The HTML5 date element is an especially great addition in the mobile world. It triggers native controls, built for mobile devices, instead of forcing the developer to come up with a normally-complex solution. Support was not there for a while but apparently things are improving as of late.
For example:
iOS 5.1 Safari
Android 4.x Chrome:
But sadly, the native Android 4.x browser is not compatible.
I say, use it!
I occasionally use Kayak’s rather good app for the iPhone to check airfares for actual and fantasy travel. Recently, all referrals to United Airlines tickets originating from the Kayak app end up in the United’s mobile web site. All data about the ticket search from Kayak is gone in the process. Bummer but it’s not my money to lose.
What I noticed is that United appears to bring you to a mobile ‘text’ website, as shown below:
It looks like a generic mobile website but intrigues you with a link to the ‘smartphone version’. When you click the link the page transforms itself to…
…the exact same thing.
Great job, guys.
How much is a brand worth to a company? For most small companies it means virtually everything. They are one and all with the brand. Bigger companies often pour massive amounts into building and maintaining brands. According to David Ogilvy, the father of modern advertising, such brand positioning makes or breaks the brand. Something breaks, though, when it comes to mobile.
Companies and organizations that make such huge investments in their brand suddenly realize their website, often times their core offering, looks bad or does not work on mobile devices. In a world where budgets are almost always tight, they look to do something out of nothing to address this problem. They want to be available to the growing smartphones and tablet-using masses. They need something.
