Mobility

Top Performing Mobile Web Sites

For week of December 17th Keynote's industry analysis group, Keynote Competitive Research, reported the following top performers in the usual 3 categories:

US Mobile Sites

• Best Response Time (secs.): Facebook (runner-up: Google)
• Best Success Rate (%): Mapquest (runner-up: ESPN)
• Fastest Download Speed (bytes/secs.): CNN (runner-up: ESPN)

European Mobile Sites

• Best Response Time (secs.): Facebook (runner-up: Google)
• Best Success Rate (%): The Weather Channel (runner-up: Facebook)
• Fastest Download Speed (bytes/secs.): Euronews (runner-up: Time)

By at least some measures ESPN in the US and Facebook in Europe seem to be consistently running high performance sites.  But when you look at the other categories in which either company is not top 1 or 2 (response time for ESPN and download speed for Facebook), the picture is not so cut and dry.

The Mobile Experience - By the Numbers

In reviewing Keynote's new performance indices for mobile Web sites, RCR Wireless concluded that the age old principle of KISS was one that needed to be practiced by more portals. 

"There’s a golden rule for mobile Web design, and I think it’s that less is more,” according to Rachel Pasqua, director of mobile marketing at iCrossing Inc.  “Keep your file size small, ideally under 20k. ... You have to have copy and keep it simple."

I wonder how designers who have spent the past 5 years bulking-up on "Web 2.0" are going to react to this.

Do you find yourself spending more time on lighter pages?  Or are you feeling confident browsing with abandon on your 3G equipped smart phone?  With all this talk of a PC-like experience on mobile browsers, I wonder if the jaded masses will accept anything less but to be delighted from their mobile experience.