dotMobi

dotMobi unveils community-driven DeviceAtlas 2.0

Jason Ankeny — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:29:23 -0400

Mobile web consortium dotMobi announced the preview release of its DeviceAtlas version 2.0 handset database, promising an evolution from a "read-only" database to a "read-write" version including automated phone capability tests. The new incarnation of DeviceAtlas will enable developers to perform real-time testing of their mobile devices by visiting deviceatlas.mobi via mobile web browser--each time a developer runs a handset test, the results will be published in the DeviceAtlas database. Developers may also provide user agent information and enter new device models and data directly into the database, which dotMobi said heralds DeviceAtlas' transition to a true community-driven resource. Firms including Nokia, Vodafone, Telecom Italia Mobile, Argogroup, Volantis, Mobizoft and Zandan currently contribute to DeviceAtlas.

For more on DeviceAtlas 2.0:
- read this release

Related articles:
dotMobi adds Mobizoft video data to DeviceAtlas
MSN Mobile licenses dotMobi's DeviceAtlas

dotMobi adds Mobizoft video data to DeviceAtlas

Jason Ankeny — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:21:23 -0400

Mobile web consortium dotMobi announced the addition of mobile content optimization solutions provider Mobizoft's video adaptation data to its DeviceAtlas handset database. Per terms of the deal, Mobizoft will supply its device-level resources to the DeviceAtlas information pool, which boasts technical specifications and related information on more than 5,500 mobile handsets, including Apple's iPhone and RIM's BlackBerry portfolio. According to dotMobi, Mobizoft's contributions will enable developers to more efficiently create content for the mobile broadcast market. Mobizoft will also gain licensed access to the DeviceAtlas database, in effect expanding the scope of its own device knowledge and capabilities.

For more on the dotMobi/Mobizoft agreement:
- read this release

Related articles:
MSN Mobile licenses dotMobi's DeviceAtlas
dotMobi premieres DeviceAtlas

QUICKLINKS: Forecast: 550M GPS handsets to ship in 2012; Sprint expands partnership with Google;

Tue, 13 May 2008 06:59:55 -0400

> Forecast: 550M GPS handsets to ship in 2012.

> Sprint expands partnership with Google.

> Report: Huawei to sell mobile devices unit.

> dotMobi acquires Mowser.

> Orb Networks debuts live TV app for iPhone.

dotMobi launches mobile web developer resource

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Mobile web domain registry dotMobi announced the launch of http://dev.mobi, a resource site comprising mobile content creation tools, how-to guides and interactive forums all targeting the development community. According to dotMobi, the dev.mobi site is designed to foster dialogue aimed at improving the overall mobile web experience via mobile development training and forums, articles by industry experts and mobile industry news.

The dev.mobi site also offers the dotMobi Developer Guide and downloadable content creation tools based on the open standards developed by dotMobi and the Worldwide Web Consortium. dotMobi said it will continuously update, expand and improve the Developer Guide. In addition, the site features the testing tool ready.mobi, which performs more than 30 separate tests on any .mobi site and provides an overall score indicating its mobile readiness, along with advice for addressing problems.

According to dot.Mobi, more than 375,000 .mobi domains are now registered. "The success of the mobile Internet hinges on the creation of quality, user-friendly content," said dotMobi CEO Neil Edwards in a prepared statement. "dev.mobi provides developers with the keys needed to unlock the potential of the mobile Internet. It is dotMobi's responsibility to educate and provide tools for developers whose content will drive the growth of the mobile Internet."

For more on dev.mobi:
- read this release

Related articles:
- dotMobi updates Web Developer Guide
- dotMobi domains on sale

Editor's Corner

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 20:01:39 -0400

Mobile Web revisited
It looks like I hit a nerve with my column on mobile web standards. I don't think I can succinctly summarize all the comments I've received via email and on FierceDeveloper.com, but suffice to say that building mobile websites is a tough business and lots of very smart people disagree about the right approach.

I admit that I may have painted the Web standards debate with a broad brush, but that's because I don't think its worthwhile to argue the minutia of, say, whether or not mobile Web sites should use tables for layout. That's something that each author must decide for himself or herself. And, really, that's the point I was trying to make. There is no One True Way for delivering content over the Web and no universal standard to fall back on. The best advice I can give to developers is to read all the specification documents, read all the best practices, and test obsessively in as many different browsers as possible.

