So you’ve got a smart website, you’re doing some social networking, maybe even writing a blog – everything’s good, right?

NO!

Stand still in this game and in reality you end up going backwards.

Look at this week’s evidence involving “Guitar Hero”. Not that long ago it was considered a genius, money spinning new franchise in video gaming. Now it’s been axed by its creators along with 500 jobs. Times change and these days, and in this sector, they change extremely quickly.

Some people in business, as in life, think they can knock a few things off their To Do list and reach the point where things take care of themselves and they can relax.

In my experience nothing worth having works like that. True success comes from a total commitment to continual improvement. And the people I admire most are those who’re in it not because of the pot of gold that might be waiting at the end but simply because they get a kick out of constantly trying to make things better.

One thing a lot of businesses need to address urgently is how their website works with mobile browsers. A few years ago this didn’t seem important but access to the internet from mobile devices, like smart phones, has been exceeding traditional desktop computer access since 2008. And with the rise of tablets like the iPad and Samsung Galaxy the need to make sure your site works and looks good in ALL situations is even more pressing.

Here’s an example from last weekend of how a website that didn’t work on mobile cost a well known brand some business….

I pulled in to a service area because I thought there might be a Little Chef nearby. I wasn’t in any rush to get home, I could almost taste the Olympic Breakfast and was very much looking forward to it. I’d have done whatever it took to get one. Even if the nearest Little Chef was 20 miles in the opposite direction I was travelling I was quite prepared to turn round and go back to wherever it was.

I took out my iPhone and found the Little Chef website expecting it to at least include a map of Britain with details of all their restaurant locations.

It actually went one better than a map. It had boxes where I could enter the start and end point of my journey and it would tell me the location of every Little Chef along the route.

Brilliant.

Except it wasn’t really.

Because it quickly turned into a total footer. And from being prepared to go to considerable lengths to find a Little Chef, the experience of searching for it through their website on my iPhone completely exhausted my patience.

All I wanted was a big fat box I could put a location into. But that’s not how it’s laid out on the Little Chef website. It’s a perfectly good site but access it on a smart phone and you’ll see it’s exactly the same as the standard version and much harder to use.

It requires zooming in on text, moving the screen around, trying to type in tiny little boxes then zooming back out to hit the “submit” button. Try it for yourself and you’ll see what I mean.

The point is if even a few websites are now optimised for mobile browsing the user becomes increasingly reluctant to persevere with those that aren’t. And that cost Little Chef business last weekend. Worse, in my mind they’ve gone from being a company who’ve come through some troubles and deserve to be given a chance to just another business who’s website annoyed me and a brand who’re still a bit stuck in the past.

So what should Little Chef – or any business – do? Watch this video and find out…

Now –  give me your mobile internet heroes and villains. Have you come across someone who’s got it spot on, or someone else who’s totally inadequate? Spill the beans!

And remember the team at NS Design can help optimise your existing site for mobile access or make sure your new page is right at the cutting edge. Give them a shout and they’ll be happy to help.

ps -I’ll see you this Sunday if you’re coming along to the Kelvin Hall for the Scottish Rocks basketball match!!

Ok – being honest, I did actually plan to do these things at some point, but the Apple Store (and it’s brilliant staff) have a habit of encouraging you into these things..  that and the products are so seductively sexy you just need to have them.  There was also another very good reason for me simply having to upgrade my iPhone 3G to iPhone 4 – my wife got one before me, and being the true geek in the family I couldn’t be outdone for too long

So… here’s just a very short review of both these new toys:

Apple TV

The new Apple TV is tiny, and the box it comes in is tiny, and (having played with the old Apple TV) you can’t not be impressed by how tiny (and sleek) it really is.  That is until you realise that the tiny box doesn’t contain an HDMI cable to plug the thing into the telly!  Bit of a failure on Apple’s part to not make this clearer on the box, or for them not to mention this when selling it to me…  However, a quick steal from the SKY HD Box, and it was up and running.  Configuration was easy, and now have all my music, films, podcasts etc all streaming to the HD TV in the living room.  Add to that the “Remote” app that allows you to control the appleTV (and Itunes on your computer) and it all works very well indeed!

Apple iPhone 4

Not that I really needed the new iPhone (my iPhone 3G has been doing me just fine), but my reasoning behind buying it was as follows:

1. I was out of contract (with O2) so I *could* upgrade
2. I was nearly using up all my 16GB storage on current phone
3. My wife got one last week and that annoyed me

The truth is – other than it being far prettier than the old one, the new apple iPhone isn’t a massive improvment in my opinion.  Yes, it’s got new things like “facetime” (apple’s version of skype video), and includes a little compass so I know which direction I’m going in, as well as a much improved camera and new video camera (HD quality)..  but apart from that – if you’ve already updated your software to V4 on the older 3G (or 3GS), then there’s not a great deal to benefit from.  The battery (not that I’ve had time yet to fully test this) is supposedly a lot better (which wouldn’t be difficult!) which will be a bonus!

Did I really need to upgrade, probably not, do I regret paying £299 – no, especially when I’ll sell my existing iPhone 3G for approx £160.  Have I restored my position of King-Geek in my household..  (was there ever any chance of losing it?)….  Now who want’s facetime!

This frenzy has peaked despite the swift emergence of an annoying, and rather basic, design flaw. When held in a certain way, the iPhone4 loses signal and drops calls. Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs has openly admitted the fault and the company is working to create a band which will help prevent the problem.

