.mobi Maybe, Maybe Not

July 2005

The dot-com story adds a new chapter with .mobi. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) recently approved the .mobi top level domain for the use as a designator of content specifically for mobile devices.

We all know that viewing some Websites using wireless devices can be hard to navigate and not very well rendered for the small screen. The idea of creating this secondary Internet or sub-Web of sites specifically designed for wireless devices with limited screen resolutions and navigation limitations is superficial and completely unnecessary.

First, it is safe to say that the majority of wireless users have an awareness of their service providers and possibly their handset makers. Beyond that, there's limited market awareness of companies that offer specific mobile Internet services. Are we going to ask subscribers to begin suddenly to make that distinction when they browse with their wireless devices?

Second, the percentage of mobile phone users who browse the Internet has barely risen above the double-digit level and the majority of those are represented in Asia. You might argue that the .mobi designation would increase that penetration. Rather than hundreds of companies designing and designating a parallel wireless Internet universe, in the very near term, software developers will figure out a way to help regular Websites be viewed comfortably on the smaller screens of wireless devices.