Poll: Do you use a PDA or cell phone to browse the Web?
Thursday April 19, 2007
I've been using a Treo for a while, and I actually like using it to browse the Web.
But Web pages are not always very friendly to cell phones and other PDAs. In one case, I was just trying to get the phone number of the pizza place so I could call in an order on our way home. It took 20 minutes to get to the place, and 15 minutes to find their number on the Web page. So our pizza wasn't ready when we got there. :(
Do you use a PDA or cell phone to browse the Web?
What issues have you come across when browsing Web pages on a small device? Do you have any recommendations for developers out there to make their pages better?
Comments
http://www.skweezer.net/ is a handy site to use on your PDA/smartphone, it automatically removes background images and makes the website more pda-friendly. Bloglines integrated it into their RSS reader, that’s how I came across it.
Something that gives me a hard time when I’m browsing on my blackberry is when the navigation falls somewhere down in the middle of the page. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out where things are and get around a site.
I do not use a PDA or smartphone to browse the web, but I have done some research on the subject because my employer wants to have the public view their site with PDA’s and smartphones.
I was thinking of using a css as one would use for a print page, but only have it for the above.
I don’t use a PDA or phone to browse the web, but I did try it before, on a phone and a PSP.
I forgot to add that my websites looked like a mess on my niece’s cellphone, but fine on my friend’s. It also looked okay on a PSP. However, sites that need flash players don’t work on the PSP and my niece’s cellphone. I don’t know about PDAs.
I don’t have a blackberry, but I do have a cell and I’d rather use a computer to do my internet surfing for three reasons: 1)speed, 2)quality, and 3)access.
I find that I can type on a PC faster than I can on a cell phone. Also, what I’m looking for comes up faster than on a cell.
I have a 17″ screen on my PC. I can view everything more clearly there than on my cell, where I need a magnifying glass to see what’s on my screen.
Finally, when I’m sitting in front of my PC, I rarely lose my signal and have to restart my search like I’ve had to do with my cell.
Although most of the newer cell phones are getting better and blackberries are becoming more and more advanced, they may one day be a primary source to view the internet. Till then, I’ll stick with my PC.
Frank - the site you suggested for PDA’s is great! Thanks!
www.skweezer.net
Cecily
Can CSS be used to style for mobile devices? Something like re-styling a page for printing?
Otherwise, I suppose specifically designing/coding for mobile devices is about the only option I can think of at this very early stage in my websites-for-mobile-devices education.
I work on a 22″ monitor and have another dual monitor setup. It drives me nuts to use the small screen of a PDA. If I could find a filter app that would strip out the graphics and leave the XML or Metadata, I’d be happier. Maybe someday they’ll integrate them as a projected hologram from the PDA to replicate a 17″ monitor. Until then, 411 works better and keeps my frustration level down!