Wap Review

Opera Mini Users Blocked From Full Version of Facebook

Published

on March 10, 2010

. 0 Comments

I got a complaint from a reader that they are no longer able to use the full (desktop) version of Facebook in Opera Mini. I'm not Facebook power user by any means and I'm generally OK with using Facebook's mobile site (top image) at m.facebook.com in Opera Mini and the Facebook "Touch" site (2nd image) at touch.facebook.com with the Android browser.

But there are Facebook features that are missing from the mobile versions including chat, friend's photos, friend's events, friend's links and direct access to your Pages. Games and Apps are also only on the desktop site but most of them use Flash and don't work in mobile browsers.

When I've needed to use any of the features of the Full site, I've used "Full Site" link at the bottom of the touch site ( www.facebook.com/home.php?m2w ) to go there.

About two weeks ago something broke at Facebook and www.facebook.com/home.php?m2w now takes Opera Mini users to mobile site. The same thing happens if I try to go to the full site with the default WebKit based browser on a Nokia N95-3. The Full Site link does still work with the Android browser.

I believe in optimizing the user experience for mobile , but I also believe that as much as technically possible the mobile versions of sites should include all the features of their full size counterparts. No matter how good your mobile site is, it's still a good idea to give users a choice as to whether they want to use the full or mobile version regardless of what browser they are using. I believe that Facebook wants to offer that choice and once they become aware of the problem they will eventually fix it.

To bring the issue to Facebook's attention and light a fire under their product managers, I urge Facebook users complain about the broken full site access by submitting a "suggestion" on Facebook's Help page at facebook.com/help/ (unfortunately, the suggestion form only seems to work if you are using a desktop browser). To submit a suggestion, click the "mobile" topic on the help page and then click "Have a suggestion? Tell us about it." Then enter something like this:

"Until recently it was possible to to access the full version of Facebook using Opera Mini and other mobile browsers by visiting http://www.facebook.com/home.php?m2w

But that URL now loads the mobile version which is missing features I need. I prefer the full version. Please restore access to it from mobile browsers, including Opea Mini"

Another place users can complain is on the "Using Facebook Mobile" Group's Wall at facebook.com/UsingFacebookMobile which, unlike the suggestion form, does work in Opera Mini.

In the meantime you can use Facebook Lite at lite.facebook.com in Opera Mini. It includes some of the features missing in the mobile versions like Chat.

How to View the Full Version of Sites in Opera Mini

Location Aware “Touch Web” Transit Tracker from NextBus

Published

Dennis Bournique

on March 9, 2010

in Transit

. 1 Comment

NextBus Touch Web App

Alameda, California based NextBus delivers frequently updated estimates of the arrival time of the next transit vehicle at a given stop. Delivery is by electronic signs, voice response systems, SMS and the Internet, including the mobile web. NextBus is used by 45 transit systems in the US and Canada, including my hometown, San Francisco.

NextBus' mobile web site has been an anchor tenant of the WapReview Mobile Directory for many years. I use it a lot and find it really useful if a bit dated in terms of mobile UI and look and feel.

Today @Karrio on Twitter discovered a location aware Touch Web version of NextBus at nextbus.com/webkit/. Using the location provider API exposed by the iPhone and Android browsers, it displays the next arrival times at the nearest stops along with a map showing your location and the nearby stops.

I was unable to find any announcement of the new web app on the web or even a mention of it the Nextbus site. So I guess it's a stealth Beta. If you have a compatible phone give it a try. Most BlackBerrys and the MicroB and Mobile Firefox browsers on the Nokia N900 have location provider support and may work as well.

If your browser doesn't expose location information or you choose to block location access, NextBus will default to showing information for a dummy location in downtown San Francisco. There's a menu that lets you change to a different location or even a different city by picking from a list. This worked pretty well with the location-less Opera Mobile 10 Beta running on my Nokia N95-3. Opera Mini and the WebKit based Nokia browser on the N95 were also able to display the NextBus touch site with proper formatting, but clicking the menu to change the location in those two browsers had no effect.

Please leave a comment if you are able to get the NextBus touch web app working on other devices, with or without location support.

Found On The Mobile Web #205

Published

Dennis Bournique

on March 8, 2010

in Found on the Mobile Web

. 0 Comments

Digg Lite

Found on the Mobile Web is a weekly WAP Review feature listing newly added and updated sites on the YesWAP.com mobile portal and WapReview mobile site directory. With these latest additions the directory and portal now list 2160 mobile sites.

