The Mobile Web & Publishing 24/07/08
I was just reading through a article over at Web Monkey about what they consider does and doesn’t work on the mobile web, which has listed magazines and newspapers in the ‘doesn’t’ category due to screen restrictions and battery limitation.
The interesting thing I find here is that the services that are listed in the ‘doesn’t’ category as see as things “the mobile web isn’t, and perhaps never will be, very good at”, which I find unimaginative and short sited. While the battery limitations is one that faces any mobile device, what about the screen size? Yes, I know its no DPS, and I’m sure reading the small text on the go may give you a headache, but no more than reading a novel on the tram might. And while magazines as we know them might not suit current portable devices, as we have seen in recent years, magazines have a knack for re-inventing themselves in order to take advantage of whatever distribution methods are currently available. ( this is a magazine, PDF-mags )
Audio books, and text to speech are great uses for mobile phones.
You can have them read you stuff, whilst you stare out the window. Also no head aches!
I think they are better than paper for this reason. The web is about more than just words and pictures.
Comment by Rene Dudfield | 30/07/08