IDEA No 86
THE MOBILE WEB
By the end of 2014, there will be more mobile devices than people on earth. Most of them will have WiFi connectivity. Wherever we go, we are connected.
The Nokia 9500 Communicator, introduced in 2004, was the first phone able to render HTML pages.
The first WiFi-enabled mobile phones appeared in Japan on the NTT DoCoMo network in 1999. At the time, Europe and the US were using Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), a standard made specifically for mobile devices. It is fair to say that it never really caught on. Not only were connection speeds poor, the content was too. The first WiFi-enabled phone in the US and Europe appeared in 2004. With its QWERTY keyboard and Microsoft-compatible software, the Nokia 9500 Communicator was popular with business users but failed to excite consumers. By this time the number of people in Japan accessing the Web via mobile phone exceeded the number browsing on a PC.
The launch of the iPhone in 2007 was pivotal. Before the iPhone, smartphones were first and foremost phones. Apple flipped this on its head. The iPhone is a hand-held entertainment system that you can make calls on. Key to its success was the best mobile Web-browsing experience the world had ever seen. This was largely thanks to the touchscreen interface and its pinch-and-zoom functionality. A webpage designed for a PC could now be viewed reasonably well on a phone.
Google recognized the paradigm shift, releasing its Android operating system in 2008. Other phone manufacturers followed as quickly as they could. Touchscreen interfaces, larger screens and faster connections made the Web truly mobile. Adoption rates soared.
Exploring the Web from our phone adds another dimension to our browsing experience. Mobile maps mean we never have to ask for directions again. Location-based search makes it easier to find a local retailer, taxi or cash point. Augmented reality enables a whole host of other services.
For more than 30 years, the PC dominated computing. The post-PC era, ushered in by the iPhone, is driven by the mobile Web. We now work, play, shop, organize and socialize on the move.
As more and more devices connect to the cloud, our smartphone becomes more central. Not only is it our primary communication tool, but also it is a hand-held computer and personal entertainment system. It will become our virtual identity. No wonder we get anxious when we leave it in the back of a cab.■
‘The Mobile Web has transformed not only how we browse the Web but also how we live our lives.’
