.mobi Your Opinion

[FathomJH]

Personally, I don't think theres many good mobi's left. Why buy some goofy name hoping it will resell. It won't work. I suggest like many people in the past have, invest in a nice second hand mobi. Buy a LLL for $200. If you buy a goofy name, only do it to develop. :imho:

 

[JasMate]

Personally, I don't think theres many good mobi's left. Why buy some goofy name hoping it will resell. It won't work. I suggest like many people in the past have, invest in a nice second hand mobi. Buy a LLL for $200. If you buy a goofy name, only do it to develop. :imho:

could not agree with you more, however there may be a few nice ones left
.

 

[FathomJH]

Quite true. Just have to look good enough. I stumble upon a few here and there. If you find a name, just have to think, "Is this name one that somebody would buy, and what would they use it as?"

 

[Jeff]

^ Great thoughts! :imho:

Why add to the undeveloped .MOBI Scraps™ in two years time ... :gl: :o

-Jeff

 

[kiteflyer]

A developed mobi is better but there may be areas yet to appear where what didn't make sense in a name suddenly does.
"young people in China are playing online games, downloading video and music into their cellphones and MP3 players..." NYT
As mediums of communication evolve it seems they move from information content to entertainment. What are the implications for mobi names?

 

[scandiman]

A developed mobi is better but there may be areas yet to appear where what didn't make sense in a name suddenly does.
"young people in China are playing online games, downloading video and music into their cellphones and MP3 players..." NYT
As mediums of communication evolve it seems they move from information content to entertainment. What are the implications for mobi names?

Welcome to NamePros! I also think the mobile internet usage will evolve far beyond the typical applications we migrate to here. The implications for .mobi names IMO is that any increase and expansion in mobile use is a good thing for .mobi.

 

[Mike]

...and i'm still sticking with my original opinion about .mobi(s).
I don't think .mobi DNs will prevail.

As of now, most cellphones and their navigation on the web are a nuisance at best.
- Of course, there are always a few exceptions, but in broad view of schemes, to type a DN+ a 4 letter TLD? c'mon, if anything it should have been a 2 letter TLD

- Also, most internet traffic from cellphones is generated through SMS messages with a WAP link, which in turn, does render .mobi(s) to only very limited use. By the time the SMS method has become old....

- ....the iPhone will long be released, with the built in functionality of a full fledged browser,...why using a .mobi when i can utilize a broadband network (e.g Sprint - which is pretty damn fast) and go straight to a .com and size it to fit my screen? (Treo 700wx does this just fine, even nowadays)

Not raining on anyone's parade, and the recent sales of .mobi(s) have proven that there is value in them, just not in the broad scheme.
In other word's; i'm still not fully buying into the .mobi idea.

 

[scandiman]

...and i'm still sticking with my original opinion about .mobi(s).
I don't think .mobi DNs will prevail.

As of now, most cellphones and their navigation on the web are a nuisance at best.
- Of course, there are always a few exceptions, but in broad view of schemes, to type a DN+ a 4 letter TLD? c'mon, if anything it should have been a 2 letter TLD

- Also, most internet traffic from cellphones is generated through SMS messages with a WAP link, which in turn, does render .mobi(s) to only very limited use. By the time the SMS method has become old....

- ....the iPhone will long be released, with the built in functionality of a full fledged browser,...why using a .mobi when i can utilize a broadband network (e.g Sprint - which is pretty damn fast) and go straight to a .com and size it to fit my screen? (Treo 700wx does this just fine, even nowadays)

Not raining on anyone's parade, and the recent sales of .mobi(s) have proven that there is value in them, just not in the broad scheme.
In other word's; i'm still not fully buying into the .mobi idea.

Yes, a shorter tld for mobile makes practical sense but I think it would loose it's branding appeal. Seeing kids today doing texting, I don't think the extra character matters. It is amazing how fast kids can type on a typical phone pad.

 

[mykel241]

...and i'm still sticking with my original opinion about .mobi(s).
I don't think .mobi DNs will prevail.

