Ease of use

I personally find it most useful to be able to comparison shop when I'm out in meatspace, shopping. I can browse in Virgin/HMV and then work out if it's worth waiting for a play.com or amazon delivery over immediate gratification.

But but those sites can be a pig to search even on a smartphone.

However I can definitely see the appeal of being able to do things like buy cinema tickets using a specifically designed mobile portal. Beating the queues by ordering tickets in the pub would be great.

There's also lots of possibility there of using the security provided by a SIM card to authenticate purchases to a pre-associated credit card account without having to go through the laborious details entering which would kill the mobile experience.

Which users are these exactly?

I know a lot of people with phones, and a lot of fellow geeks, but I don't know anyone who regards mobile web as more than a fun gimmick, used perhaps a few times and then ignored once the novelty has worn off.

I keep reading that mobile web is the next biggest thing, and we'll all be surfing from everywhere next week. Call me a cynic, but it all seems to be so much marketing buzz.

RE: Which users are these exactly?

I admit that I thought the idea of using Lastminute on a mobile slightly odd. I rarely have been in that much of a hurry to book a holiday. But I find I use wikipedia and imdb every now and again while out and about. It's great for those "who the hell is that, and what was that film she was in?" moments.

I'm with A Lewis

I have a Nokia N70 which I even installed Opera on (Because I could!), but I still hardly go online because I don't want to be hit with a huge bill at the end of the month, so I have learnt to control my internet habit and wait until I get home. Which also means when it come to contract renewal, I don't opt for one with a huge data bundle because I won't use it... catch 22.

BTW, as it is now renewal time, does anyone know a network that can provide me with an N95 with it's wifi voip stack intact? Or how reliable the firmware hacks are?

RE: Which users are these exactly?

I must admit having mobile internet access is handy to access wikipedia in a pub and settle an argument, and I do sometimes use the google maps mobile app for route planning. But I just think all of these are nice-to-haves, and don't live up to the considerable hype currently around mobile web access.

Price too high, ease of use too low...

I'm lucky enough to not have to worry about my data charges (company phone - I work for a mobile network) and I would say that this is the only thing holding mobile web back. I'd *love* to be able to buy cinema / gig tickets in the pub half an hour before going in - save on the queues! It's not difficult to provide a stripped down portal providing just the essential functions, but no-one's doing it, because there's no demand - no demand because it's too expensive to make /the hassle of doing it on a crap portal/ worthwhile...

I use it every day.

With an N73 and no internet access at home I use my unlimited data plan and do my banking, eBay and everything else on my phone. There are only a few sites that I can't get to work and for those a phone call will do. Build it and they will come.

Why Bother?

With a few notable exceptions (movie/concert tickets, parking tickets) I really don't see the point. It's not like I'm spontaneously going to order up a new PC or car on the train ride home.

Marketing has been hard at work to convince tech firms this is the way of the future. Exactly backwards of the way the process should work. What's that saying about buggy coming before the horse....

Have Patience Ciara O'Brien..Rome was not built in a day

We as a society have developed the need to have everything that we want as soon as we want it. It is commonly called "Instant Gratification". We go to stores and purchase items as soon as we see it; we go to restaurants and satisfy our cravings; we go online and use analytical comparison software to instantly find that perfect partner to share our lives with....we just can't seem to wait for anything anymore.

It took years for the Internet to mature from the original Darpa Net project. It took years for HTML websites to catch on even after Marc Andreessen developed the Mosaic viewer. It took years for personal computers to come down in price to the point that the average consumer could avoid it.

My Point: It will take years for DotMobi to mature to the level that we are use today with the Internet. We just simply need to have patience.