Should all websites cater for mobile resolutions?

[sandogg]

Do any of you use your mobile devices (PAD, mobile phones etc.) for internet access/browsing?
If so do you think websites should cater for mobile screen resolution i.e. at QVGA.
A lot of us have mobile devices with full HTML browsers and internet access anything from standard mobile phones to the iPhone to your HTC, iMate etc which you probably use for internet access. Do you think that all sites should cater for your screen size. One of the sites I maintain http://deepr.org.uk uses a simple javascript to redirect to pages designed for QVGA because I felt that since there are so many internet capable devices out there websites should also be optimized for their resolution.
What are your views?

 

[Conor]

I would argue no. At this particular moment not that many people are using their phones to access websites as you would on your computer. Perhaps in 2 years or maybe even sooner websites will start offering 'mobile versions' of the site to cater to the growing number of people that have started. However, until the phone technology gets a little bit more advanced and starts attracting more people I don't think mobile resolutions should be mandated on all sites. Although there are enough phones that can access the net it's just not that popular...yet.

 

[adrenlinerush]

Personally if I'm going to access the web in a mobile fashion I want the full web not a "dumbed down mobile version"... I think we'll see more use of laptops with internet through their mobile phone service either via blue tooth integration or pc cards... or more phones with more capablilties like the iphone... and i think the new gphone from google is going to have fuller web capabilities

 

[Slothie]

I use a HTC and I'm perfectly happy browsing the web as it is

 

[Sohail]

No because i don't think phones should be made for browsing the web as the quality is bad, slow and expensive which is why i brought a computer - so i can use broadband which is fast and cheap.

 

[GamingX]

I don't think we will have the same experience using the web with a phone or a pda. I don't think they can be used as extensively as what we do on our PC's. Yes a few select sites that are everyday sites like mail, google, etc should configure their sites for browsing in cell phones etc. But apart from that there are not many users who feel at ease browsing on their cell.

 

[spork]

Heck no. I think the web on mobile is just a fad and will die out soon enough. The PC will only get higher resolutions and will always attract more visitors and attention.

 

[aron4588]

wap xhtml wap2.0 is a much for any website to be good and bringing content to people across the world

 

[Christopher]

None of my websites are created so that they work on a mobile device. Most of them wouldn't work right either. The last thing I want is people "texting" on my forums

 

[voice]

I'd have to agree with most of the folks that posted in saying, "Sure, you can do it if you want, but it's not necessary." Frankly, I see a problem with mobile phones anyway. As if people in this tech savvy age aren't disconnected from one another enough, cell phones just keep exacerbating the problem. Very few, if any, of my acquaintances are so important that they must be able to be contacted at all times, no one really needs to know how to type with their thumbs, and if you need constant access to the interweb so bad that the web needs to be compatible with your cellphone... Well, you get the point.

You might want to ignore the bits where my post got ranty... I'm kind of an old curmudgeon who happens to be afflicted with youth and vitality for now. ^_^

-Jake

 

[unpixelatedgamers]

No.

Mobile browsers should be designed to be able to cope with the real internet. It should render a version that shows that page as it would look on, say, a 1024 x 768 screen. Then allow the user to zoom in to a particular area of interest on the page, or to be able to properly read text and such.

Some mobile browsers areadly do this, (a microsoft "fish" thing does I think) but they all should.

 

[GG-Xtreme]

I access my website with my PSP and Sony Clie all the time, and it displays fine, nothing is squashed or anything like that. My Sprint plan doesn't include internet and my phone is a refurbished piece of crap.

 

[jinx001]

eventually i see all website having to do this. phone are already starting to replace computers in a lot of ways. just think about it....when did u ever think you would see an 80gb cellphone

 

[sandogg]

No.

Mobile browsers should be designed to be able to cope with the real internet. It should render a version that shows that page as it would look on, say, a 1024 x 768 screen. Then allow the user to zoom in to a particular area of interest on the page, or to be able to properly read text and such.

Some mobile browsers areadly do this, (a microsoft "fish" thing does I think) but they all should.

Safari on the iphone already does this, but I found it quite annoying and even slow.

Opera Mini does this to some extent and I found it quite good although not free.

Microsoft Deepfish has been in development for a while and while a preview/demo download was available in march 07 now "It is unknown if Deepfish will ever be released or integrated into the Windows Mobile platform." http://labs.live.com/deepfish/

But you are most likely right and it is the best way to welcome mobile browsing.