Web has become Mass Medium

• Web on par with TV: 14 hours a week online (JupiterResearch, Jan 2006, US market)
• "Web use overtakes newspapers" (Jupiter Research, Oct 2006, Europe)
• huge potential for mobile Web access

Active Users Increasing, Strong Revenue Generation Despite Price Erosion

A significant proportion of subscribers have terminals enabled for browsing. The active user population is rapidly growing, and despite the downward pressure on prices, mobile browsing is a strong revenue generator.

Source: W3C-MWI/Nokia

Overview

• State of the Mobile Web
• Mobile Web Initiative
• Perspectives

Who's Involved?

19 Sponsors

• WG Participants: AOL, France Telecom, Google, Microsoft, mTLD, Nokia, NTT DoCoMo, Opera, T-Online, Telefonica, Vodafone, ...

Mobile Web Best Practices

• Audience: Web authors and developers
• Distilled existing "tips and tricks" (W3C Accessibility, iMode, Opera, Openwave, Nokia, ...)
  • No table for layout, no spacers-GIFs, no frames
  • Screen estate constraints: small top navigation, avoid large graphics
  • Scrolling should be in one direction
  • ...
• W3C has provided BP checker Software (alpha)

  http://www.w3.org/Mobile/check

• W3C Recommendation expected in Q4 2006

Take-Up of Best Practices

• Currently in testing phase ("candidate recommendation")
• WG members are using BP draft to implement sites
• Publicly visible take-up
  • Part of Google mobile webmaster FAQ
  • Part of "switch-on" guide of .mobi
  • Implementation report by small Web developers

Overview

• State of the Mobile Web
• Mobile Web Initiative
• Perspectives

MWI Future Work

• Workshop "The Mobile Web in Developing Countries" (Bangalore, Dec 5/6)

  61% of the BBC's international Wap users came from Nigeria (BBC, Aug 2006)

• Device Desription Repository WG
• Training
• Test suites
• ...