Big names get behind the mobile internet

Web hosting firm Hostway releases new tool for mobile web site construction

Web hosting specialist Hostway will release a new tool for building mobile web sites today, following hot on the heels of last week’s efforts by Yahoo and Visa to bring greater online functionality to mobile devices.

Hostway’s Mobile SiteBuilder tool offers developers the ability to customise various elements of their mobile internet sites, such as text size and style. It also features a site wizard to enable the easy uploading of content, according to director Neil Barton.

The product is being released to capitalise on growing interest in the mobile internet following the launch of the new .mobi top-level domain last year. “It’s a simple drag-and-drop tool, which conforms to the .mobi site building regulations,” Barton said.

Mobile sites can feature up to six pages, with each page capable of holding five images. The size is deliberately kept to a minimum to ensure that sites are easy to browse and download, Barton explained.

Meanwhile, Yahoo tried to steal a march on its rivals by launching a beta version of its Go 2.0 mobile client, which features local information and email access. A new mobile search engine, OneSearch, displays information relevant to the search topic such as news articles and photos rather than a list of web site URLs, Yahoo said.

The search giant also announced partnerships with handset makers including Samsung and Motorola, which will see Yahoo’s new mobile software pre-loaded onto certain models.

“It is the next big battleground in search,” argued Mike Davis of analyst Ovum. “If Yahoo is able to refine the beta and make it the most usable format, it has a chance to gain back [market share] from Google.”

Credit card giant Visa last week unveiled its own efforts in the mobile field, launching a mobile payments platform to support the development of solutions that let cardholders pay for purchases using their phones.

But some observers are more cautious about the prospects of the mobile internet. In a research note, Forrester Research analyst Niek van Veen argued that the “current state of the mobile internet is disappointing for all stakeholders”. But he urged content providers to build their presence now to “stay ahead of the competition when mobile services become mainstream in the next five years”.