.mobi
Encyclopedia
The domain name mobi is a top-level domain
(TLD) in the Domain Name System
of the Internet
. Its name is derived from the adjective mobile, indicating its use by mobile devices for accessing Internet resources via the Mobile Web
.
The domain was approved by ICANN
on 11 July 2005, and is managed by the mTLD global registry. It was originally financially backed and sponsored by Google
, Microsoft
, Nokia
, Samsung
, Ericsson
, Vodafone
, T-Mobile
, Telefónica Móviles, Telecom Italia Mobile
, Orascom Telecom, GSM Association
, Hutchison Whampoa
, Syniverse Technologies
, and Visa, with an executive from each company serving on mTLD's board of directors.
In February 2010, Afilias
acquired mTLD Top-Level Domain Ltd. (known publicly as "dotMobi").
dotMobi engaged with the W3C Mobile Web Initiative (MWI) to help formulate the MWI Best Practices for mobile content. The practices outlined a number of ways to achieve good user experiences on mobile Web-enabled devices, and recognized several methods of implementing these practices.
mTLD has released a free testing tool called Ready.mobi (see mobiForge
) to analyze the mobile readiness of websites. It does a free page analysis and gives a .mobi Ready score from 1 to 5. This report tests the mobile-readiness of the site using dotMobi's recommended best practices.
dotMobi does not itself mandate any particular technology, but does require that .mobi sites produce user experiences consistent with their guidelines and specifically optimized for mobile phones.
The domain has been the target of criticism due to allegedly breaking the principles of device independence
. Providing content tailored to particular devices can be done by other means than a specific TLD, such as using hostnames within an existing domain, HTTP content negotiation
, cascading style sheets
, or other forms of adaptation.
/downsampling
proxy server
s and microbrowser
s, like Opera Mobile
, which can tailor any website to small display (using Small Screen Rendering technique). However, these browsers must still download an entire page (with graphics and other related files) which, if not optimized for mobile phones, can be time-consuming and expensive to download. To improve the latter issue, the two adaptation techniques can be used together. This is the idea behind proxy-based microbrowsers like Opera Mini
that download the optimized and compressed version of web pages through dedicated proxy servers. However, web pages viewed on a mobile via a proxy-based microbrowser are rarely specifically designed for a mobile phone, so it is left up to the proxy server and browser to decide what to compress, what to display, and how to display it, which, unlike the .mobi version of the site, may not necessarily be how the web page owner intends for the mobile audience.
There are also specialized content adaptation
solutions, that typically operate on a server, where they employ specialized adaptation techniques to provide optimized representations of Web sites to mobile devices regardless of what browser they use. However, .mobi replaces the intermediary step with the specific adaptation of content for viewing on a mobile phone.
The W3C
is also developing new authoring languages, such as DIAL (the Device Independent Authoring Language), which aid authors in creating Web sites that can be used on the huge variety of mobile devices available today. Some adaptation solutions already support the use of DIAL and similar languages in creating sites that can be used with .mobi domain names. Other open source initiatives include WURFL
which addresses the problem with a large database of browser identification strings.
s, one desktop-based and the other mobile-based, and thus risks producing redundant content. From a content provider perspective, having to maintain two separate website also represents more work.
Tim Berners-Lee
of the World Wide Web Consortium
, claims that dotMobi breaks the device independence of the web:
Critics pointed out that "mobi" is an unfortunate choice for mobile phone text entry interfaces, requiring nine or ten keystrokes in many common setups, compared to seven for "com", or what could have only been three if "wap
" was used. There is a possibility that mobile phone manufacturers may in the future default their mobile internet browsers to .mobi or that predictive-text input features will reduce this to one keystroke, either of which would effectively eliminate this issue.
and infrastructure vendors , and Internet search and content providers.
with input from mTLD's Policy Advisory Board and WIPO. Disputes that arise over .mobi domain names can be filed and administered by the National Arbitration Forum
. Disputes are decided by one of 147 experts on the National Arbitration Forum's intellectual property panel.
