iPhone Confusion?

An Apple Iphone advert has recently been criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for misleading the public by claiming the whole of the Internet is available via the device (BBC article). The ruling symbolises the continuing state of confusion about the Mobile Web and convergence Internet technologies.

In this instance the problem for the Iphone is that web users cannot access Java and Flash technologies via the Safari browser that ships with the product.  A significant number of web sites designed for desktop computer access (which are the majority) use Flash for interactive experiences and increasingly for video (e.g. BBC iPlayer) and Java remains very popular for web applications. For most desktop or laptop computer users Flash and Java are installed by default and so their access to web sites using these technologies will be seamless. Sites which rely heavily on these technologies, will have large sections appearing not to work in the iPhone and other devices.

The ruling from the ASA reflects how much confusion remains over terms such as ‘Internet’ and ‘Web’ and ‘Mobile Web’. This is not surprising given the youth of the medium and its global impact. It does however give impetus for those us working in the convergence field to make sure that we are clear on the commitments and promises we are making.

The situation surrounding the iPhone and other similar devices is complex. In theory many of the mobile phones that have been carried around for the last 3 – 5 years can access any website. On arrival though users may find that websites that are not optimised for the type of device will be slow loading and much will not work if technologies like Flash are used.

The complexity continues because even if all phone browsers could access everything a desktop browser can there would be hits on the performance of the devices and on the battery life. This is because essentially the device would need more processing power, memory and consequentially more electrical power. Accessing desktop web sites on mobile devices also has usability problems since desktop websites are designed with large screens in mind; the visual real estate often suffers on the small screen and could lead to user confusion. This will be exasperated if subsequently users also finds the aspect of the website they are actually interested in unavailable because the technology being used is incompatible with their device.

For every one computer there are at least 20 mobile phones worldwide (Opera Dev article). Many of these will have the facility to access the protocols and technologies of the Internet. So it is a desirable platform to exploit. With the credit crunch taking its toll and fears of a recession growing, companies that are establishing their web presences on a variety of devices should be making sure that they have maximum market exposure.

However as the iPhone advert demonstrates it is not always clear cut. So whose job is to make sure that a companies web presence is available whatever device the customer is using to access it?

Increasingly a customers first and only point of contact with a company will be via their website. As the use of the mobile web continues to increase then so to will it be the first and often only point of contact for  customers. In the current economic climate can companies afford to risk those additional sales by leaving their mobile web presences to chance. Effectively this is what happens when a company assumes the customers phone browser will take care of everything. As the iPhone issue shows your customer could well come up with a blank screen

Companies and organisations that surrender their mobile presences entirely to mobile web browsers risk alienating their customers by offering them an unusable, inaccessible experience. For example If a customer wants to make a last minute restaurant or hotel booking via their mobile phone but their preferred vendors site relies on technology that is only available on desktop machines then the customer will go to a rival and it’s a lost sale.

Like with most things, its the planning that counts. The Multichannel Web can be complicated but it is those companies that meet the challenge and make informed decisions about their web presence and refuse to surrender it to anyone else that will reap the benfits. Already the well known web comanies like Amazon are establishing their mobile web presences but joining them now are others, especially with a service focus, like Ralph Lauren and Marriot. When times are tight can anyone afford to miss the worldwide 24/7/365 opportunities of the mobile web?