.mobi
| File:Dotmobi-new.png | |
| Introduced | 2005 |
|---|---|
| TLD type | Generic top-level domain |
| Status | Approved |
| Registry | dotMobi (subsidiary of Afilias) |
| Sponsor | None |
| Intended use | Sites intended for mobile device use. |
| Actual use | Used for general purposes. Special use for mobile-first websites. |
| Registration restrictions | None. It is recommended adherence to mobile-first design style guidelines. |
| Structure | Registrations are conducted at second level. |
| Documents | ICANN New sTLD RFP Application; ICANN Registry Agreement |
| Dispute policies | UDRP |
| DNSSEC | Yes |
| Registry website | dotMobi.mobi |
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 it is used by mobile devices for accessing World Wide Web 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.[1][2][3]
In February 2010, Afilias acquired mTLD Top-Level Domain Ltd. (known publicly as "dotMobi").[4]
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) 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 recommends that .mobi sites produce user experiences consistent with their guidelines and specifically optimized for mobile phones.
Reception
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.[5][6] On the other hand, dotMobi promotes creating two separate device-dependent World Wide Webs, one desktop-based and the other mobile-based, and thus risks producing redundant content.[7] From a content provider perspective, having to maintain two separate websites also represents more work.
Tim Berners-Lee of the World Wide Web Consortium, claims that dotMobi breaks the device independence of the web:[7]
It is fundamentally useful to be able to quote the URI for some information and then look up that URI in an entirely different context. For example, I may want to look up a restaurant on my laptop, bookmark it, and then, when I only have my phone, check the bookmark to have a look at the evening menu. Or, my travel agent may send me a pointer to my itinerary for a business trip. I may view the itinerary from my office on a large screen and want to see the map, or I may view it at the airport from my phone when all I want is the gate number.
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. The popularization of responsive web design has caused the domain name to be relocated for use on mobile services and mobile apps websites.
See also
References
- ^ "Mobile and Web Services – Afilias".
- ^ "Mobile and Web Services – Afilias".
- ^ "Mobile and Web Services – Afilias".
- ^ "Afilias Limited acquires .mobi domain registry and expands market leadership". dotMobi. 11 February 2010.
- ^ "Dot Mobi Rebuttal by DIWG".
- ^ All About the .mobi Extension Archived 18 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Domain Masters Radio Show, interview with Rick Fant, Director of "Internet's Discovery" in Vodafone
- ^ a b Tim Berners Lee. "New Top Level Domains .mobi and .xxx Considered Harmful".