Novarra, Vodafone part 350 plus Mobile Aware
Rating: old Chinese proverb: there is always more ways than one
The past two days have been quite stressful as I have been on deadline to get the Mobile Advertising and Marketing Analyst published (out tomorrow including analysis of in-game advertising, admob vs JumpTap, IM Advertising and Sprite).
But during this time I have been logging into the Vodafone Mobile Internet nearly every day conducting tests trying to understand all of the criticism Vodafone has received of late with its choice of the Novarra browser. I have to admit; I have always liked Novarra and the understood concept of what the company wanted to achieve. I do feel however that the company has tried to brush criticism under the carpet and an interview is needed to clear the air. I have had a good relationship with the company (the CEO made me a lovely cup of tea at 3GSM when I really needed it and I will never forget it) and even I (god forbid) was passed on to the PR agency!
But anyway today I spoke to Kevin McClosky from Mobile Aware (he also conducted an interview on TechCrunch). I read the interview before I spoke to him but I still didn’t get what the problem was or why there is so much interest in Vodafone’s choice of Novarra. Personally, my earlier comments originated because I was disappointed by the way my mobile sites looked on the Vodafone Internet and the fact that GoMo News didn’t show up at all.
So talking to Mobile Aware has been an eye opener because the issue is not about bullying Vodafone or Novarra its about choice. Novarra acts like a PC and re-renders existing mobile sites because that is what it does. This is great news for anyone that has a mobile site – but not for those that do not have a mobile site.
Users that don’t want their sites to be re-rendered need to contact Vodafone directly. This is just a headache.
In a nutshell, Novarra is great for 80% of sites that aren’t made for mobile but not for the 20% (including the lucrative enterprise market) that are already mobile ready. The point that Mobile Aware is trying to make is that Vodafone needs to cater for the whole market.
This is a simple and interesting point. But it’s not just Vodafone its every mobile operator. The fact that Vodafone is leader in the market it should take the initiative and I have to say I think that I agree.
Rendering solutions should be available that find locate and serve users alongside one another - Novarra is great at what it does…. but one size does not fit all.
OK – so I sure most of our readers are all Novarred out - but if you still have a taste – get ready for The Mobile Search Analyst out on July 1, 2007 including articles on Celltick vs the rest of the idle screen world; Mobile People; Infospace, shorts on Amp’d and JumpTap and mInfo… not forgetting our Vodafone Internet analysis.
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