Posts tagged with 'apple'

Optimising a site for iPhone

Screengrab of my site on iPhone

The unmodified site

The first thing I should probably mention is that yes, despite saying I wouldn't, I got an iPhone 3G relatively soon after release. I'll skip the reasons why for now, that's for a future posting. Naturally the first thing I did upon getting my iPhone was to plug in my own site's URL into the browser and see how it did - you can see the result in the screengrab.

You know what - it's not bad. The site looks roughly as it should, and with a bit of zooming and panning around all the content is accessible. However, on first load the text isn't really legible and it's not making the best usage of the limited screen space on the iPhone. Also, the large header graphic makes loading a bit strenuous over an EDGE connection when I'm not in 3G coverage.

Simon has been blogging recently (here and here), about 'mobilising' websites (and has written a good article on the subject for php|architect) so it's something I've been thinking about lately and I decided to see what it would take to improve the way the page was rendered on iPhone.

The iPhone 3G vs the Nokia N95

A few days ago, Apple launched their much-anticipated second revision of the iPhone. Key amongst its new features are 3G (HSPDA) connectivity and a GPS unit.

Steve Jobs announcing the 3G iPhone

Steve Jobs announcing the 3G iPhone

As a loyal Nokia user as well as a Mac enthusiast, my loyalty was therefore pretty divided. I was saved from flocking towards the first generation iPhone's hype machine by a reflex reaction of 'if it's not got 3G it can't be any good' and a recent iPod purchase to be bitter about.

I've been happy enough with my iPod and N95 sitting next to each other in my pocket, but the question I've been mulling over the last few days is, would I be happier with one iPhone instead?