As of now, most cellphones and their navigation on the web are a nuisance at best.
- Of course, there are always a few exceptions, but in broad view of schemes, to type a DN+ a 4 letter TLD? c'mon, if anything it should have been a 2 letter TLD

- Also, most internet traffic from cellphones is generated through SMS messages with a WAP link, which in turn, does render .mobi(s) to only very limited use. By the time the SMS method has become old....

- ....the iPhone will long be released, with the built in functionality of a full fledged browser,...why using a .mobi when i can utilize a broadband network (e.g Sprint - which is pretty damn fast) and go straight to a .com and size it to fit my screen? (Treo 700wx does this just fine, even nowadays)

Not raining on anyone's parade, and the recent sales of .mobi(s) have proven that there is value in them, just not in the broad scheme.
In other word's; i'm still not fully buying into the .mobi idea.

You still have to remember about data usage fees. The average carrier charges $1.00 per 500k. You can eat that up very fast and it will get just as expensive as the old days of people paying AOL $2.00 an hour.

It doesn't matter if your mobile browser supports everything that a normal browser does, the development process and thought process behind designing and architecting a mobile site differs from that a site designed for access from a laptop or dekstop pc. Its about the display and access of data as well as knowing you are going to get a site specifically designed for a mobile phone/device. Thats where the really power of .mobi comes into play.

Michael

 

[yoyosean]

i find it amazing that people say that they can see a full size web page on a mobile device fine. That is simply not the case.

 

[Mike]

i find it amazing that people say that they can see a full size web page on a mobile device fine. That is simply not the case.

i browse websites and occasionally even bid on ebay from my Treo 700WX just fine. Before the Treo i had a HP6515, wasn't a problem with it either.
Smartphones are not presenting any difficulty, UNLESS your vision is not 20/20, then you're pretty much SOL.
"regular phones"? Yeah, i can imagine that this would lead to visual problems. then again, once the iPhone hits the market and the copycats are going to launch their products, the regular phone as we know it today, will be history pretty soon. :imho:

 

[yoyosean]

the iphone makes you zoom in in order to effectively use a website. The key word in your post is occasionally it is occasionally because the user experience is not good.

The bottom line is that the usage for the mobile internet is and will always be different than the traditional internet. Quick, concise, easy to use information will dominate the mobile web. There is a reason to have a mobile site different from a traditional site and that is solely for the user experience.

 

[mykel241]

i browse websites and occasionally even bid on ebay from my Treo 700WX just fine. Before the Treo i had a HP6515, wasn't a problem with it either.
Smartphones are not presenting any difficulty, UNLESS your vision is not 20/20, then you're pretty much SOL.
"regular phones"? Yeah, i can imagine that this would lead to visual problems. then again, once the iPhone hits the market and the copycats are going to launch their products, the regular phone as we know it today, will be history pretty soon. :imho:

Treos, and other smart phones account for less then 5% of the cellphones in the US. The fasting growing segment is prepaid mobile phones and devices.

Your smart phone is like my mac and the other cellphones and devices are like the PC. I choose to target the PC market as it is 95% larger and will be for many years to come.

While I am ranting I also want to say that people should stop using wap/wml protocols when developing for .mobi sites. Start using xhtml mobile profile and stop trying to detect user_agents and redirecting to the wap version of your site. Just get over it and register a .mobi for the mobile version of your site.

Michael

 

[Mike]

the iphone makes you zoom in in order to effectively use a website. The key word in your post is occasionally it is occasionally because the user experience is not good.

The bottom line is that the usage for the mobile internet is and will always be different than the traditional internet. Quick, concise, easy to use information will dominate the mobile web. There is a reason to have a mobile site different from a traditional site and that is solely for the user experience.

Well, since we're already at using my post, the keyword is "Occasionally" and it's used as follows:

occasionally even bid on ebay

, meaning, eBay is speed related. The quicker your browser refreshes, the better it is. Regular PC's will always be superior in comparison to a cell. The discussion on viewing angles and sizes is senseless, since i'm not using a monitor on my mobile device i will always have to make some concessions and find an acceptable solution to browse websites. However, with flash built in, even using youtube.COM (tested) or watching TV (colleagues have done it) is not a problem.

