July 7, 2006

The company working to establish a mobile-exclusive Internet domain is hoping to lure customers by extending its initial registration period.

Dotmobi—also known as mTLD, or mobile Top Level Domain—said it will extend the trademark registration period by a month, allowing companies to lay claim to .mobi URLs until September 22.

The firm said the extra time will allow it to spread the .mobi gospel, encouraging companies to establish separate sites for mobile-friendly Internet destinations.

Dotmobi is touting the domain as a way for customers to identify sites that have been built exclusively for wireless use.

Such a standard will minimize poor user experiences that can occur when wireless surfers try to access sites designed for PC users, .mobi proponents claim.

But opponents of the new domain say the extension is evidence that companies aren’t interested in building wireless Web sites with distinct URLs.

Mobile browsers are capable of formatting Web pages for wireless handsets, opponents point out, and many servers can determine what type of device is being used and deliver content accordingly.

“You have to spend time and effort telling users what .mobi is all about,” said Anil Malhotra, vice president of Bango Inc., which facilitates off-deck mobile content sales.

“Since with just a bit of effort your mobile site can be easily accessed from a mobile device as a dot-com, why bother?”

Source: RCR News