Vision and Ambition for the Mobile Web

Outline

• State of the Mobile Web
• Introduction to MWI
• Historical perspective

Some History

• Mobile Web access first try for mobile data service
• Result: WAP 1.0
• Today, mobile data services seem to focus on
  • messaging
  • ringtones
  • music
  • TV
  • ...
    
• Web access not main focus
• So: Why are we here?
• A number of things have changed

Change: Technological Progress

Source: RusselBeattie.com

Change: Large Installed Base

• 1.1 Billion Web-capable handsets world-wide - 63% of all handsets!
• Penetration Internet-enabled phones

  	April 2004
  Japan	79%
  Other Asia	54%
  Europe	47%
  North America	37%
  Brazil	37%
  Worldwide	49%

Source: A.T. Kearny/University of Cambridge - Judge Institute of Management, July 2004

Installed Base Growing

Source: T-Mobile, modeled on Credit Suisse First Boston, Mobile Data 2004, Pyramid Research, Global Mobile Capex Handbook, August 2004

However: Disappointing Usage

• 50% of web-capable phones not set up to use the Web
• 24% of web-capable phones used only once for Web access
• Total: 74% of web-capable phones not really used

Some Positive Signs

• Browsing is number one data packet generating service
• Especially for 3G users

Source: Nokia study, 2005

Change: Web has become Mass Medium

• on par with TV, phone, ...
• huge potential for mobile Web access

Outline

• State of the Mobile Web
• Introduction to MWI
• Historical perspective

Ambitions for Mobile Web

• Make Mobile Web access as easy to use as accessing the Web from the desktop

MWI Approach

• Solve interoperability and usability issues for
  • End users
  • Content providers
• "Developer program"
  • Not: new technology
  • Explain how to use existing technology
  • Improve implementations

18 Sponsors

• Full Sponsors
  • Ericsson *
  • France Telecom *
  • HP *
  • mTLD Top Level Domain Limited
  • Nokia *
  • NTT DoCoMo *
  • TIM Italia *
  • Vodafone Group Services Limited *
• Affiliate Sponsors
  • Afilias *
  • Argo Group
  • Bango.net *
  • Drutt Corporation *
  • Jataayu Software *
  • Mobileaware, Ltd. *
  • Opera Software *
  • Segala M Test *
  • Sevenval AG *
  • Volantis Systems Ltd *

(* = Founding Sponsors)

Liaison with OMA

• Invited to MWI Steering Council
• Extension of ongoing collaboration on XHTML, Multimodal, ...

Mobile Web Best Practices Working Group

• Audience: Web content providers/Web developers
• How to make Web content work on mobile devices
  • Rules to follow
  • Things to look out for
• Chair: Dan Appelquist, Vodafone

Best Practices: First Draft

• Studied existing "tips and tricks" (W3C Accessibility, iMode, Opera, Openwave, Nokia, ...)
• Examples
  • Do not specify an absolute page width
  • Provide informative error messages
  • Identify 'cost' of following a link
  • Scrolling should be in one direction
  • ...
• Work in progress - Feedback sought!

Best Practices WG: 29 Organizations

• Afilias Limited
• America Online, Inc. (AOL)
• Argo Interactive Ltd
• AT&T
• Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI)
• ERICSSON
• France Telecom
• Google, Inc.
• Internet Content Rating Association
• mTLD Top Level Domain Limited
• Nokia
• NTT DoCoMo
• Openwave Systems Inc.
• Opera Software
• Segala M Test
• Sevenval AG
• T-Online International AG
• The Boeing Company
• TIM Italia SpA
• Vodafone
• Volantis Systems Ltd
• ...

Device Description Working Group

• Device description needed for content adaptation
• Mission: How to improve quality and sharing of device information
• Chair: Rotan Hanrahan, Mobileaware
• Ongoing Work
  • "Landscape" document: Survey of existing technology
  • "Ecosystem" document: Understand who does what and why
• Potential future work: Shared, open device description database

Potential Future Work MWI

• MobileOK Validator
• Device Description Database
• Test suites
• Training
• ...
• Still under discussion

Outline

• State of the Mobile Web
• Introduction to MWI
• Historical perspective

It's 1995 All Over Again ...

... But Not Quite 1995

Will we soon Party like it's 1999?