Treos, and other smart phones account for less then 5% of the cellphones in the US. The fasting growing segment is prepaid mobile phones and devices.

Correct, just like Sony had a stronghold on the mobile music market, remember the walkman? Apply was innovative and owns the market, i predict a similar situation with the iPhone. The dynamic of cell phone usage is going to shift in the next decade.

So, :imho: i think .mobi is valid, just not for mainstream apps/websites.
This being said though, i'm hoping to be wrong and sites like eBay, Nampros, YouTube, etc. would release a .mobi version.

 

[mykel241]

i'm hoping to be wrong and sites like eBay, Nampros, YouTube, etc. would release a .mobi version.

Ebay already has a mobile version of their and has for years. It is not just using a mobi address yet.

wap.ebay.com.

Michael

 

[Mike]

Ebay already has a mobile version of their and has for years. It is not just using a mobi address yet.

wap.ebay.com.

Michael

Thanks, point in case: WAP. is the keyword.

 

[scandiman]

Thanks, point in case: WAP. is the keyword.

If this remains the case two years from now then it does not bode well for .mobi but it is too soon to tell.

 

[mykel241]

Thanks, point in case: WAP. is the keyword.

Correct. All this does is prove that a mobile version is needed. A company like Ebay cannot just say lets switch over to a new system as it is deeply integrated into their current architecture and code base.

And by looking at thier code you will see it is not coded as a traditional WAP/WML site. It is coded in the same style as most .mobi sites and they are just using the wap prefix to identify it as a mobile version of their main site. They also own pricestogo.com which will automatically take you to a mobile version of the site.

Michael

 

[hawkeye]

On the iphone..

A lot of mobi skeptical posters like to use the iphone as a reason that .mobi is not needed. If they really think that within the next 4-5 years over 750+ million mobile users or even 25% of them, will or have boughten a new $400-$500 phone, just to browse even occasionally, whether Apple made or otherwise, is using a bit of a stretch of reality for validating their reasoning. By then .mobi will be established, accepted and will be the mobile internet extension for mobile interneting. JMHO.

 

[Mike]

A lot of mobi skeptical posters like to use the iphone as a reason that .mobi is not needed. If they really think that within the next 4-5 years over 750+ million mobile users or even 25% of them, will or have boughten a new $400-$500 phone, just to browse even occasionally, whether Apple made or otherwise, is using a bit of a stretch of reality for validating their reasoning. By then .mobi will be established, accepted and will be the mobile internet extension for mobile interneting. JMHO.

this may very well be the case. i'm simply very cautious of the .mobi extension.
While i agree that there is an apparent need for it, there is also a reason why giants like ebay have not yet pulled the trigger on it. Yes, it may be coded the .mobi way, yet it's resolving as a .wap. It's not about technicalities, it's about positioning, user perceptions and ROI. There are MAJOR advertising dollars tied to launching (example) ebay.mobi.
On the flip side, and to .mobi's demise however, if their server detects that someone is coming in from a mobile browser and routes this user to the wap version, simple (technical) end of story. As we all know, detecting the incoming browser is not exactly difficult, especially not for skilled programmers. We're doing this with all our sites, throughout the entire corporation.

in regards to the apple iPhone: Apple is "starting" something that's essentially already here, they are just pushing the envelope a bit further. HP/TREO/etc. all have touch screen phones, Apple is taking this concept and making it theirs. It's the same thing they've done with the iPod, Phillips was first, just didn't get it done correctly and fast enough.
Apple jumped on the train, developed in record time and now owns the market. Will everyone own an iPhone? No, but most people will convert to a similar device. Much like not everyone owns an iPod 30gig, others own a 1gig "off brand" mp3 player.
You see where this is going,... Apple is going to brand the market and whoever is "hip and in style" will be carrying an iPhone with 8gig storage, many others will resort to a similar phone but with less storage. LG is hot on Apple's trail.

What's it mean for .mobi? Unless one of the big companies unleashes their .mobi advertising to its fullest potential, .mobi will be a backup domain at best. again, this is just my VERY humble opinion, and more than once, i've been wrong before. *just ask my ex wife* :hehe: