MWO Mobile Site Pre-Launch

[fifteendays]

Hello everyone,

Mount Washington Observatory is entering a whole new world with the pre-launch of a web site for mobile devices... and we are soliciting your feedback on layout and content. Please let us know how the site works on your mobile device, and what other content you would like to see available.

The mobile site (beta) is available at http://www.mountwashington.org/mobile/. We realize that typing in that long URL will tire your fingers (or thumbs) out, and so we have setup a shortcut at http://m.mwobs.org which will redirect you. These addresses are subject to change, but if they do, we will provide advance notice or automatic redirection. Once officially launched, a link will be placed on the main web site as well.

Consider this a preview for our active community members to enjoy as they hike up on Saturday for Seek the Peak. Just be sure to watch where you're hiking!

Thanks to the Zakon Group for their work on the site!

My best,
Scot Henley
MWO Executive Director

[Bill O]

I just took a quick look on my iPhone, very nice. I like being able to see all the cams easily on one screen. Easy access to the observer comments is nice as well.

[Brad]

I will go out tomorrow and find a cell signal to try it out with my Window Mobile based phone. No cell service here at home.

[chipsterva69]

I am not sure if it is an issue on your end or not, but my older Blackberry has been pulling data down for 15 minutes so far and still has not rendered a page. Granted - it is an older Curve, which is probably the issue, but not everyone will be on a 3G network. CAn't wait to see it when it does finally come together though!

[Bill O]

I had no problem rendering pages, but I was on an iPhone 3G. Even so, the pages don't appear to be huge data hogs.

Fully refined this will be great. Anyone who has an iPhone quickly learns that it can replace their computer for many tasks. Even though iPhones can render full internet pages, a mobile site can be much more convenient.

[hobbes]

I am not sure if it is an issue on your end or not, but my older Blackberry has been pulling data down for 15 minutes so far and still has not rendered a page. Granted - it is an older Curve, which is probably the issue, but not everyone will be on a 3G network. CAn't wait to see it when it does finally come together though!

Chip - Try going directly to www.mountwashington.org/mobile/ and see if that helps. The page is pretty streamlined. One person that had an issue turned out to be because they weren't getting any data services; please make sure you can browse to other sites (not just cached pages). If you're still running into an issue, please post your BB model.

[JimS]

Oh wow...I never got around to suggesting that here, but it was really necessary, as scrolling through all the menus to get to the forecast in the backcountry was painfull.

This will be a HUGE service to the backcountry community!

[Brad]

I went to Dunkin Donuts - to find a signal - and barely saw one. I am using a Blackjack II on AT&T which is a 3G phone but the connection here was very slow. I went to the m.mwobs.org URL and was redirected fine.

A question for other folks - do they like the links to other pages at the bottom or the top? On most pages being at the bottom was not an issue since the pages were nice and simple. However, the Observer Comments page was a lot bigger and therefore being able to scroll down to the links took quite a while. Yes, I could have stopped the page and gone back to the prior one. But, that is not always the best approach.

The dial to the weather number worked fine - which was very cool.

On the Observer Comments page - is there such a thing as RSS on cell phones now? For me, I would remove the RSS icon. But, I do not know what Blackberries and iPhones can do.

The links abbreviate too much. "WX Phone Line" means something to us. But, for many people it has no meaning. Spell out "Weather".

The same with "MWV" - I would use "MW Valley" to be clearer. On my screen it could be even spelled out completely - "Mt. Washington Valley" and easily fit.

Having the Backcountry page would be excellent.

Could the Conditions image be included?

I did not try it but - when viewing a web camera image, can you click on it to see the full still image? An example would be http://www.mountwashington.org/weath.../deck/deck.jpg which I go to on my phone all the time. I have all the web camera images and the Conditions image bookmarked. Show the small thumbnails, which is great. But, have the ability to click on an image and get the full screen version.

Now to the MAJOR problem with the site. The forecast for Saturday is not good. That must be fixed by early tomorrow morning. I know there is not much time to get it right. But, I heard you folks were good and could do anything. So, chop chop - get to it - please.

[hobbes]

There are still quite a few phones out there with < 240 pixel width which is why some of the links were abbreviated. The trend is definitely moving towards a minimum 240 width, and as we see what kind of devices are being used, we'll make improvements to the site.

Re. RSS, I believe Google Reader has a mobile version. Other services are probably also available.

The conditions image is rather large which is why it did not get included. If people would like it though we can probably add it. You would probably have to use the zoom/pan functions to look at it.

Backcountry will likely get added later this year once the page starts getting its data feed for winter.

When you click on the cam images you will see the medium size image. This is done as a compromise for those who want to see a larger image, but who pay for their data usage. The full size image is often triple the KB of the medium image. There may be some options for customizing this in the future if folks want.

As for the weather, let us know your cell phone's browser signature and we'll set you up with any weather you like.

Keep the feedback coming!

[chipsterva69]

Chip - Try going directly to www.mountwashington.org/mobile/ and see if that helps. The page is pretty streamlined. One person that had an issue turned out to be because they weren't getting any data services; please make sure you can browse to other sites (not just cached pages). If you're still running into an issue, please post your BB model.

Tried again from work and success!! I did try the redirect link from history, and that crashed (caching issue, I suspect). Typed in the /mobile/ address and it pulled up in no time flat. Great work! MWOBS to go - sweet!

FWIW - my Blackberry is an 8700c on the AT&T network.