Mobile web use is increasing by leaps and bounds. It can be quite difficult for web designers to keep up, since “Responsive Design” (building websites that look good on all sorts of screens) is still an emerging technology. FAMVIN is a communication vehicle for the Vincentian Family and the need to reach people on all types of devices has long been one of our concerns.
Churchm.ag rounded up some rather amazing statistics about the Mobile Web:
- Smartphones are expected to increase from 23% of total phone shipments in 2010 to 45% in 2015. (Source)
- Mobile application downloads are expected to reach nearly 48 billion in 2015. (Source)
- Smartphone connections to Wi-Fi hotspots will soon overtake laptops globally. Laptops now represent less than half (48%) of the connections to hotspots, smartphones account for 36 percent and tablets 10 percent. (Source)
- There are 1.2 billion mobile web users worldwide; Asia is the top region. (Source)
- Four billion mobile phones are in use, 1.08 billion of which are smartphones. (Source)
- There are more mobile phones on the planet than TVs. (Source: Jupiter)
- 9 in 10 American adults now have mobile phones, up from 7 in 10 in 2006 (+21%). 1 in 5 kids ages 6 to 11 now have a mobile phone. (Source)
- It is predicted that mobile users will outnumber desktop computer users by 2014. (Source)
- 91% of all U.S. citizens have their mobile device within reach 24/7. (Source: Morgan Stanley)
- On average, Americans spend 2.7 hours per day socializing on their mobile device. (Source)
- One half of web searches are done via a mobile device. (Source)
Mind-boggling. And some of those numbers are over a year old.
The debate continues over the benefits of “responsive design” (that would be a website that displays and plays well across many different screen sizes and devices) versus creating a “mobile app.” And, just as with most things, there are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches, and a time for everything.
“Just the [repsonsive] website”
In the past week, we have shifted to a responsive theme here at FAMVIN. It seems to work well for us. It allows us to post content one time, and the theme does its magic and reformats everything for a large desktop screen, reformats for an iPad or Galaxy tablet and even formats the content so it is easily readable on a smartphone, be it an iPhone or an Android phone. Nice.
But, on that phone, I still have to open a browser and then get to the website. Even with QR codes, or links in email, that can be a bit burdensome.
“Mobile App”
Once that app is downloaded and installed, all one has to do is click on the icon and away we go! It’s all about the icon it seems… I want to Facebook on my phone, I just click on this 
and I there. Nice. We have a few mobile apps for FAMVIN and Vinformation. (check here)
Of course, the need to create a different mobile app for each type of device can present a problem for those of us who have to do it. Fortunately, there are companies, like ROAR and Mippin, that can help.
Tags: Change, technology
