Overview

• Motivation
• "Mobile Web Initiative" structure
• 3GWEB
• Conclusion

Why Mobile Web Access is Useful

• Future: M-Commerce, Mobile Enterprise, Location-Based services ... maybe
• Today: Strong anecdotal evidence
  • Pub argument in UK
  • Decipher menus in Barcelona
  • train and flight schedules in Rome
  • traffic jam information on the Autobahn
  • ...

Why Mobile Web Access is Possible

Source: RusselBeattie.com

Some Statistics

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

Internet-Enabled Mobile Phone Penetration

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

Significant Potential for Mobile Data

• Voice-based use of mobile networks reaching saturation point
• Continued growth from data traffic (mobile messaging, imaging, gaming, music download)
• More PDA functionality in mobile phones
• Successful mobile Web access has similar potential as phone service

Why Mobile Web Access is Hard

• While commuting to work, user sees a URL on a bill-board
• "Hey -- I've just bought a snazzy new phone with access to 'the Web,' right? I'll give it a try!"
• Works for 15 minutes to figure out how to enter a URL into their phone's browser
• Seems to load something, but logos and images are so huge that it's impossible to make sense of the user interface on the small phone screen
• 'Wait -- I'll try my mobile phone provider's web site -- I'm sure theirs will work!'
• Same result.
• Tries to log in to favorite web mail system.
• "Sorry, your browser doesn't support cookies!"
• Throws phone out train window.

W3C's Mobile Web Initiative

• Web was key to create demand for Internet for desktop PCs
• Has potential to play similar role for mobile Internet
• Color screens and faster networks solve some issues of earlier attempts
• Need to solve interoperability and usability issues for
  • End users
  • Content providers
• Mobile Web access needs global standards
• Users and content providers need to be able to rely on them in similar way as they rely on GSM

Concerted Community Effort Required

• Authoring tool vendors: produce standard-conformant content
• Content providers: follow best practices for user-friendly Web experience
• Handset manufacturers: provide correct device information
• Browser vendors: correctly implement Web standards
• Mobile phone operators: encourage use of content standards

W3C Can Help Enabling the Mobile Web

• Has mobile experience since 1997
  • XHTML
  • MMS content types (SMIL, SVG)
  • Device Independence (CC/PP, UAProf)
  • Multimodal Interaction
• "One Web" approach
• Leading consensus-building organization of the Web
• Experience in "breaking up silos"
• Liaisons with other organisations

Mobile Web Best Practices WG

Goals

• Help content providers to develop web content that works well on mobile devices
• Planned
  • Authoring guidelines
  • Checklists
  • Best Practices
• "MobileOK" trust-mark

Status

• End of June 2005: First f2f meeting (Vodafone, London)
• August 2005: Published "Scope of Mobile Web Best Practices"
• "Best Practices": W3C Last Call Working Draft 13 January 2006

MWI Device Description WG

Goals

• Development of improved device description solutions
• Shared database of device description provided by handset manufacturers and others
• Used by content authors for content adaptation

Status

• End of June: First f2f meeting (Vodafone, London)
• Early Aug: Launched public Device Description Technologies Survey
• • 10th February 2006 : Publication of First Public Working Draft of Device Description Landscape (Survey of existing technology and conceptual architecture)
  • 21st November 2005 : Publication of First Public Working Draft of Device Description Ecosystem (Business Model, Maintenance and Use)

Mobile Web Initiative Steering Council

• MWI is maintained through financial support by sponsors
• Leadership through seat on MWI Steering Council
  • Develop MWI-supported Activity proposals
  • Prioritize future work items
  • Advice on marketing and oureach activities
  • Manage liaisons
• Sponsor participation in marketing and outreach
  • Press release on joining
  • Testimonials
  • MWI member logo
  • MWI seminars
  • MWI talks
  • MWI publications
  • MWI tradeshow appearances

3GWeb: Vision

• Motivation: Mobile web does not work reliably (similar motivation to MWI)
• What needs to happen
  • Authoring tool vendors need to support Web standards
  • Content providers need to follow "Best Practices"
  • Handset manufactureres need to describe devices
  • Browser vendors need to implement standards
  • Operators need to encourage use of standards

Approach

• Training and development tools
• Testing services for authoring tools, browsers
• Working Group for interaction between Web technologists and mobile network desigers

Objectives

• Improve usability of (European) Mobile Web Platform

  At the end of 3GWeb, at least 20% of the 100 most popular Web sites in Europe should pass the 3GWeb “MobileOK” validator

• Improve Interoperability of European Mobile Web Platform

  At the end of 3GWeb, at least 20% of the most popular mobile Web software tools in Europe should pass the 3GWeb “MobileOK” test suite.

• Improve Integration of Mobile Web Applications with Networks

It's 1996 All Over Again ...

... But Not Quite 1996

More Info ...

• MWI: http://www.w3.org/Mobile/
• W3C: http://www.w3.org/
• This Talk: http://www.w3.org/2006/Talks/0321-Brussels-KB/