Exploring Solutions for a MobileWeb

With the rise of mobile devices like cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) in the last years, the demand for specialized mobile solutions grows. One key application for mobile devices is the Web service. Currently, almost all Web sites are designed for stationary computers and cannot be shown directly on mobile devices because of their limitations. These include a smaller display size, delicate data input facilities and smaller bandwidth compared to stationary devices. To overcome the problems and enable Web sites also for mobile devices, a number of different approaches exist. This paper compares different ways to adapt existing Web sites for mobile devices. The following three methods are generally used today: Rewrite the page, use an automatic generator to create the page, or try to use the same page for stationary and mobile devices. This paper illustrates each method by adapting two pages of the electronic shop software eSarine. Afterwards, the methods are compared using different parameters like the complexity of the approach or the ease of integration in existing systems