Designing for the small screen is as much of a challenge as that faced by designers during the height of the browser wars (and the subsequent flouting of HTML and XHTML “standards” by the browser with the greatest market share).
At Seattle MindCamp last year (the day after the iPhone was introduced), I asked a group of developers why this design space felt like the Wild Wild West. Their answers varied but centered around the lack of hardware and software standards. There was the additional problem that many handheld devices sent info to the webserver saying that they were something that they were not.
Enter the Newspaper Association of America Guide for Mobile Newspaper Sites. Although the guide is focused on newspaper websites, there are tips for anyone thinking about their mobile visitors. The guide, Moving to Mobile, includes sections on content creation and revenue models as well as information about podcasts. There are four case studies: The Cincinnati Enquirer, The New York Times, Reuters and TBO.com (Tampa Bay Tribune). And the authors understand that not all “mobile” is a cellphone. (tip)