On 13 September 2007, dotMobi announced the auction of 100 premium .mobi domains via Sedo to commemorate their 1 year anniversary since public launch.
dotMobi has sold hundreds of domain names through the auction process, but it has not been without controversy. In one auction, a dotMobi website sold for $616,000. The auction was voided due to technical problems at Sedo. Also, none of the top 25 most expensive domains sold at the first auction met their compliance deadlines to have active web sites.
range, including Flowers.mobi, Sportsbook.mobi, and Fun.mobi.
Top-level domain
A top-level domain is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in lower levels, it is the last part of the domain name, that is, the last label of a...
(TLD) in the Domain Name System
Domain name system
The Domain Name System is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities...
of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Its name is derived from the adjective mobile, indicating its use by mobile devices for accessing Internet resources via the Mobile Web
Mobile Web
The Mobile Web refers to the use of Internet-connected applications, or browser-based access to the Internet from a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet computer, connected to a wireless network....
.
The domain was approved by ICANN
ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Marina del Rey, California, United States, that was created on September 18, 1998, and incorporated on September 30, 1998 to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly...
on 11 July 2005, and is managed by the mTLD global registry. It was originally financially backed and sponsored by Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
, Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
, Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
, T-Mobile
T-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
, Telefónica Móviles, Telecom Italia Mobile
Telecom Italia Mobile
TIM is Telecom Italia's mobile phone brand, and runs a GSM, EDGE, UMTS and HSDPA network in Italy and Brazil.In Europe, TIM is part of the FreeMove alliance.TIM Peru was sold to América Móvil and rebranded Claro...
, Orascom Telecom, GSM Association
GSM Association
The GSM Association is an association of mobile operators and related companies devoted to supporting the standardizing, deployment and promotion of the GSM mobile telephone system...
, Hutchison Whampoa
Hutchison Whampoa
Hutchison Whampoa Limited or HWL of Hong Kong is a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HWL is an international corporation with a diverse array of holdings which includes the world's biggest port and telecommunication operations in 14...
, Syniverse Technologies
Syniverse Technologies
Syniverse is a global company that provides technology and business services for the telecommunications industry. The company’s solutions make it possible for disparate technologies and standards to interoperate, so operators in the mobile industry can provide their subscribers with access to voice...
, and Visa, with an executive from each company serving on mTLD's board of directors.
In February 2010, Afilias
Afilias
Afilias Limited is the registry operator of the .info and .mobi Top-level domain, and the service provider of the .org generic top-level domain , .asia TLD catering to the Asia, Australia, and Pacific regions, .aero Airline and Aviation Industry TLD, and a provider of domain name registry services...
acquired mTLD Top-Level Domain Ltd. (known publicly as "dotMobi").
Operation
DotMobi domain names have been available for registration by the public since 26 September 2006.dotMobi engaged with the W3C Mobile Web Initiative (MWI) to help formulate the MWI Best Practices for mobile content. The practices outlined a number of ways to achieve good user experiences on mobile Web-enabled devices, and recognized several methods of implementing these practices.
mTLD has released a free testing tool called Ready.mobi (see mobiForge
Mobiforge
mobiForge is a mobile development and design resource site run by the mobile domain registry, dotMobi. Its stated purpose is to help stimulate the growth of the mobile web by providing technical resources and tools to educate the mobile development community...
) to analyze the mobile readiness of websites. It does a free page analysis and gives a .mobi Ready score from 1 to 5. This report tests the mobile-readiness of the site using dotMobi's recommended best practices.
dotMobi does not itself mandate any particular technology, but does require that .mobi sites produce user experiences consistent with their guidelines and specifically optimized for mobile phones.
The domain has been the target of criticism due to allegedly breaking the principles of device independence
Device independent
A program or file is device independent when its function is universal on different types of device.For the World Wide Web, this means writing simple common denominator Hypertext Markup Language and Cascading Style Sheets so that most Web user agents on most devices can render it acceptably.For...
