Jul
03
2007
I know that everyone is obsessed with the full web browser capabilities of the iPhone. After all, the display is incredibly sharp and it allows you to view, navigate and read any web site (providing it doesn’t use Flash or Java). Before the iPhone web developers had to develop a specific interface for those users wishing to view their site using a mobile device. Most companies don’t go through the trouble of developing a stripped down version of their site for these small, but loyal group of users.
Fortunately, a number of media companies have reviewed their web logs and recognized that there is a large number of individuals who are trying to access their web site using a mobile device. The following organizations have special URLs for accessing their content using a mobile device (in the order in which I access them each day):
What is interesting is the complete lack of consistency in the way the URLs are formed. Very few of the mobile enable web sites I use are using the “.Mobi” domain designator although the number is growing each and every day.
If there is a mobile site that you find useful, please comment this post and I’ll add it to the list.
Happy trails.
Jul
03
2007
That’s right .. after being together for 17 years, I finally provided my wife with a piece of technology that she not only uses, but loves. Don’t get me wrong. She’s enjoyed a number of the gadgets I’ve brought home over the years (e.g., digital camera, ipod, Apple TV, toaster) but this is the first time I have ever gotten her a device that she picked up and was able to immediately start using.
The display is bright and crisp, the user interface is simple and easy to understand and the hand gesture recognition is very intuitive and natural feeling. Besides the issues I experienced activating the phone, Apple has made syncing the iPhone to your Mac or PC a breeze. In minutes I had all of Sharon’s Outlook data (including Contacts, Calendar and eMail) as well as her music, videos and bookmarks on the device ready for use. For years I have been syncing my Blackberry with my Mac and I can tell you that as easy as the Pocket Sync for Mac software is, it ain’t got nothing on what Apple has been able to accomplish with the iPhone and iTunes.
The only issues I have encountered thus far are:
- iTunes does not allow you to control what Contact fields get sync’d on the phone. It’s all or nothing
- To get to the contact app, you need to go through the phone or email app. There is no contact app icon that allows you to quickly look up a number for a friend.
- There doesn’t appear to be a way to “beam” a contact to a friend like you could with Palm (not that I used it that often). You can however easily email a contract to someone.
- You can only edit contact information from within the Phone app. You can access Contact information from the email app and view the contact information. But you cannot edit that person’s contact information from there. You need to jump to the Contact app from within the Phone app to edit a record.
- The iPhone does provide support for “groups” but they are not viewable within the Contact app. You need to define your groups (e.g., distribution list for emailing) within your email application and then they are sync’d to the iPhone. Once on the iPhone you can reference them but you can not view or edit them on the device.
Those things aside. She is very happy that she can view and respond to emails, listen to music, watch videos and find her way (via Google Maps) all from one device. A device .. that she can use without my constant help and assistance. Thanks Apple!
