users distinguish mobile content from PC content. Anyone who has argued that "m" dot subdomains are better than .mobi are inherently acquiescing that there is a NEED for mobile content and are now debating the naming structure. Only .mobi provides a guarantee of usability (provided compliance is enforced). "m" dot or "mobile" dot offers no guarantees. In fact, for many sites, mobile dot is used to sell ringtones and wallpaper to PC users, and the site is not friendly at all to mobile devices. Mobile.mtv.com is a good example and it is not alone.

Make your own conclusions, I've made mine, dotMobi is the way to go.

 

[garrett200]

I forgot to add a couple of important points:

1. .mobi allows businesses to have a shot at getting a great keyword name for their mobile presence that would otherwise be "held hostage" by an outrageous price in .com, or simply unavailable in .com. A lot of businesses are looking to go mobile, and they have a much better chance of getting the name they really want with .mobi.

2. A lot of .mobi's success will depend on how it is marketed. If a lot of big corporations start adopting .mobi, which seems to be happening already, whether it's "useful" or not may be irrelevant. For example, Google is supposedly one of the backers of .mobi. If and when they start promoting google.mobi, the extension will no doubt become an instant hit.

Sure, it may end up proving to have no real purpose once the technology catches up. But by then there may be so many companies using it, that it may become popular anyway. If the extension gets ingrained in the public mind and there's a lot of content, it will be accepted and used.

3. Think of .mobi as a brand. When you visit a .mobi site, you are assured that the site is specifically tailored for mobile use. A trustmark, so to speak.

4. Content is the key. If there is great content, any extension can be successful. Say you loved a site called xxxxxx.littlegreenmen. Would you really care that the extension was "littlegreenmen"? If the site is useful and people enjoy using it, they really don't care what comes after the "dot". Only egghead domainers like us care.

 

[sashas]

I agree that if I am the owner of a new company trying to make a mobile website, I would go for the .mobi instead of the .com. Yes, its more of a brand than the .com for mobile websites, and I would agree. But would the smaller websites with lesser resources go to the extent of making a .mobi website? Perhaps.

And once again, I apologize if any of my words were taken as inflammatory in my original post. I did not use 'enlighten me' in a derogatory manner, but simply as rhetoric. The last part of my post was deliberate, simply because I HAVE seen people get extremely passionate about such things and get abusive, which is something I didn't want.

I agree that my 'theory' has several holes in it. But thats the only reason I posted it, because in such a discussion, I think everybody learns something. Perhaps I'm an exception in liking the iPhone browsing experience.
Btw, I suggest you check out this website: http://www.iphonehacks.com/iphone_applications/index.html
I believe this is what will make the iPhone a huge success. You can tweak it, hack it, and improve its functionality, including the browsing experience.

I am not a .mobi hater. I put it at no.5 on my domain priority list (after .com, .org, .info, and .tv). Even though I don't own them, I do understand the niche that .mobi occupies.
But like I said, I'm only wary of it and believe that .mobi is the most risky extension right now. .com, .net, .org, .info are all settled. .tv and .mobi are the risky propositions.

I do not say that the .mobi extension will go redundant all of a sudden. My question is, will the .mobi be sustainable for 5-10 years? .com, .org, .net have been so popular simply because they've been around for such a long time.

 

[Work In Progress]

I do not say that the .mobi extension will go redundant all of a sudden. My question is, will the .mobi be sustainable for 5-10 years? .com, .org, .net have been so popular simply because they've been around for such a long time.

My personal opinion is that, as long as mtld follows up with compliance , mobi will have the capability to surpass the other non-com extensions. iPhones are nitchy. So is mobi. But they are completly different nitches. Yeah, iPhones are pretty cool looking, for sure. Practical for the masses? Nope. Mobi sites work just as well on cheap phones as they do expensive ones. This fact alone is the key to the iPhone debate. Not to mention that WiFi spots are not quite as prevelant as cell towers. So go ahead and zoom and scroll away, iPhone users. The mobi nitch is just what you brought up. Condensed, easy to navigate info for information on the fly. I beleive that companies will develop stand alone mobi sites that are toned down versions (or mobile-friendly) of their full blown dot coms. It's being done as we speak.

 

[garrett200]

We'll have to see. All I can say for certain is that traffic on my parked .mobi domains has increased 3 fold since the introduction of the iPhone. Coincidence? Somehow I don't think so.

Will .mobi make it? Who knows for sure, but I think it has a good chance if the "backers" start doing their thing, if more major corps start promoting their .mobi domains, and there is more content out there that pleases the mobile customer.

Is .mobi still a gamble at this point in the game? The answer to that is a difinitive YES. But for those who take the risk now, the payoff could be huge later.

 

[PVFARKAS]

i spoke with sashas on pm from a .tv post he did about .mobi and iphone browsing and i must say he was very respectful about it all. just reading this post now...

 

[PVFARKAS]

i spoke with sashas on pm from a .tv post he did about .mobi and iphone browsing and i must say he was very respectful about it all. just reading this post now...

 

[sashas]

One thing that would harm the .mobi is parked pages, especially for great names like loan.mobi etc.

So whoever has great .mobi names, development would be essential to make .mobi sustain its growth.


Here's hoping for .mobi's (and the people who've invested in it) success.

 

[Pred]

One thing that would harm the .mobi is parked pages, especially for great names like loan.mobi etc.

So whoever has great .mobi names, development would be essential to make .mobi sustain its growth.

true.
actually most of the best names are reserved by mtld.
parked pages wouldn't be great, but would be better than the current situation where they don't resolve.
not a huge problem as traffic would only be light at present imo
Hopefully there will be forthcoming auctions soon and plenty of endusers will snap up names & dveelop.
we all have a duty to dvelop some of our names imo.
i plan over the next months to dedicate most of my time to development and other pursuits.
and to stop yakking so much! lol
should be some exciting times ahead :blink:

 

[DomainBELL]

I've been getting more requests for my .mobi lists...
and I've seen a few more mainstream type ads for companies with
a .mobi presents to compliement their .com self...


~DomainBELL (Patricia)