. Providing content tailored to particular devices can be done by other means than a specific TLD, such as using hostnames within an existing domain, HTTP content negotiation
Content negotiation
Content negotiation is a mechanism defined in the HTTP specification that makes it possible to serve different versions of a document at the same URI, so that user agents can specify which version fit their capabilities the best...
, cascading style sheets
Cascading Style Sheets
Cascading Style Sheets is a style sheet language used to describe the presentation semantics of a document written in a markup language...
, or other forms of adaptation.
Similar services
There are technical solutions that provide similar benefits as mobi: compressingData compression
In computer science and information theory, data compression, source coding or bit-rate reduction is the process of encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation would use....
/downsampling
Downsampling
In signal processing, downsampling is the process of reducing the sampling rate of a signal. This is usually done to reduce the data rate or the size of the data....
proxy server
Proxy server
In computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
s and microbrowser
Microbrowser
A mobile browser, also called a microbrowser, minibrowser, or wireless internet browser , is a web browser designed for use on a mobile device such as a mobile phone or PDA. Mobile browsers are optimized so as to display Web content most effectively for small screens on portable devices...
s, like Opera Mobile
Opera Mobile
Opera Mobile is a web browser for smartphones and PDA's developed by the Opera Software company. The first version was released in 2000 for the Psion Series 7 and netBook. Today, it is available for a variety of devices that run on Android, S60, Windows Mobile, Maemo , and MeeGo...
, which can tailor any website to small display (using Small Screen Rendering technique). However, these browsers must still download an entire page (with graphics and other related files) which, if not optimized for mobile phones, can be time-consuming and expensive to download. To improve the latter issue, the two adaptation techniques can be used together. This is the idea behind proxy-based microbrowsers like Opera Mini
Opera Mini
Opera Mini is a web browser designed primarily for mobile phones, smartphones and personal digital assistants. Until version 4 it used the Java ME platform, requiring the mobile device to run Java ME applications. From version 5 it is also available as a native application for Android, iOS, Symbian...
that download the optimized and compressed version of web pages through dedicated proxy servers. However, web pages viewed on a mobile via a proxy-based microbrowser are rarely specifically designed for a mobile phone, so it is left up to the proxy server and browser to decide what to compress, what to display, and how to display it, which, unlike the .mobi version of the site, may not necessarily be how the web page owner intends for the mobile audience.
There are also specialized content adaptation
Content Adaptation
Content adaptation is the action of transforming content to adapt to device capabilities. Content adaptation is usually related to mobile devices that require special handling because of their limited computational power, small screen size and constrained keyboard functionality.Content adaptation...
solutions, that typically operate on a server, where they employ specialized adaptation techniques to provide optimized representations of Web sites to mobile devices regardless of what browser they use. However, .mobi replaces the intermediary step with the specific adaptation of content for viewing on a mobile phone.
The W3C
World Wide Web Consortium
The World Wide Web Consortium is the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web .Founded and headed by Tim Berners-Lee, the consortium is made up of member organizations which maintain full-time staff for the purpose of working together in the development of standards for the...
is also developing new authoring languages, such as DIAL (the Device Independent Authoring Language), which aid authors in creating Web sites that can be used on the huge variety of mobile devices available today. Some adaptation solutions already support the use of DIAL and similar languages in creating sites that can be used with .mobi domain names. Other open source initiatives include WURFL
Wurfl
WURFL stands for Wireless Universal Resource FiLe. It is a community effort focused on mobile device detection: the problem of presenting content on the wide variety of wireless devices. WURFL is a set of proprietary API's and an XML configuration file which contains information about device...
which addresses the problem with a large database of browser identification strings.
