How to make your website mobile friendly

Do you run a website or blog ? If yes, how accessible is it on a mobile device ? Now a days, with more and more people browsing the net straight from their mobile devices like cell phones, it is very important to make your website as accessible to this group of users. Google teaches you how.
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Nokia N900 - A mobile communicator that runs on Linux

Nokia has a history of rolling out Internet tablets. There was Nokia 770, Nokia N800, N810, and now the company's latest offering Nokia N900.

Nokia N900 is positioned not exclusively as an Internet tablet. The manufacturer claim it is a mobile computer - one that is as sleek as, and behaves like a mobile phone but which has the power and capabilities of a desktop PC. You can consider Nokia N900 to be a metamorphosis of a desktop PC and a mobile phone, thereby embracing the best of both the worlds.

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Google phone based on Linux in the making ?

After getting tired of all the iPhone hype one saw in diverse media, now the rumor is that Google is planning to roll out its own branded Phone. And one can find sneak peaks at a prototype (See photo below). No details of the specification of the phone are yet available.

The phone is supposed to be an ad-supported phone which means the consumers ie the end users can look for a free lunch by way of heavily subsidised call rates which cost next to nothing (again a rumor). And Wallstreet Journal is reporting that Google has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in its cell phone project and is courting U.S. and European mobile operators.

And most obviously the Google phone (for now nicknamed GPhone) will be powered by Linux. Check out this prototype of a GPhone which is floating on the net.

Fig: A prototype of GPhone [Courtesy: VOIP blog]

OpenMoko Neo1973 - an open source Linux based iPhone killer in the making ?

OpenMoko is a GNU/Linux based open software development platform. What this means for the lay person is that using OpenMoko software development kit, phone manufacturers will be able to bring out mobile phones which have more or less the same features of the now widely known iPhone from Apple and much more - all this under an Open license powered by GNU. This also means that for the first time there is potential for you to be completely free from being tied up with one mobile carrier or even a single phone manufacturer (read Apple) for want of anything better.

Fig: Openmoko touch screen phone

Recently OpenMoko a project set up by "First International Computings" (FIC) released a developer version of a mobile device named Neo 1973 which is a completely open, Linux-based, GPS-equipped, quad-band GSM/GPRS phone and which has a touch screen equivalent to that in Apple iPhone but which additionally comes with a stylus. The Neo1973 is priced in the $300 to $450 range. Below I have included the rough specifications of both the Openmoko's Neo1973 and Apple's iPhone for comparison.

Openmoko Neo1973 cell phone specifications

• 2.8" VGA TFT color display (640x480 resolution)
• Touchscreen, usable with stylus or fingers
• 266MHz Samsung System on a Chip (SOC) (ARM9 processor)
• 128 MB RAM
• 64 MB Flash memory
• USB 1.1, switchable between Client and Host (un-powered)
• Integrated AGPS
• 2.5G GSM – quad band, voice, CSD, GPRS
• Bluetooth 2.0
• Micro SD slot
• High Quality audio codec
• 1200MA Lion cell battery which the openmoko team guarantees to provide a minimum of 4 hours of power when used continuously before a recharge. The battery can be easily replaced by the users.
  

Additional freebies thrown in with Neo1973 phone include...

• 512 MB Sandisk SD card.
• A good quality set of ear phones.
• A USB connectivity cable.
• Stylus
• A very functional pouch to hold the phone and
• A Lanyard to safely tether your phone.
  

Apple iPhone specifications are as follows :

• Powered by ARM11 processor
• 128 MB RAM
• 4 or 8 GB flash memory
• Screen resolution of 320x480
• Bluetooth and WiFi enabled
• Integrated 2 Megapixel camera and
• an accelerometer
  

When compared to an iPhone, the Neo1973 from OpenMoko is a bit behind as it doesn't come with a camera, no accelerometer (Which is promised in the next version of the phone), no multi-touch, does not provide WiFi support and does not have gigabytes of storage space.

But in many respects, people buying this phone will have a decisive advantage that the phone runs on GNU/Linux which means that third parties can easily develop applications using openmoko software development platform and thus provide an enhanced end user experience.

Additionally Apple's iPhone has a number of drawbacks such as ...

• The battery is soldered to the circuit. So it is not possible for the iPhone owners to replace the battery by themselves.
• iPhone software development kit is proprietary to a fault so much that third parties will not be able to develop software to run on an iPhone.
• There is no USB connectivity.
• There is no GPS.
• And you can't switch carriers.
  

Here is another interesting thing... you can charge the Neo1973 phone by merely connecting it to the USB port of your PC and you can browse the internet using the phone as a modem more specifically using its GPRS data connection. And it has GSM multiplexing capabilities provided via a custom patch to the Linux kernel (2.6.18) which means you can browse the net and at the same time receive a call too.