ZEST insights

The arrival of the iPhone and other smart phones has quickly changed the way we use the internet.  Email and SMS technology has been available for many years via your mobile but the ability to easily access You Tube, Google maps, Safari and a host of other content through an iPhone is revolutionary.   

The day iPhone arrived in Australia, ANZ launched a specific Mobile Web site with Qantas quickly following suit. The proliferation of hand held devices has forced these companies to think about a wider customer group and develop specific Mobile Web content. 

Small screen size and other limitations such as poor download speed means the functionality of Mobile Web – for the time being – is limited and usually focused on the most commonly accessed services on the main website. Currently, images and words need to be pared down to allow the user to move quickly through the site.

In an attempt to improve the Mobile Web user-experience, standards are being developed. Wikipedia has further information about this, including the W3C Mobile Web Initiative, which aims to develop best practices and technologies relevant to Mobile Web. The hope is that this will make browsing the Web from mobile devices more reliable and accessible.  

Despite the need for improvements, mass consumer uptake of the iPhone and its relatively user-friendly browsing experience means we need to get serious about providing tailored websites for hand held devices. The potential benefits for patient support and healthcare professional engagement are significant.   

At ZEST we believe that as we progress through 2009 we will routinely be asked to create Mobile Web content as part of the development of all websites. It’s something we’re excited about and look forward to providing an innovative way to interact with patients and doctors. Stay tuned to the ZEST blog for further updates about how Mobile Web can work for you! 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 at 3:01 pm by Fiona Grigg and is filed in the category Update. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.