The issue has arose due to the steel band casing of the iPhone4, which also acts as its antenna, making it more susceptible to drop outs when the phone is held in a certain way. It’s an unusual episode for Apple, whose signature is usually impeccable, functional design, but a speedy response from the behemoth, including the personal interest taken by CEO Steve Jobs means it has done very little to dent the ever growing popularity of the i-brand.

Of course its ongoing popularity is possibly also a result of almost unanimously positive reviews; according to those lucky enough to get one the iPhone4’s new design marks a departure for Apple that results in a practical design that captures a luxury feel. It also has image, hardware and battery life improvements galore, making the new iPhone one to get excited about while opening up a whole world of possibilities for social media and apps that will also internet designers to have some fun with their digital mobile marketing.

With the emergence of devices like the iphone and Blackberry which use direct user manipulation with the screen, this has allowed screen sizes to be maximised, allowing users to see a lot more data. This is a big advantage for designers. The way in which people appear to be using the mobile web seems to be based very much more on practical functionality, communication, and accessing data/carrying out tasks quickly on the move. In this respect and with the challenge of designing for a smaller screen, its clear that mobile interfaces must be designed with content and usability at the forefront, whilst still conveying a companies branding and image successfully. Some mobile sites which demonstrate successful examples of this stripped down design, content focused approach are Amazon and Twitter.

The interface possibilities associated with phones also open new opportunities for designing the best user experience. Built in features like touchscreen, the mobile keypad, accelerator keys, the iphones motion detection and even vibrate could be used to maximise the efficiency of accessing mobile data. The type of sites that have proved most popular among web users support this idea of a more functionality and content focused web. News, weather and sports sites, email, social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, and of course search engines all rank very highly.

The statistics for mobile use in Britain are also interesting with Britain making up 20% of worldwide mobile web usage, second only to America. The number of mobile internet users grew from 5.8 million to 7.3 million is the third quarter of 2008 according to research from Neilson Online, meaning the mobile web is growing 8 times faster than desktop. The result of this rapid increase in mobile web usage has taken many businesses by surprise and are unaware that a large amount of their potential market are now surfing the web via mobile. In 2009 I think that many companies will start to see the advantage of having a mobile version of their site – not as a replacement but as a peripheral part of their overall brand strategy, allowing them to maximise their exposure to their markets.

As mentioned, social networking and the ability to update accounts like Twitter, Facebook and blogs, on the move and improve communication plays a big part in the mobile web and web in general. At a seminar we attended last week, one of the speakers Joe Hughes from Yomego suggested the theory that in the future social networking will take a more focuses approach where users in certain communities will have their own social networking and communication sites to discuss their interests, hence allowing advertisers to be more focuses aswell. Whether or not this happens to the extent he suggested is debatable, but the web definitely looks set to continue to embrace this social and community aspect of communication and generating content and the role the mobile web plays in this will continue to increase.

Anyone with an Apple Ipod Touch who hasn’t yet downloaded the new firmware release (1.1.3) is missing out big time! 

The new update to the software sees a handful of new features including an email client, weather updates, Notes and Google Maps with the fantastic location finding.

The latter is simply brilliant…  working without either GPS or GSM, relying purely on Wi-Fi Triangulation to pinpoint your current position on the map.  The iPhone is even better (so I’m told), using a combination of GSM (mobile phone masts) and Wi-Fi detection to give a more accurate result.

Wi-Fi Triangulation

 So how does it know where you are….  Google has partnered with Skyhook Wireless who provide a database of all known wireless access points, created by capturing the signals (apparently by driving round our streets in a souped-up geek van) from private and public wireless hotspots. 

When your iPod Touch requests it’s location via Google Maps, Skyhook’s WPS (Wi-Fi Positioning System) uses the device’s built in Wi-Fi to scan for nearby access points.  When detected, it confirms the strength of connection, and compares all of this to it’s database, using clever algorithms to calculate your position.  All very Mission Impossible, and some people have expressed concerns over privacy and security (both from a ipod/iphone user, and access point owner point of view) .

Right now I’m typing this from our office on Ainslie Road, Hillington.  I only know this for sure because my iPod confirms this!!  Selfishly, I’m delighted that Glasgow seems to have some great coverage in the SkyHook database, second only to London, and while I expect it’ll be some time before the UK coverage even comes close to the Mobile Phone network, I’m convinced that over time this will become the “standard” locational mapping method.

A case for Google Advertising

There’s no doubt that the location detection ability of the iPod and iPhone is impressive, and a really cool thing to show off to your mates.  But as the uptake of these devices increases, along with an increase in the accuracy of detection and a wider coverage, the business potential for companies with a shop, office, or any “physical premises” suddenly becomes clear. 

Type “NSDesign” into Google maps, and you’ll be shown our office.  Now click on the “directions to here” option, and you’ll get a detailed route direct to our door, starting at your exact current location.  Pretty powerfull stuff and all do-able now.  Certainly a reason for making sure your business is listed within Google Maps.

Related Links:
Add a custom Google Map to your website
Extract from the book “Web Development Solutions” – Chapter: Adding Google Maps to your Website

Using an adapted version of Safari, browsing websites is intuitive and on the whole fairly easy.  It’s instantly obvious that some websites “work” better than others, and it’s fair to say that websites built to standards (xhtml, css and semantic markup) perform better than the usual (non-accessible) tables-based layout sites. 

We’re really quite excited about this, and will be doing some more research in the new year to identify the “best practice” for optimising a website for the touch, and of course the iPhone.  With some clever browser detection and customised CSS, it should be possible to get any website (especially the ones we develop!) to format perfectly for the smaller ipod screen, with a few automatic extras to make browsing that bit easier…  watch this space!!