Definition of: .mobi
(.MOBIle) A top-level Internet domain used for Web sites that supply content to cellphones and other handheld devices with tiny screens. The .mobi suffix was introduced in 2005, and the first registrations were accepted in 2006 from members of wireless trade organizations.
Boy, have I been out of it.
I try and keep up to date with everything, I really do. It’s not like part of my Social Networking ignorance – blog was foreign to me for awhile – but then I chose to ignore the term blog. But this – what the heck is .mobi? And what is the “mobile web”?
Since there’s all of this terminology involved, let’s look at it this way: When you run a website, a domain is your home. Your home has to have an address, right? The extension of your website is your address, for example, http://www.worldstart.com has an address that has a dot com extension.
We have seen dot coms, dot nets, dot orgs, etc. Dot mobi is a different kind of domain. Dot mobi is strictly for the mobile/wireless set: owners of cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), laptops, digital televisions, etc. In other words, if you access the internet through some kind of hand-held device, a dot mobi domain will be extremely easy to access. At the present time it may take you a few minutes to check the weather on the internet over your phone. A dot mobi extension ensures that the results will get to you before the first raindrop hits.
Let’s delve into this concept a little further.
As of the time of this writing, at least 56 percent of Americans have accessed the internet over their cell phone, and at least 92 percent of Americans have a hand-held device.
Right now, hand-helds are not as equipped design-wise as they need to be for the mobile web. To watch a five-minute movie trailer on a cell phone eats up your battery. Okay, then let’s look at a five-minute movie trailer on a Blackberry. The battery life is great, but it would depend on the strength of the connection, whether or not the colors of the display are enough…Enter dot mobi.
The fact is that it is important to a lot of Americans to stay “in touch”, whether it’s to talk to their family, check in at their job, or send a text message to a friend. Businesses (obviously) want as much quick communication with customers as possible. There are companies whose trade greatly depends on the speed of their service that are currently using dot mobi as part of their communications mix, such as AAA and 1-800-flowers.
There’s no doubt about it, the Mobile Web is forging full-speed ahead, dot mobi included. Watch for this up and coming trend. There will almost certainly be a time when you will want something while you are on the go and want it quickly – and dot mobi will be there to help.
If you would like to know more about the mobile web and dot mobi, check out http://mtld.mobi/. It explains the mobile web and dot mobi in more detail.
~ Lori