Science and Technology/Tech News/Digg

Digg Lite digglite.com An open source "Touch Web" version of Digg, created by the Digg folks to demonstrate their API. No JavaScript dependencies but it's not for feature phones due to front page size of over 200 kb and links to Dugg items that open non-mobile pages.
Content: Usability:

Science and Technology/Mobile/MobileTech

Browser Info Gatherer

Browser Info Gatherer browser.mcloide.com Mobile friendly display of your browser's characteristics including request headers, screen size, color depth and cookie support. Has an option to download the report as a text file.
Content: Usability:

Shopping

BookStorePrices bookstoreprices.com/mobile/ Book price comparison site. Search by keyword or ISBN. Results include both new and used books and sorted by button line price (including shipping) from low price to high. "Buy Now" button links to bookstore sites, most of which are not mobile friendly.
Content: Usability:

Science and Technology/Mobile/News - Reviews

AORTA Mobile

AORTA chetansharma.com/blog/ The mobile edition of well known mobile industry analyst and consultant Chetan Sharma's blog "Always On Real-Time Access", which covers wireless industry news and Sharma's insightful white papers and analyses.
Content: Usability:

Science and Technology/Internet/Web Design & Development

WebmasterRadio.FM m.webmasterradio.fm Live and archived podcasts for webmasters and web developers. WebmasterRadio.fm publishes several new podcasts daily covering topics like WordPress tips and tricks, SEO, affiliate marketing and advertising. There's a dedicated channel covering the mobile web design and publishing too. Mobile view is by Mobify
Content: Usability:

Sports/Cricket

Vcricket Mobile

Vcricket vcricket.mobi Complete international cricket coverage including the latest live scores, results, news, schedules and points tables. Source: Mobility.mobi
Content: Usability:

Entertainment/Mobile Video-Audio/Video

Mogg video.mogg.mobi Mogg allows mobile users to upload, share, tag, and download videos from and to mobile phones. Downloading videos works fine but the streaming option, seems to be broken. Content includes lots of movie trailers
Content: Usability:

News/International/Africa

SABC Mobile

SABC News sabcnews.mobi The state owned Soth African Broadcastin Corporation's mobile site offers national and world news and sports, technology, business, entertainment, science and politics coverage. Source: Mobility.mobi
Content: Usability:

Travel-Transit/Transit

myTrimet mytrimet.com Ideal for commuters who take the same route every day, myTrimet is an alternate interface to the real time arrival information of Portland Oregon's TriMet bus and rail service, It monitors two stops, one in the morning and one in evening, switching automatically based on the time of day. Best on HVGA screens.
Content: Usability:

Transitly www.transitly.com Transitly is a Touch Web (JavaScript required) interactive schedule for mass transit. Using cookies, It automatically saves your most used routes, and displays them on the front page. Covers Albany, NY; Austin; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Houston; LA; Milwaukee; Portland, OR; San Diego; San Francisco and Washington D.C. Source: City-Go-Round
Content: Usability:

Follow the Oscars Live On Your Phone

Published

Dennis Bournique

on March 5, 2010

in Entertainment

. 4 Comments

Oscars.com Mobile

The 82nd Academy Awards will be held this Sunday. The event is telecast live worldwide and the Academy claims it will be watched by over one billion viewers, making it the fourth most watched live television broadcast, after the Super Bowl, Olympics Opening Ceremony and World Cup Final.

If you are one of the many billions who can't watch the Oscars live on TV, I've found a couple of mobile sites where you can follow the festivities using your mobile browser.

The official Oscars site at m.oscar.com was created by Netbiscuits for The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and ABC, Inc., the official Oscars broadcaster in the US. It lists all of this year's nominees and promises to have live coverage starting at 8 PM EST on Oscar night. It's not clear if the live coverage will be streaming video or text, but I suspect the later.

While you're waiting for the show to start you can view hundreds of photos of stars on the runway from the last five years of Oscar or read a detailed history of the Academy Awards.

The site also has 35 videos including a multi-part "Road to the Oscars" piece, explanations of the science behind some of the nominees for technical awards and video interviews with nominees, hosts and writers. Unlike last year, there don't seem to be any trailers from the nominated films. The videos are served in a variety of formats and should work on any video capable device ranging from basic feature phones to the iPhone.

You can also sign up on the site for live text alerts featuring news about the nominees, information about special promotions, and live updates throughout the show (standard text messaging rates apply).

Ratings: Content Usability

Ready.mobi Score: 4 "Good"

Mobile Link: m.oscar.com

According to mobilizedtv.com one site that will definitely stream live Oscars videos to mobiles is AP Live Entertainment . It's a new partnership between the Associated Press and Livestream.com which launch with a special Oscars Red Carpet show Sunday from 6 to 8 PM EST. The show's main draw will be live streaming video of celebrities walking up the red carpet as they enter the Kodak Theater for the event. AP reporters will also post live updates during the awards ceremony and from Oscar after parties well into the evening.

One caveat is that Livestream apparently only works with the iPhone, iPodTouch, Android devices and recent BlackBerrys. I tried some of the site's other mobile streams of my N95-3 and got nothing.

Ratings: Content Usability

Ready.mobi Score: 2 "Bad"

Mobile Link: mobile.livestream.com