The mobile Web is no joke. According to Informa market data there were 666 million users at the end of 2009, and this number is expected to grow to a staggering 2.13 billion by 2014. Browsing on your phone used to be inviting a mugging – at this rate hoodlums will soon be too busy checking Facebook to bother plundering your pockets.
Louw reviewed some mobile sites last year, but there’s been a proliferation of good pages since then.
The New York Times
Taking notes from BBC mobile, the New York Times mobile site is clean and clear with only the bare essentials on display. It lacks the minimalist style of the BBC page, and it could do with some breadcrumbs to aid navigation, but it should have no problem satisfying most readers’ needs.
Image Credit: The New York Times Mobile Site
CNN
Until recently CNN Mobile was a bandwidth-guzzling behemoth – which was completely incongruous with the rest of mobile Web. It’s still somewhat on the ugly side of the spectrum, and article navigation could do with some work, but it’s a solid step in the right direction.
Image Credit: CNN Mobile Site
GameSpot
GameSpot is one of the first major gaming sites to go mobile and it does a fairly good job of it. All of GameSpot’s latest news, reviews, previews and editorials are easily accessible from anywhere on the site. The design looks a bit thrown together, but not to the point that you should become reacquainted with your breakfast. All in all a decent effort then.
Image Credit: Gamespot Mobile Site
IGN
Continuing in the same vein, IGN Mobi represents IGN’s foray into the world of mobile. It too provides visitors with access to reviews, previews and news. The design is a lot more sparse than GameSpot’s, but this of course means that it loads faster and looks less cluttered. It’s quite a basic example, but I’d far rather a mobile site was simplistic and fast than bloated and slow. Besides, when you get down to it, content is king and it boasts plenty of that.
Image Credit: IGN.Mobi
Flickr
Flickr Mobile does exactly what you’d expect – it lets you browse mobile-optimised images on a mobile-optimised site. I’m not sure how many people will find regular use for it, but that doesn’t detract from its attractive, well-thought out interface and impressive performance.
Image Credit: Flickr Mobile Site
Spin
Spin magazine’s mobile home is a fine example of content translated to the handheld device. It’s a breeze to navigate and features all the latest articles and news pulled from the full site. There’s not much in the way of archived content, but what is on offer should be more than enough to occupy your time. It makes nice use of images too and the performance doesn’t suffer for it.
Image Credit: Spin Magazine Mobile Site
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