The most useful blog on mobile technology (for now)

July 2011 - Steve Dupree

The rise of web enabled phones and smartphones has meant we are spending more time connected to the net than ever before. We use our phones not only to communicate, but also to search for information, look up services and purchase products – all whilst on the go.

Google reported a 400% increase in the number of mobile searches in the last year, which accounted for 20% of all searches performed.

And with the much more affordable handsets and cheaper data packages, the demographic makeup of smartphone users is getting much wider. In fact 15% of all UK web traffic is mobile and by 2013 mobile browsing is predicted to overtake desktop browsing.

Just as it makes sense for every business or service to have a web presence, it is increasingly important to provide mobile optimised content to your audience and potential customers.

With this in mind, here’s the insider track on the three main mobile developments that you can consider:

1 ) Native Apps -
An application that is installed on your smartphone

Native apps are the type of app that you download from an app store and install on your phone.

• Built specifically for each device, i.e. iPhone, Android, BlackBerry
• Users find and install the app, and occasionally download updates
• Apps can function in offline mode (don’t need internet connection)
• Access to more of the phones features (like the camera, accelerometer and gyroscope) than Web apps (which just got GPS access recently).
• Persistence – allows data to be saved and reloaded when application launched
• Integration – possible to access information from other app features such as your phone book
• Instant marketing – via the App Store and Android Market etc

2 ) Web Apps -
An application that is hosted on the web

Web apps are accessed via the phone’s browser rather than being installed on the operating system. Different from a mobile website where you may house all sorts of content like information, services, news, links etc, a web app is something that performs specific tasks, such as a calendar, travel planner or store finder.

• Multi-platform – develop once for all mobile browsers
• Generally cheaper to build and maintain than native apps
• Can be slower to run than native apps
• Instant updates – no delays deploying updates through app stores
• No approval process of content by app stores
• No app store deployment fees – the App Store currently takes 30% of revenue for example

3) Mobile Optimised Sites -
Usually a more focused version of your site, optimised for smaller screens

Mobile optimised websites are usually a more focused version of your site designed to give the visitor a better user experience on a phone or small screen device, much like the BBC news mobile website.

For example you could say that if you were visiting a restaurant’s website on a mobile, it would be more relevant to see key information such as locations, contact number and menus rather than being bombarded with all sorts of other content that will just clutter a small screen and cost precious data usage to download.

A good starting point to building a mobile version of your site is to study the site’s analytics reports to see how many of your current audience are using a mobile device.

These types of analytics can also inform which mobile devices you should be prioritising.