Reception
All mobi sites must be optimized for viewing on a mobile phone, providing the major advantage of the domain, from the users' perspective, of compatible content. Websites may be optimized for the special capabilities and restrictions of mobile devices, such as smaller screens, device form/size, device input/output options, existence of embedded sensors (acceleration, location, touch, etc.), as well as human factors such as expectations of immediacy of results, context awareness under a shortened attention span (compared to non-mobile device use of the Internet). Although other top-level domains can technically employ the same optimizations for mobile phones, in practice, only a fraction of them do, thus necessitating content adaptation solutions. These retrofit the content to target devices independent from the original process of creating the site. On the other hand, dotMobi promotes creating two separate device-dependent World Wide WebWorld Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
s, one desktop-based and the other mobile-based, and thus risks producing redundant content. From a content provider perspective, having to maintain two separate website also represents more work.
Tim Berners-Lee
Tim Berners-Lee
Sir Timothy John "Tim" Berners-Lee, , also known as "TimBL", is a British computer scientist, MIT professor and the inventor of the World Wide Web...
of the World Wide Web Consortium
World Wide Web Consortium
The World Wide Web Consortium is the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web .Founded and headed by Tim Berners-Lee, the consortium is made up of member organizations which maintain full-time staff for the purpose of working together in the development of standards for the...
, claims that dotMobi breaks the device independence of the web:
Critics pointed out that "mobi" is an unfortunate choice for mobile phone text entry interfaces, requiring nine or ten keystrokes in many common setups, compared to seven for "com", or what could have only been three if "wap
Wireless Application Protocol
Wireless Application Protocol is a technical standard for accessing information over a mobile wireless network.A WAP browser is a web browser for mobile devices such as mobile phones that uses the protocol.Before the introduction of WAP, mobile service providers had limited opportunities to offer...
" was used. There is a possibility that mobile phone manufacturers may in the future default their mobile internet browsers to .mobi or that predictive-text input features will reduce this to one keystroke, either of which would effectively eliminate this issue.
Sponsors
dotMobi is backed by mobile network operators, mobile phoneMobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
and infrastructure vendors , and Internet search and content providers.
| Google Google Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program... |
"Google is pleased to support mTLD in setting the standards that will define the future of mobile content, and most importantly, improve the experience of our users. Creating one mobile domain encourages content that is designed and optimized specifically to help users navigate the unique environment of the mobile world." |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions... |
"Ultimately, dotmobi will enable users to find predictable content and services from the businesses that provide them. This will have a major and significant impact on both the mobile and internet industries." |
| Nokia Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki... |
"Establishing dotmobi is an important milestone. Forming the joint venture company has helped to formalize the work that has been put into the initiative, and we look forward to seeing dotmobi domains benefit all mobile users." |
| Samsung Samsung The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea... |
"Samsung believes that mTLD will enhance the mobile users' internet experience by providing a mobile friendly domain .mobi. We fully support and want to deliver beneficial products/service to the consumers in the mobile industry. By being a part of mTLD, Samsung believes that these goals can be achieved." |
| Ericsson Ericsson Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks... |
"A mobile top-level domain will bridge the gap between the internet and the mobile users, making content more mobile user friendly. The .mobi domain will simplify the Internet experience using mobile devices. By working across industries, dotmobi will cater for a continuous growth in mobile data and help bringing enriched services to mobile users." |
| Vodafone Vodafone Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of... |
"Vodafone has been a keen supporter of the dotmobi initiative from the very beginning. This new sponsored top level domain will greatly increase the use and discoverability of mobile Internet content and dotmobi sites will guarantee a high quality experience when accessing the Internet from mobile devices. The dotmobi domain will further fuel the growth of the mobile Internet, with more content and service offerings available around the world. This is a great step forward for the mobile Internet and will significantly enhance the consumers’ mobile experience overall." |
| T-Mobile T-Mobile T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands... |
