Although chugging along rather slowly (more slowly than predicted a few years ago), with phones and PDA's becoming ever more advanced, the mobile internet is clearly going to play a big role in the future of the web. And it is because of this that EnviroNet uses the mobile web, rather than a downloadable application to allow people to use its services.
Creating an interface for a website to work in a mobile device is not an easy task. This is due to a series of limitations, such as:
• small screen (120 pixels wide in some devices)
• difficult text input
• costs of data transfer
• processor and transfer speeds are slow
• users are mobile (Their primary goal will be to find a piece of information, not to browse the web.)
• many usability issues involved
• mobile phone browsers are too limited (no Javascript, no frames, etc.)
Another existing problem is that the technology is not standardized, and what works for one device may not work for another.
“Be aware that when it comes to mobile browsing, manufacturers aren’t bound to standards in the same way that the Internet is… The technology is new, and there is a long distance to run before there is any standardization for mobile browsing.”
- Colly (2005), 7 Steps to better handheld browsing. Available here
Devices and browsers have a variety of differences:
Openwave devices support XHTML Mobile Profile with WML extensions. Nokia only supports XHTML MP. Access and AU Systems only support XHTML Basic, a subset of XHTML MP. (XHTML MP is XHTML Basic plus the style, hr, b, i, big, and small tags)
When designing EnviroNet’s interface for mobile devices, all the above were taken into consideration, to allow the user to have the best experience possible when on the move. The interface for was created using XHTML Basic, which is supported by many devices.
Click here to view a list of all the important rules that must be taken into consideration when designing a website for a mobile device, what was considered when creating EnviroNet’s interface and how these rules were applied.