I have been seeing a lot of m. web addresses spring up for mobile sites lately such as m.dopplr.com but fewer .mobi addresses, and I am interested in understanding what the trends are for mobile website naming conventions and which one will win in the end.
In thinking about this from a usability point of view, it seems easier to type into a numeric keypad m.website.com than website.mobi
Interestingly Microsoft have m.live.com to access email on a mobile but no equivalent live.mobi site.
From a cost point of view, it is much easier to add a “m.” subdomain to an existing website (just another folder and a couple of clicks on the DNS entries) than registering (and paying for) a new .mobi domain.
I’m a strong supporter of the .mobi concept, but at around £30+ VAT for 2 years registration for a .mobi vs free for a m. subdomain I wonder if m. may win in the end for mobile enabled sites. The decider may be consumers who primarily access the mobile internet from a device with a numeric keypad (multiple key presses to enter a URL) and they may more readily remember the “m.” version of their favourite website when using their mobile.
I’ve hedged my bets and I am using both m. and .mobi on my website, but I wondered what others thought and what the general trend has been for mobile enabled sites.
What do you think? Please feel free to leave a comment below.
Article also cross posted at Forum Oxford
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2 Comments
I found your post to raise a valid and increasingly topical issue. I have had close contact with the dot.mobi consortium recently and witnessed their efforts to be push their domain as the ‘gold standard’.
I am noticing 2 things: there seems to be a decoupling of usage between Europe and the US, with the big guns (Yahoo, Facebook etc.) adopting the m. domain and the European operators (Orange etc.) opting for dot.mobi
Also, dot.mobi is struggling to communicate its added value, namely that it has defined (and offers as a framework) a set of development standards to improve the user experience of web on mobile.
At the same time as a gold rush is taking place to acquire the popular dot.mobi sites (witness the many online auctions), the key issue of enhancing the user experience of web on mobile is taking a back seat. Pity, as dot.mobi would have gone a long way in widening the appeal and useability of mobile web.
Hey Andrew.
It would be much easier if mobile devices one day defaulted to .mobi, which is a real possibility, with both Yahoo & Google having fingers in the .Mobi pie, especially now Google have revealed their ‘Google phone’, which is actually an OS.
Google & Yahoo are very keen to keep a strong tab on the mobile internet, as at the end of the day, they produce huge profits from textual content, which has limited use on mobile devices,so its where and how these guys decide to push the domain as to how domineering it’ll be over using a subdomain.
ps, you can now register .mobi’s for around $7.00 p/y.
cheers
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