A new era of easy mobilization is coming

In case you haven't seen the press release, today dotMobi announced that it has acquired the IP assets of Mowser, which is a content adaptation engine created by two Bay Area mobile pioneers, Russell Beattie and Mike Rowehl.

Everyone in dotMobi is very excited because having access to this technology will give us ways to let owners of existing PC-based sites quickly and easily utilize those existing assets to create .mobi-compliant sites designed specifically for the needs of mobile web users.

One question I've already heard is, "But won't having a tool that can convert a PC site to a mobile one mean there's no need for a .mobi domain?"

Hertz doesn't think so. Hilton doesn't think so. Amtrak doesn't think so. 1-800-Flowers doesn't think so. And I certainly don't think so.

Those brands (among many others) use similar tools to create .mobi web sites that address the needs of on-the-go users. They've thought about the mobile context and want to assure their users that their sites will work on a mobile phone and that they won't encounter a frustrating desktop PC site (poorly) transferred to a phone.

That's one reason I think that bringing user-controlled content adaptation to "the masses" will be a significant accelerator for .mobi domain usage.

Another reason is that I don’t think businesses will want to hide their mobile sites. Even with all the cool technology we have, it can take a bit of effort to think through and create a great mobile site.

The Nielsen top ten web mobile sites use multiple URL conventions, but .mobi is the one most frequently used to ensure that their sites can be found because brand.mobi is the most easily guessable convention.

So welcome to a new age of easy mobilization ... and more .mobi domains than ever.

Comments

[Holly from mobiEnthusiast.mobi]

Congratulations to Russ and especially to dotMobi. This is great news as far as I am concerned. Mowser provides a much-needed way to translate documents into mobile web usable content. We are using it on http://recalledtoys.mobi and it has enabled us to provide up to the minute information to parents and caregivers on recalled toys which would otherwise be a time-consuming, and let's face it, impossible task. Applause all around and thank you for refusing to let this great product/service die.

[Anthony]

Samsung, Docomo, Orange, Verizon, Motorola and many others have set up The LimoFoundation an organization to compete against Google Open Hanset Alliance

http://www.limofoundation.org/current-members/index.php

Will dotMobi join this prestigious Mobile-oriented group?

[Vance Hedderel, Director of PR & Communications]

In response to Anthony's question above, dotMobi is focused on helping the mobile web grow across all handsets and all operators. We support the work of both the OHA and the LiMo Foundation as well as all other industry organizations helping to promote a positive mobile experience for consumers.

[Aaron, Mobi-Templates.com]

Seems like a major step forward for the dotmobi world. I'm definitely a believer.