Mobile Web Developer’s Guide
Part I: Creating Simple Mobile Sites for Common Handsets

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Let's say you need to develop a service for both the web and the mobile web. This website will have for every web page a mobile version with the same content than on the normal web but formated to be readable on mobile device.

In my opinion you need to satisfy the following:

1. The lambda user should get automatically the version that serves the content adapted to the device (and network ?) he is using (ie. 1 URL for all devices with content negociation based on user-agent and any other information the server can get). Ex: www.mobapi.com
2. The user who needs the mobile version should be able to force the mobile rendering through a dedicated URL. For instance add "/mobile" at the end. This will allow browsers which does not identify themselves correctly to access the mobile content. This will also let normal browser access light content, I often do that in the train while surfing with my laptop connected to a GPRS/UMTS connection. Ex: www.mobapi.com/mobile
3. Even though it is less obvious the other way around might be useful as well. One user who is using a mobile device might want to force the web rendering. Browser on mobile are getting really powerful and capable of rendering big web page. Add "/www" at the end of the URL. Ex: www.mobapi.com/www
Same behavior can be true for language issue:
www.mobapi.com serves the language as set up in the HTTP header.
www.mobapi.com/fr forces the use of a language.

You end up with this kind of URL:
www.mobapi.com[/device_type][/language]
where:
device_type in [www|mobile|...]
language in [fr|en|de|it|...]

Suggestions:
1) On the web page you might want to advertise the existence of a mobile adapted version with some mobile discovery mechanism in the meta tags in the header.
1) In the footer of your pages, it might be a good idea to provide a link that will let you switch to the other versions (web->mobile, mobile->web).

You want to test your mobile website on your desktop you can try it an iFrame, check Nokia's solution. Quite ugly as a matter of fact... you might also just resize your desktop browser, it is just about dimension anyway,... anything else is not taken into account!

Talking about mobile browsers you can check a list of those there (in french)

Punchkick Interactive: The Essential Mobile WAP and Web Site Development Tools and Resources

From Mobi Ready Score to WURFL, here is a list of useful ressources... need your input.

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Something else that was released by the W3C a few days before Christmas: mobileOK Basic Tests 1.0.

A set of machine verifiable (basic) tests to determine if a web page is suitable for mobile device. Somehow those tests should be performed everytime one access a web page from its mobile, and since it happens all the time with the KAYWA reader, this is something we could/should quickly integrate on our intermediary page.

I am fed up of having my mobile crashing because of big and unreadable web page!

How to determine where is a mobile page ?  Mobile Link Discovery

The mobile web is, at least, getting the attraction it deserves to (and that I have been waiting forever :-). One of the downside is that newcomers jump in the discussion and ask the same question that have been discussed forever...

Most of us are aware of the fact that there are several limitations of WURFL. [...] A possible solution for aforementioned problems could be UAProf. (#)

Example for the Nokia 6681 

Compilation of answers from Luca (WURFL) and Barbara:

• UAProf is frequently wrong (which is quite surprising since infos are provided by the manufacturer);
• UAProf data is not as standard as it should;
• UAProf data is extremely limited, as it should be to keep overhead down;
• WURFL does import UAProf data whenever a new device is kind enough to leave an UAProf URL;
  
  

For more informations:

The list of available UAProf files for Nokia devices can be found there and UAProf files can be accessed at http://nds1.nds.nokia.com/uaprof/<filename>.

Smoothplanet blog passes the test ;-)

mr.dev.mobi

From the Mobile 2.0 Conference: Scott Rafer from WINKsite:

The question was [paraphrased], “My team has spent a lot of time customizing for handsets. Now Opera Mini is hiding all the user agents from its users’ sessions. Where do you get off doing so?” As an aside to normal people, user agents are how web sites, mobile or otherwise, know what browser you are using and what kind of PC or phone hardware it is running on.

Mr. McCathieNevile’s answer [again paraphrased] was, “We’re tired of developers not allowing users to access applications based on their handset. Users would prefer a 95% solution, and our browser almost always provides one.” Though amicably phrased, this answer really means, “We think users and developers are too dumb to handle data transparency.” We blogging loons know how well that works.

F***! Can not believe it...

Read also Can't rely on User-Agent any more...

Two ressources... a new blog:
S60 browser blog

and a PDF:
Overview of AJAX Support in the Nokia Web Browser

C. Enrique Ortiz Mobility Weblog: Mobile AJAX Today

In conclusion, Mobile AJAX today is not mainstream, and is not ready to deliver the goodies it has delivered on the desktop, not because the technology per-se isn't ready, but because it is not consistently offered across handsets, and because its effect (and experience) on Mobile is just plain different from the desktop. So when can we expect Mobile AJAX to go mainstream? Well, the sooner the better, but it will probably take about 2 years -- hopefully I'm wrong and it's before that.