Services

1. Development

MoBits can either create a brand new mobile site for your business or organization, or we can "hook" a mobile site to an existing website, without having to re-program the whole infrastructure of your existing web presence. Thus, you can keep the same tools and workflow that you currently use to keep your regular site updated, and your mobile site will mirror that content -- transparently.

This can be done in two ways:
a. By special-casing the layout (for example, we flag a section of your regular site that contains the content, and display only that section for the mobile version). While multi-column layouts and liberal use of graphics is a must for an information-rich site, today, it's a no-go on mobile devices, but even a relatively complex design usually places the main site content in one section, that can be reformatted for mobile browsers.
b. Create an independent, minimal mobile-only site that can serve all mobile browsers but can also allow a browser to enter the full desktop site if the visitor wishes to.

Additionally, we have developed tools to automatically turn RSS/RDF XML feeds (e.g. blogs, news items, press releases etc) to a mobile-friendly format.

2. Compatibility

At MoBits we currently recognize up to 120 mobile-related user agents to autodetect these non-desktop browsers. We test our creations with many of these devices to make sure they work as our clients intend them to. Here is a small list of HTML-based browsers we support and furiously test with:

PDA Browsers

WebPro, NetFront, Pocket Internet Explorer, Blazer, Xiino, AvantGo, iSilo, Plucker, Sunrise, JPluck, Minimo Mozilla, Opera for Zaurus and more.

Phone Browsers

OpenWave UP.Browser, AU/Obigo, BlackBerry, Nokia & SonyEricsson home-brewed browsers, Danger HipTop/SideKick, NetFront, Opera for Symbian & MS Smartphones, ReqwirelessWeb, Symbian's native browser, Doris, all WAP-enabled phones and more.

Embedded Systems

Windows CE, Embeddix, WebTV, Dreamcast & Sony PS2/PSP browsers, Sony TV browser, Internet Appliances, WebPads etc.

Text-Mode/Console Browsers

Lynx, Links, ELinks, w3m.

Legacy support

A handful of Atari ST & Amiga browsers, Apple's Cyberdog, OmniWeb & WorldWideWeb for NeXTSTEP, Contiki for C64, RISC OS & GeOS support, NCSA Mosaic, BeOS NetPositive, HotJava (pre-3.0) etc.

Other

Any browser reporting common resolutions below 640x480 pixels.

MoBits endorses most prominently the w3c standardized cHTML (also known as "Compact HTML" or i-Mode), a subset of HTML 3.2 which was created specifically for mobile, text mode and embedded browsers. We have found that cHTML coding offers the best compatibility between the majority of the about 50+ mobile browsers today and it's fully compatible with any desktop browser. We also offer services for WAP 1.3/2.0 (1.x is supported by most phones today) and XHTML Basic or MP (recommended for only a handful of browsers if compatibility is a concern). At MoBits we specifically avoid CSS and DHTML, as these otherwise powerful technologies break compatibility with most of the mobile devices and in some cases can even crash them!

3. Database Integration and Graphic Design

MoBits can also offer database integration for creation of dynamic mobile sites by using industry standard access methods via PHP, ASP, Java, or Perl. We are also able to design small, mobile-friendly graphics that fit on the small screen of these target devices and load quickly. We are able to work around phone carriers' byte-download limitations by optimizing file sizes of a given web page. For WAP sites we support any WAP 1.2+ device able to display more than 96x96 pixels. For HTML sites we support any cHTML-capable device able to display more than 120x120 pixels.

4. Strategy and Marketing

MoBits isn't just about technology. The world's best-designed, coolest website is meaningless if it isn't relevant to its target audience or if nobody knows about it. Though mobile web access is growing quickly, it has impacted some market segments more than others. For example, travel, news, and entertainment sites already have huge potential markets, while banking, business, and nonprofit organizations' sites may not reap much benefit or mobile-enabling their entire capability until the technological capabilities of the devices matures and their use becomes even more widespread.

We can help you determine the best long-term strategy for mobile-enabling your web presence. Unlike most consultants, who will propose grand, difficult-to-implement visions in the hopes of landing a big contract, MoBits promotes a phased approach, in which we will endeavor to achieve your goals in manageable phases, that may occur over several years, but will be more likely to ultimately succeed than a more ambitious project.

It's also necessary to design the site with your target users in mind. What sections of the site will be most important to your mobile users, and in what ways should you alter the navigation of your site to suit mobile users specifically? Are there sections that you should just leave out? (Remember that phones can take a long time to download data, so you should trim where you can). MoBits can help you architect your mobile site so it will be optimized to your users' needs.

This strategic consulting is based on our over twelve years of experience enabling companies and organizations to communicate over the internet. MoBits staff have been involved in creating e-business websites for companies and organizations such as: Looksmart.com, OSNews.com, McGraw-Hill Energy Publications, Florist.com, Red Hat Software, the American Welding Society, Canon Photocopiers, the Guthy-Renker Infomercial empire, and the Hometime TV show.

Once your mobile site is up and running, we can help you design a strategy for introducing it to your existing customers, encourage them to make its use part of their regular routine, and attract new users. This can be accomplished through a combination of announcements, promotions, incentives, advertising, and public relations.