What most people did still not acknowledge is, that mobile AS SUCH is different from desktop - like a totally different axis in the ccordinate system. Still - over time they hopefully will, as otherwise the wave of mobile targeted content from the next two billion (the emerging market wave of users and site authors whose first, prime and only internet expereicen is deliverd via phones) will push their legacy content into obsolence.

Users are actually quite happy to have some easy to understand way to know upfront if the expereince they will come with the promise that the author valued their concerns (of not being served badly formatted data that makes the mobile device browser stack crash for a fortune of data fees). Indicating this by using a dotMobi site name to brand a mobile entry point is simple and obvious enough for an end-user.

This also clarifies that the “m-Dot” prefix is not really a good answer for many reasons - mostly for being a kludge and a convention that is less obvious and stringent than using a truely global anchor point that can consolidate all mobile traffic of a brand into the most simple and clean form as “http://brand.mobi”.

It might be actually worthwhile to make the remark that dotMobi is NOT about names only; its about mobilizing the internet one site at a time, and about discussion with developers and marketeers why mobile indeed IS different.

You can join the debate on marketing at (link) , shooce to discuss mobile site design and site building at (link) , and get your ahnds on a comprehensive content adaptation device database at (link) - the latter being one of the first and most complete freely developer accessible W3C DDWG complicant Device Database.

Give it a try - it’s free but could proove as quite valuable for you.

Best regards, AllKindsOfThings

I am sure, future of .mobi domains are bright. Flowers.mobi sold at TRAFFIC Conference for US $ 200,000, fun.mobi for $100k, hot.mobi for 40k etc.

There are many “big boys” backing this extention, and I hope that with there clout it will succeed. In theory, having an extention for mobile sites makes a lot of sense, but it is WAY too early to see if this will take.

Simplicity is when the website renders to the device you use.

You probably noticed the domain extension is not cheap. Marketing bla bla.

What gives this functionality the possibility to fly is the collusion (I admit it) on the part of Google, MS, and the phone carriers involved to push this standard.

Yes, for folks who know the web and browse lots of different sites it doesn’t make a lot of sense, but we’re the vast minority. The majority is going a handful of the same sites, and that’s the user experience which mobi will better integrate with their user experience.

Why a seperate domain for only another screenformat?

As a customer I would like to browse to a corporate website without making a decision if i’m on a mobile or desktop PC.

Anyway, what I continue to return to is my personal experience as a designer. I look at any xthml and css site that I’ve put together, and it would look bland or terrible when it decomposes. The code’s perfect XHTML, but it just can’t translate perfectly- as Dave mentions re: TBL.

I do agree that not every site, by any stretch, needs a “.mobi”. But, is you have a high-traffic, money-making site you do have the impetus to give the absolute best user-experience on every device. So, sure, if you’re a profitable website it is worth to shell-out what’s really just a much simpler version of your site.

Especially if you’re giving out real-time info (financial, sports, etc) or are community driven, you need to make your mobile interface optimized for phones- maybe some special coding for specific phones.

We ain’t in Kansas anymore…

I think .mobi is really about SIP, however. It’s really about server-initiated actionsbeyond initiating voice calls (IM, PTT, conferencing…). This is why a mobile-specific domain is useful (not “necessary”) and one of the reasons I think some of the major players are backing it. .mobi or .tel - who knows who will win.

PS: the domain names are too expensive now during land rush. I’m waiting until Oct 11.

Luckily for me even though i was slower than the world on the up take (see who bought (link) , and jumeirah.mobi)
I was quicker than dubai and luckily bought as much as possible.

The way i see it is, this is an evolution. People scoffed at mobile phones, people scoffed at the internet, people scoffed at the computer.

Well its time for the new generation where the computer world is with us 247. In Japan and China you can already purchase things via swiping your mobile phone.

Standardising the practices helps the mobile industry and the net come together. Tis wont be a farce. It may take a while to set in but it is possible that something new is happening.

Just maybe we are on something good here

Why? While I completely understand the fundamentals of the Berners-Lee web (and the specifics of code properly decomposing, et al.), there are a few solid reasons why this is worth the risk:

1. this new TLD is backed by Google, Vodafone, Microsoft and others- if there’s a consortium that’s going to make something happen, my money’s on these folks

2. If you run an extremely content-rich site, there is simply no way to have your code decompose properly. Any large entertainment/business site is going to want to have absolute, pixel-perfect representation of their site’s mobile experience- not just a plain jane

   because all of the images and CSS have been stripped (another problem here is bandwidth).

3. While there are auto-detect capabilities in certain browsers, the rumored intention of .mobi is that cel users won’t have to type any TLD suffix whatsoever, unless it’s a “.com”, etc. So, while the 10-keypress concern is well-taken, this would eliminate that hassle. This makes .mobi analogous to AOL keywords: an extremely simple solution geared toward very mainstream users (the target market of the mobile web is highly skewed toward teens, casual users, etc.).

4. The minimum registration for these domains is 2 years- which means everyone has to sit tight for more than a year and let the jury deliberate before deciding whether to renew. (this admittedly also does nicely to line the pockets of the registars)

But, hey, who knows? Maybe I own a bunch of dot-hype… :)