The internet VS the mobile internet IS the internet
Many recent events like the launch of the iPhone have opened up the discussion on what exactly the “mobile internet” is. Apple proclaims that, on its iPhone, “it’s not a watered down version of the internet. It’s just the internet. On your phone.” It’s part of a long line of commentators saying that the mobile web sucks.
But maybe it doesn’t. Researchers will argue that “it’s incredibly challenging to create a desktop experience on a 2.5-inch screen,” according to Philippe Winthrop, research director of wireless and mobility at the Aberdeen Group. If it comes down to proportions, Stuart Carlaw at ABI Research says that “there is generally a 4-inch/7-inch question over screen size. Four-inch is the largest a screen can get and fit into a pocket, and seven-inch is the smallest you can get to and still open up attachments in a rational way.”
And everyone wants a piece of the mobile internet. Do we build the internet in the same way for both mobile and PC? Or this is not even the question. It’s not about the viewing the browsing. It’s about the context. The mobility of the “mobile internet” opens up so many options for location and event relevance and the challenge for fast answers. Mobile browsing is an active experience. It not about sitting back and surfing. What we’re looking for are pockets on the web that deliver immediate answers. But imagine if also we wrapped those answers in social communities. Now localize those social communities around events and places and anything else that’s brought you away from your computer with your phone into the real world.
I think we’ve got some catching up to do here.