"T-Mobile is pleased to see the mobile Top Level Domain significantly gain support across mobile and media industries and to take an active role in developing and shaping best practices for using the Internet on the move. As we are continuously committed to deliver simple and reliable products to best serve our customers, we encourage the adoption of the .mobi namespace in the mobile environment to leverage a compelling mobile experience. We are going to leverage .mobi within our Web'N'Walk and Office in Your Pocket strategy." |
| Telefónica Móviles | "Telefónica Móviles has joined mTLD to promote the mobile domain dotmobi and the actions that from mTLD will be carried out to support internet community to enter in the mobile world. We strongly bet for .mobi as an efficient way to stimulate the creation and the use of internet services from the mobile." |
| Telecom Italia Mobile Telecom Italia Mobile TIM is Telecom Italia's mobile phone brand, and runs a GSM, EDGE, UMTS and HSDPA network in Italy and Brazil.In Europe, TIM is part of the FreeMove alliance.TIM Peru was sold to América Móvil and rebranded Claro... |
"There are one billion internet users and almost two billion mobile users. Dotmobi will revolutionize the use of Internet via mobile devices, it will be the first choice destination for mobile internet. It is a great opportunity." |
| Hutchison Whampoa Hutchison Whampoa Hutchison Whampoa Limited or HWL of Hong Kong is a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HWL is an international corporation with a diverse array of holdings which includes the world's biggest port and telecommunication operations in 14... |
"Hutchison believes that the development of .mobi represents an important stepping stone to tailoring mobile friendly internet content and services to customers needs. We believe that .mobi will play an important part in improving the customer experience and drive mobile data and content use." |
Allocation of premium names
mTLD has compiled a list of approximately 5,700 commonly used words and phrases that have been set aside for equitable allocation other than in the traditional first-come, first-served system. This was designed to 1) create a more level playing field in the allocation of these names, 2) increase the likelihood that these domain names will more promptly provide the mobile community with new features and services, and 3) preserve the stability and security of registry operations. mTLD will be allocating these premium names via auction and Request for Proposal (RFP) processes on a quarterly basis through 2008. The process was approved by ICANNICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Marina del Rey, California, United States, that was created on September 18, 1998, and incorporated on September 30, 1998 to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly...
with input from mTLD's Policy Advisory Board and WIPO. Disputes that arise over .mobi domain names can be filed and administered by the National Arbitration Forum
National Arbitration Forum
The National Arbitration Forum , founded in 1986, provides arbitration and mediation services to businesses, based at its Minneapolis, Minnesota headquarters and offices in New Jersey. The company is one of the United States's largest and most controversial dispute resolution companies...
. Disputes are decided by one of 147 experts on the National Arbitration Forum's intellectual property panel.
On 13 September 2007, dotMobi announced the auction of 100 premium .mobi domains via Sedo to commemorate their 1 year anniversary since public launch.
dotMobi has sold hundreds of domain names through the auction process, but it has not been without controversy. In one auction, a dotMobi website sold for $616,000. The auction was voided due to technical problems at Sedo. Also, none of the top 25 most expensive domains sold at the first auction met their compliance deadlines to have active web sites.
Reserved names
In connection with the roll-out of the .mobi top level domain, dotMobi has reserved names as per its contract with ICANN. These terms include dotMobi terms, other TLDs, emergency numbers and geographic names. The first geographic .mobi domain to be released was Helsinki.mobi.Domain aftermarket
Several domain name sales in the mobi TLD have fetched prices in the hundred-thousand-dollarUnited States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
range, including Flowers.mobi, Sportsbook.mobi, and Fun.mobi.
See also
- Mobile webMobile WebThe Mobile Web refers to the use of Internet-connected applications, or browser-based access to the Internet from a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet computer, connected to a wireless network....
- Wireless Application ProtocolWireless Application ProtocolWireless Application Protocol is a technical standard for accessing information over a mobile wireless network.A WAP browser is a web browser for mobile devices such as mobile phones that uses the protocol.Before the introduction of WAP, mobile service providers had limited opportunities to offer...
- MobiforgeMobiforgemobiForge is a mobile development and design resource site run by the mobile domain registry, dotMobi. Its stated purpose is to help stimulate the growth of the mobile web by providing technical resources and tools to educate the mobile development community...