A web standards approach for delivering content to mobile devices

Sep 2, 2007 by David Mead product

Mobile Web Design

★★★★☆ This book does not give you an instant mobile strategy but rather the tools, resources and focused information to go about sorting out the wheat from the chaff in this still new and confusing area.

Cameron Moll has laid out a really nice entry point for getting to grips with designing sites for use with mobile devices. An easy to read PDF with nice screenshots from a myriad of different devices (iPhone included) and clearly explained snippets of code make this a must read.

He points out 4 different approaches for getting your content out to the mobile masses and clearly states that all are equally viable at the moment. It’s still like the Wild West out there and making use of web standards and paying attention to the context in which your site may be being accessed is all important.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the mobile web.

0.3

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Also, Cleveland’s own, punchkickinteractive’s Ryan Unger was a reviewer for the book and is also cited in the Flash Lite section.

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So what of support for websites on the Playstation Portable? Before it can be useful in the web 2.0 world, it needs to exist in the web 1.0 world. It seemed doomed from the beginning, but there is always hope, just like for this site. I’ve made my personal website PSP accessible, using some PHP code I found through Google, this page is an excellent resource: http://www.brothercake.com/site/resources/reference/psp/. Basically the PHP recognizes what type of User Agent you are using, which can be done through javascript too, and it will put in code specific to that. Too bad there can’t just be a css type declaration to handle it. The PSP can handle basic javascript and even Flash 6. On my personal site, Cyan[c] Design, I can update my dynamic content with my PSP.

Refresh Cleveland is a group devoted to members of the Northeast Ohio community that are passionate about technology and the web. Some people have asked what they should write about on this site. Here’s a topic to start y’all off: what are you passionate about? What aspect of the web, and technology as a whole, interests you and drives you to learn more?

For me, it’s the idea of communication and the constant learning process that is an integral part of technology. I’m a designer–I sometimes jokingly say that I “make things look pretty,” but for me it’s about more than just creating designs that are pleasing to the eye. It’s about communicating visually and allowing the visual aspects of a design to help others understand an idea.

It’s also about mastering a craft, which is tricky and frustrating, but also rewarding. Every time I “get” a new concept, I feel a sense of triumph. Even so I know that I’m never finished learning, because the face of the web is constantly changing. It morphs into something new every month and every year.

Working with the web is a constant adventure. It involves discovery, mastery and the occasional conquest. It may not be mountain climbing, but it can be just as exhilarating when you finally figure out a concept that’s been itching at that little corner of your brain just beyond comprehension. That’s what drives me and makes me continue in this field.

What drives you?