Opera to Make Mobile Browsing Feel Like Desktop

Opera's new web browsers will allow their standard browser and mobile web browser to share bookmarks. from the article: "Opera is a popular browsing choice for smartphones running Symbian.  The idea behind Opera's mobile products is similar to how Apple CEO Steve Jobs has sold the iPhone: smartphone users will no longer endure a compromised Internet experience on their phones, von Tetzchner said."

Josh hypothesizes: "Over time, content developers will be less concerned about creating separate content or separate websites for mobile phones. In 2006, JD powers claimed that "The average replacement cycle for a typical handset is 17.6 months". My hunch is that many many people will have access to this more compelling way to view the web with a mobile phone over the next 24 months. .mobi?"

http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9804007-37.html

(JD power data) http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/news/releases/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2006075

Comments

[Robb]

I hope a day will come when we will know if .mobi is a success or not. So far the jury is out, with decent arguments and strong opinions on both sides.

[JP]

There is no doubt that mobile devices will get closer to providing the full internet experience, but you have to consider the mobile context. Just because the iPhone allows you to view a full web page, it does not mean that page contains the most relevant information to someone accessing information 'on the go'. The user is probably seeking brief snippets of information which he can access quickly and efficiently. A normal web page does not necessarily package the information efficiently for the mobile user. The mobile internet does not need to be basic sites built for the small screens of today, but I think there will always be a need for mobile-specific sites built for the mobile context.

[Chris]

"Application development on both PCs and mobile devices is increasingly shifting toward Web-based applications that can run on any device through the browser."

Indeed it is. I haven't said a peep about this whole .mobi thing - and now it looks like I won't ever have to. ;-)

[Tim Davids]

Been using my itouch since the day it came out...the tapping to zoom and scrolling gets old VERY fast. I have used .com sites and .mobi...there's a place for .mobi no doubt.