The Mobile Web - an unsatisfactory experience?

A recent study by the Online Publishers Association says that only 25% of users are satisfied with the experience that they have when they surfed the web on their mobile phones. It found that over 33% of consumers has surfed on their mobiles.

I use my phone quite a lot to surf the web and would agree that most of the time it is an unsatisfactory experience. I keep doing it, as I have found some good content, primarily on the BBC site which is optimised for multi-platform access. But whenever I have "surfed", rather than just gone to a known destination site, I have been disappointed.

I think that this is indicative of the problem. People want a different experience when they are surfing on a mobile than when they are at their PCs, an experience that reflects their needs. Most of the content available on the mobile web is simply repurposed "PC web" content, much of it is inappropriate for a mobile user.

In order to identify what the mobile surfer wants, you must consider the key differences must between mobile and PC surfing :

- time available - mobile surfing is a time filler, not something you go off and do for a couple of hours.

- download speed - it's slow. I know G3 is all the rage, but have you ever got more than snail paced downloads? Large files, especially video, often fail to download entirely.

- screen size - it's got to fit on your screen. Some phones render the content better, but mostly its down to site design. Navigation in particular lets the side down.

- cost - content may be free (sometimes) but you've still got to pay for the download. On my package a short video clip is going to cost a couple of quid, not that I've ever managed to download one successfully.

- usability - the limits of navigation make surfing a slow experience.

If you are looking to provide a mobile web experience you need to identify what your target audience wants from the experience. Your service needs to fit a customer need, or you won't have any customers.

New technology provides the opportunity to develop new services, but often at the highest risk. The key questions, do users want it and, more pertinently, will they pay for it, remain unanswered. These unkonwns, plus inevitably high set-up costs make for a high risk. A classic case in point it mobile TV. Trials have made great claims like users like it because they can watch it on the loo, but face it, you only do that because you've got a free trial and it's a bit of a laugh. There is still, as far as I know, no commercial service on offer and certainly not one that can prove a return on investment.

For me, mobile content is about providing snippets of relevant information when and where you need it. The information must be easy to find and quick to download. As surfing (and searching) is a poor mobile experience, an integrated approach might be best suited. Email or text alerts, for example, following online registration, can be picked up on a mobile and the content delivered in a click through a link. More in-depth information involving larger downloads could be delivered on request for those who have the capacity to download it effectively, or accessible via PC (perhaps sync'd) at a later date.

The mobile web certainly will have its day, but it won't be as an alternative access point for material designed for PC / TV access. It will be part of an integrated communication experience, focusing on the elements where time is critical, but visual quality isn't.