I have to be honest and tell you that I wasn't a big user of mobile web technology. My current cell phone is web enabled and I have used to test out the mobile Flickr application and to find addresses when I am away from home. Trying to read the screen was frustrating and I wasn't thrilled with the experience. My friends in the Digital Content area heard my diatribe about wanting my phone to be a phone and my music player a music player. Jim Elder was the first kid on the block with an Iphone, and despite his enthusiasm, I still didn't get it.
All that changed when my oldest daughter announced that she was saving her money to buy and Ipod Nano. When she got close to her goal, we went to look at them. To be honest, I wasn't very impressed. An MP3 player is an MP3 player. Ok, so these can do video, so does my TV..., quite well actually. While she looked at the Nano I looked at the Touch models. It took about two seconds to see that the Touch offered way more than just audio and video services. Kayla, to her credit, stuck to her original purchase plan. However, it was Easter time and the Easter Bunny was holding some cash so we worked out a deal and upgraded to a Touch. Here is Kayla's Ipod Touch:
Keep in mind this is NOT a phone, but a plain Ipod Touch. You can see that the three icons in the gray area are the typical functions of a music/video player. The Settings button allows the user to configure the device's wireless functions and that is where the fun begins! Once connected to the Internet, this little hand held device becomes a very capable communication tool. Within range of a wireless network, Kayla can send and receive emails, browse the Internet using the Safari web browser, download music via Itunes or Amazon. Even as a skeptical adopter, I have to say that it is very cool! The Touch has the ability to turn the screen either landscape or portrait, so you can use the screen in whatever mode suits you - that was a big seller for me.
My previous point of wanting a phone to be a phone, sort of becomes blurred when you add the functionality mentioned above. I will add that Kayla has misplaced her Touch, somewhere in the house and hasn't seen it for the last week. While she may have lost quite a bit of an investment, it would have been even greater had it been an Iphone. (the Easter Bunny is sad for her, but realizes that she is learning a life lesson)
So just what is mobile technology? Think of it as a hand held Internet device - a PDA or a phone, some companies call them smartphones. Here is what our good friends at Wikipedia have to say: Mobile Web This is a pretty good article from the BBC about the development and future of the technology: Mobile Web Coming of Age
According to AC Nielson, the Weather Channel leads the US in visits to it's mobile website. Check out this video on The Weather Channel's philosophy on mobile technology. This is pretty deep level stuff, probably the kind of thinking that our digital architects use to develop our site. While the content is deep, it provides a great insight into how the country's largest mobile content provider thinks. Take a few moments and listen to how consumers are using their website and what the Weather Channel is doing to meet those needs.
Of course, how the average person uses their own smartphone varies, here is a short App-noxious - I hope this isn't you!
By now you have probably seen the virtual gallery for our mobile resources. Right?? Just in case.....
The July 2008 issue of Library Tech Reports featured an article about library use of mobile technology. I can't share the entire article but if you open the link and click the"view article" button, you can read a partial article via PDF. If you are interested, I am sure you can find this issue in house somewhere. Libraries and Mobile Technologies.
eXplorers - So you are wondering...how are we going to experience this mobile web technology? Is Tom buying us all new phones??? No.....we are going to use a mobile emulator or simulator. All the fun of mobile technology without the messy contracts!Click the link below to open up the webpage that contains the emulator. Enter your website into the gray textbox and click preview to see what it will look like on a mobile device . This tool only presents a portrait screen, and it isn't real sophisticated, so be patient! Emulator
Check out the Lib's mobile site (copy and paste the URL into the mobile emulator) -m.ocls.info
Try these popular websites:
Flickr - m.flickr.com
Weather Channel - m.weather.com
Facebook - facebook.com (you may get a message saying the website is too complicated - click continue to see the site)
Twitter - twitter.com (same message as above)
In your blog - tell us about your experience with the mobile websites. What did you think? Would it be useful to you if you were running errands some afternoon and needed info quickly? Are you already a user of a web capable mobile device? Have you fielded questions from patrons regarding using their mobile devices at your location?
Adventurers- you are the advanced kids; the gifted and talented group - right??? Tell us how you use mobile web technology in your daily life. What are some of your favorite websites or applications?
