As a web developer, I am all too familiar with building sites for, as until recently, the main source for viewing websites…….the desktop computer. However, the mobile phone handset is fast becoming greater than a simple fashion accessory! A vast majority of people in the UK now own a mobile phone, with mobile phone companies becoming a formidable force in the economic world. Is interesting to note in the UK that the mobile network Orange had taken over European Internet Service Provider, Wannadoo. Orange is now offering broadband services together with mobile phone services. With the rise of 3G technology providing faster mobile internet access as well as video and music download, not to mention handset camera and mp3 technology, mobile handsets are becoming the source of communication, information and entertainment.
It seems that, with the rise in popularity of mobile handset internet, web developers may soon be increasingly more involved in mobile handset website design and build. I personally have been involved in developing mobile phone applications and composing ringtones for handsets. However, I have yet to develop a site for a mobile handset. The challenge of presenting accessible information on a small handset is an enticing and exciting challenge which I foresee many of us involved with in the future.