The idea of a device-independent "One Web" is an excellent, worthy goal, but in some ways I do believe it is Utopian (and GAP author Luca Passani and I aren't the only ones who think so). Generating 100% standards-compliant XHTML without browser adaptation is tough on the desktop and really tough when you factor in mobile browsers. As Jason Delport recently wrote, "the only sane choice for small development houses like ours is to follow what each group are saying, contribute wherever possible but ultimately stay loyal only to the end user... My more important concern should be that the code actually works, today, and in as many browsers as possible." Nobody wants a "content soup" solution, but if that's what works best today, it's certainly a valid option. - Eli

Useful mobile Web Developer resources:

Guidelines and how-tos: W3C, Opera, dotMobi (pdf), GAP
Document verification tools: ready.mobi, TAW mobileOK
Misc. resources: Opera Mini in-browser simulator, WURFL

Editor's Corner

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 20:01:39 -0400

Mobile Web best practices battle it out
Creating web content for mobile devices is tough work. dotMobi, the registrar for mobile-only .mobi domains, just made it a little easier by publicly releasing its Mobile Web Developer's Guide (pdf) to the public. The guide explains how to meet the minimum requirements for a .mobi domain (namely that content be served as XHTML-MP by default) along with a large set of best practices and an overview of some of the varied approaches to the mobile Web. The dotMobi guide is impressive and was clearly written by someone who has been in the trenches (Brian Fling of Blue Flavor), but in some ways yet another set of best practices is the last thing designers need.

The W3C's Mobile Web Initiative Best Practices is the benchmark guide, but many developers feel it is an impractical and Utopian vision of "One Web" that can be accessed by any device. To quote Luca Passani, a maintainer of the venerable WURFL device capabilities database, "I understand that W3C is all about the web and some may dream about a unified web which can be accessed with equal ease by PCs and mobile devices, but this is just a dream: web and mobile will remain separate media for many many years to come (probably more)."

In response, Luca has created Global Authoring Practices for the Mobile Web (GAP), which purports to be the only independent alternative to the W3C's guide. Some of the general advice is similar, but GAP differs vastly from the W3C when it comes to nuts and bolts. While the W3C recommends creating pages as XHTML 1.1 Basic, a standard with mixed support on today's mobile devices, GAP (like dotMobi) recommends XHTML-MP, the de facto standard. GAP also focuses on adaptation--customizing pages for the specific device making the request--rather than risk locking out low-end handsets or being forced to design for only the least common denominator.

Now what's the best practice on choosing a set of best practices? For desktop Web designers the choice is largely philosophical. To borrow some terms from English grammarians, it's a split between the prescriptivists, who want to do it "the right way" with clean, 100 percent standards-compliant markup, and the descriptivists, who believe in markup that works and that designing inclusively is more important than conforming to a spec. On the mobile Web, unfortunately, there doesn't even seem to be a "correct" markup specification, and differences between browsers are so vast that an XML database is needed to keep track of them.

The mobile Web is the Wild West; it's a hostile development environment with no clear rules. But the mobile Web is also full of opportunity. A recent survey revealed that 76 percent of respondents in the U.S. and Europe had access to the mobile Web, but only 32 percent actually use it. Sounds like plenty of room for growth to me. -Eli

dotMobi domains on sale today

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 20:01:38 -0400

Today is the first day that the general public can purchase .mobi domain names. Domains are available from namesbeyond.com for $25 each. dotMobi is a somewhat controversial tool to help bring the mobile Web to consumers. The TLD faces continued criticism that the domain is unnecesary and that existing domains can be easily adapted for mobile Web. Web site

.mobi domains open to trademark holders

Mon, 22 May 2006 20:01:37 -0400

Starting today, mobile companies can begin registering trademarked .mobi domain names. Starting in mid-June, trademark holders in other industries will be able to register domains before, finally, registration opens to the general public on August 28. dotMobi CEO Neil Edwards expects 5,000 to 7,000 domain registrations from mobile trademark holders, tens of thousands more non-trademark holders and millions of registrations once the system opens up. Website

QUICKLINKS: Rumor: iTunes phone 100-song limit cracked; Top 10 mobile sessions at JavaOne; Much more...

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 20:00:50 -0400

Rumor: Crack the 100-song limit on iTunes phones. Forum

Top 10 mobile sessions at JavaOne. Article

Mobile phones are a catalyst for social change in Africa. Blog

A consumer-centric overview of the Japanese mobile phone market. Blog

dotMobi opens up domain registrations to telecoms. Blog

FCC approves MediaFLO for first deployment. Blog

So that's where all those old N-Gages went. Blog