While becoming increasingly popular, mobile Web access today still suffers from interoperability and usability problems. W3C’s Mobile Web Initiative (W3C MWI) addresses these issues through a concerted effort of key players in the mobile production chain, including authoring tool vendors, content providers, handset manufacturers, browser vendors and mobile operators.
Mobile Web access has many advantages. Unlike the fixed Web, the mobile Web will go where you go. No longer will you have to remember to do something on the Web when you get back to your computer. You can do it immediately, within the context that made you want to use the Web in the first place.
With mobile devices, the Web can reach a much wider audience, and at all times in all situations. It has the opportunity to reach into places where wires cannot go, to places previously unthinkable (e.g., providing medical information to mountain rescue scenes) and to accompany everyone as easily as they carry the time in their wristwatches.
Moreover, today, many more people have access to mobile devices than access to a desktop computer. This is likely to be very significant in developing countries, where Web-capable mobile devices may play a similar role for deploying widespread Web access as the mobile phone has played for providing "plain old telephone service".
Currently, the W3C MWI is focusing on developing best practices for "mobileOK" Web sites and mobile Web applications, device information needed for content adaptation, test suites for improving interoperability of mobile Web software and marketing and outreach activities, and is starting new efforts around the usage of the mobile Web for social development.
The Mobile Web Best Practices Working Group has published mobileOK Basic as a Candidate Recommendation, accompanied with its software implementation, the mobileOK checker; in addition, it released in cooperation with the WAI Education & Outreach Working Group an analysis of the relationship between the Best Practices and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Early work on the content transformation guidelines, the best practices for mobile Web applications and mobileOK Pro has started, which should result in First Public Working Drafts in the upcoming weeks.
The MWI Device Description Working Group is chartered to address the development of improved device-description solutions, and is working to produce:
The overall goal of the group remains to provide content providers with standards-based mechanisms they can use for the purpose of doing device-aware content adaptation. The group has gathered input from the community on what set of device properties should be included in the core vocabulary, leading to the publication of the first public working draft of the Device Description Repository Core Vocabulary. It has made good progress on defining a simplified DDR API (see the editors draft), for which early implementations are already available, and that should be published as a First Public and Last Call Working Draft soon.
The MWI Test Suites Working Group is chartered to help create a strong foundation for the mobile Web through the development of a set of test suites targeted at mobile Web browsers. These test suites are designed both to help user agent developers find bugs in their implementations, and mobile Web content developers understand better the existing level of standards supports in the mobile devices on the market. The Working Group, extended until June 2008, has been developing new test suites (XHTML Forms, CSS Media Types), working in close cooperation with OMA on the CSS MP and SVG Tiny 1.2 test suite, as well as on the definition of a mobile acid test.
The exploratory work on the Mobile Web in Developing Countries started with the Workshop in Bangalore in December 2006 is leading to the creation of a proposed new Interest Group (whose charter is under review) and the organization of a Workshop on the Role of Mobile Technologies in Fostering Social Development in Brazil, early June 2008, with the support of the Digital World Forum European project.
W3C established the Mobile Web Initiative through the MWI sponsorship program and with the financial support of the following Sponsors:
Early discussions on the renewal of the sponsorship program have started.
Starting 1 January 2008, MWI is receiving support by the EU commission as part of the MobiWeb 2.0 IST project, which supports work on outreach, training, quality assurance and tools support - this project is a follow-up project on the successful 3GWeb project that was completed in 2007.
The Digital World Forum European project supports part of the work in the establishment of the Mobile Web For Social Development Interest Group. This project explores how to take advantage of the new paradigm of low-cost technologies in broadband infrastructure and devices to bridge the digital divide and connect the unconnected.
The Mobile Web Best Practices Working Group is preparing to complete its work on the Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0 and mobileOK Basic. It is planning to release first public working drafts of the Content Transformation Guidelines, the Mobile Web Applications Best Practices and mobileOK Pro, and an updated version of its document on mobile web and accessibility.
The MWI Device Description Working Group expects to make its API document quickly progress through the Recommendation track, before its charter ends in June - with some expectation the charter will be extended to allow it to wrap up its work. It will also assess the opportunity to transfer some of its remaining projects to other W3C Working Groups.
The MWI Test Suite Working Group plans to continue its work on its mobile acid test, and continue cooperation with OMA on the CSS test suite; it will also look into the possibility to extend or renew its current charter (set to end in June).
Depending on the review of the Advisory Committee, the Interest Group on Mobile Web for Social Development should start its works in the upcoming few weeks.
Further plans in MWI include the establishment of a training program for Web site developers who want to develop sites that can be accessed from mobile devices, as well as the renewal of the sponsorship program, in discussions with existing and candidate sponsors.
| Group | Chair | Team Contact | Charter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile Web Best Practices Working Group (participants) | Daniel Appelquist, Jo Rabin | Dominique Hazaël-Massieux, François Daoust | Chartered until 31 December 2008 |
| Mobile Web Initiative Device Description Working Group (participants) | Rotan Hanrahan | Matt Womer | Chartered until 31 August 2008 |
| Mobile Web Initiative Test Suites Working Group (participants) | Dominique Hazaël-Massieux, Carmelo Montanez | Dominique Hazaël-Massieux | Chartered until 31 December 2008 |
| Mobile Web For Social Development (MW4D) Interest Group (participants) | Ken Banks, Stéphane Boyera | Stéphane Boyera | Chartered until 31 May 2009 |
This Activity Statement was prepared for the April 2008 W3C Advisory Committee Meeting (Members only) per section 5 of the W3C Process Document. Generated from group data.
Dominique Hazal-Massieux, Mobile Web Initiative Activity Lead
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