RE: The devices-universal websites "myth" and the semantic web

> In my opinion users should learn that 'www' is for WEB sites and
> 'mobile' or 'wap' or something else that should be more publicized, is
> the prefix for "mobile sites".

I partly agree, but then again I think, why should they, actually..?
This is yet another thing that isn't about what the user wants. They
(quite rightly, in my opinion) think of the content, not the technical
medium.. Besides, the screen shape of a Nokia communicator is very flat
and wide. Fully exploiting its capabalities is likely to require a layout
that is different from that of a mobile phone. What would be the prefix
for that service...? The variety of mobile devices is too wide to use
the same content structure for all of them. And if we must vary it between
mobile devices, why should we make users learn new prefixes?

> On the other side I agree that the website might implement a way to
> detect if the device is a "desktop computer" or a "mobile device" and
> direct the user to the proper URL, maybe with a redirection page that
> says:"Redirecting to the mobile site, next time connect to
> http://mobile.mysite.com".

It is possible to adapt without that kind of a redirection, but I am aware 
that this is not yet the common status for things.

> What if I have the Opera browser on my Symbian device and want to see
> the site for web browsers and not the one for mobile devices? If you
> implement a technique to automatically redirect the user to the site
> for mobile devices the user will not be able to view the content he
> was searching for.

Altering the content structure between device types does not automatically
mean the exclusion of particular services from a small-screen device. What
it does mean, is that with a small-screen device, you will likely need to
navigate a bit further to reach the secondary services. A bit more navigation,
but in a package that is more consistent and easier to comprehend.. Therefore,
in real life, I don't see the case of someone really wanting to view the
full desktop content in a small-screen device, as long as all content can
be reached from both devices. In any case, it should not be possible to add
a "view full content" link somewhere in the service itself, should that be
considered as a relevant option.

Kind regards,
Antti Martikainen

Received on Wednesday, 15 June 2005 11:53:52 UTC