Small Surfaces » browser

Aurora Concept and the Mobile Web

Gabriel White — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:41:44 +0000

The Aurora browser concept piece from the folks at Adaptive Path has lots to like about it. But overall I struggle with the idea of the web browser as a universal tool for doing things on devices, especially mobile devices. The web browser is great in that it’s a networked standard way of easily accessing information and services (in the same way Gopher) was so popular before it). It’s easy to get scale, because everybody has the same client and rendering engine on their PC.

But if there’s one thing that’s demanded by mobile devices, it’s that the things you create are highly optimised for the context of use. And this is exactly what a web browser is not. So it’s no surprise to me that people are racing to use the native iPhone applications for Facebook or Twitter rather than going to the iPhone-specific web versions.

Link: Aurora Concept Video (adaptivepath.com)

Related:

Share on Facebook | Save to del.icio.us | Small Surfaces is published by Gabriel White.

Browsing is not for Mobile

Gabriel White — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:09:09 +0000

Paul Golding writes that the idea of the mobile ‘browser’ is an oxymoron. I agree wholeheartedly; the strong activity / goal orientation of mobile devices keeps bringing me back to the idea of the networked micro-application, something that lives in the cloud but is delivered through a UI that is entirely appropriate to its function and context of use.

“We insist on thinking in terms of ‘browsing,’ but is there such a thing in the mobile context? I don’t think so. A basic observation of the vast number of eye-scanning, skim-reading, link-hovering, link-clicking, page-jumping, coffee-sipping, chair-reclining, mouse-shuffling, Google-jumping activities that go on in an average desktop ‘web browsing’ session would demonstrate how nearly all of these activities are insufferably difficult on a mobile device in a mobile context – e.g. standing in the suffocatingly hot linkway between two carriages on the train leaving Paddington station…There are plenty of clever UI possibilities to achieve ‘flow’ and ‘point the way,’ should we decide that this is what the mobile is all about. The point is to forget browsing (aka ‘desktop web browsing’) and think of something else.”

Link: Mobile browsing is not the same as browsing on the mobile… (wirelesswanders.com)

Related:

Share on Facebook | Save to del.icio.us | Small Surfaces is published by Gabriel White.

No mobile web for two inch screens

Gabriel White — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:17:07 +0000

Russell Beattie writes about the demise of the mobile browser, Mowser.

“I think anyone currently developing sites using XHTML-MP markup, no Javascript, geared towards cellular connections and two inch screens are simply wasting their time, and I’m tired of wasting my time.

“The argument up to now has been simply that there are roughly 3 billion phones out there, and that when these phones get on the Internet, their vast numbers will outweigh PCs and tilt the market towards mobile as the primary web device. The problem is that these billions of users haven’t gotten on the Internet, and they won’t until the experience is better and access to the web is barrier-free – and that means better devices and “full browsers”. Let’s face it, you really aren’t going to spend any real time or effort browsing the web on your mobile phone unless you’re using Opera Mini, or have a smart phone with a decent browser – as any other option is a waste of time, effort and money. Users recognize this, and have made it very clear they won’t be using the “Mobile Web” as a substitute for better browsers, rather they’ll just stay away completely.

“Let me say that again clearly, the mobile traffic just isn’t there. It’s not there now, and it won’t be.”

Link: The end of Mowser (russellbeattie.com, via)

Related:

Share on Facebook | Save to del.icio.us | Small Surfaces is published by Gabriel White.

Designing 2D scrolling spaces

Gabriel White — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 21:29:11 +0000

“Navigating large information spaces can be disorienting even on a large screen. On a small screen it should ideally be avoided, but that is not where we are headed. Increased storage capacity and higher bandwidth mean that you can have thousands of songs, images, messages and whatnot on your phone. We need good ways to interact with all this data. This post looks at 2D navigation and investigates what techniques good mobile browsers employ to make it easier to interact with large web pages.”

Link: 2D Navigation on a mobile screen (sender11.typepad.com)

Related:

Share on Facebook | Save to del.icio.us | Small Surfaces is published by Gabriel White.

The mobile application frontier

Gabriel White — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 15:27:23 +0000

I agree with Michael Mace on this – the future of mobile innovation is web delivered applications. That in my mind is one of the really interesting things about the iPhone (aside from ruthless simplification and swishy motion fun); it’s a viable platform for delivering niche applications through a truly nice web browser.

“I think Web applications are going to destroy most native app development for mobiles. Not because the Web is a better technology for mobile, but because it has a better business model. Think about it: If you’re creating a website, you don’t have to get permission from a carrier. You don’t have to get anything certified by anyone. You don’t have to beg for placement on the deck, and you don’t have to pay half your revenue to a reseller. In fact, the operator, handset vendor, and OS vendor probably won’t even be aware that you exist. It’ll just be you and the user, communicating directly.”

Update: see some interesting responses by Carlo Longino, Mike Rowehl, and Dean Bubley.

Link: Mobile applications, RIP (mobileopportunity.blogspot.com)

Related:

Share on Facebook | Save to del.icio.us | Small Surfaces is published by Gabriel White.

Designing mobile web browsers

Gabriel White — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 03:22:36 +0000

An academic thesis presenting research on the design of web browsers for mobile devices.

“Technically, it has been possible to access the Internet on a mobile phone for several years already, but the mobile browsing experience has often been cumbersome for ordinary people. Understanding the user needs in different use contexts is the key to improving the user experience and thereby popularizing device independent access to Internet.

“In her dissertation research, Virpi Roto has interviewed users of mobile browsers in several countries, and identified characteristics that help improve the mobile browsing user experience if taken into consideration. In addition to user and use context, all the system components should be taken into account: device, browser, network infrastructure, and web site. A partial outcome of the research is a visualization method called Minimap, which has gathered publicity as the first practical way to view Web pages on a mobile phone. The method has been used in Nokia S60 phones since 2006.”

Link: Web Browsing on Mobile Phones – Characteristics of User Experience (research.nokia.com)

Related:

Share on Facebook | Save to del.icio.us | Small Surfaces is published by Gabriel White.