Begging for Mobile Interfaces for Domain Auction Sites
I have been a bit quiet on the blog front lately due some crazy travel schedules. When traveling I try to use all the tools available to stay connected and productive and have carried both a Blackberry and and Apple iPhone together for sometime but in the past week or so I killed the Blackberry and moved solely to my iPhone.
The iPhone provides a great platform for browsing and in most cases I prefer the full version of websites when browsing on it, but find when using sites that perform some sort of application (auctions, stats view, etc) I really would prefer a simpler, more iPhone (mobile) optimized interface for those times when I am not sitting in an airport and am actually running through the airport or walking from meeting to meeting.
So, all that brings me to the title. In most cases when entering an auction I like to set my bid at the amount I am willing to pay and move on. But in many competitive auctions or in days I am in multiple auctions at the same time on names that could go into the $X,XXX category I prefer to monitor and react to auctions based on the overall auctions I am in that day.
Considering that the Internet user in general is starting to perform more and more of their browsing from mobile devices and that many domainers in general seem to be a pretty mobile and tech savvy bunch I would think that the auction platforms would focus a bit of development effort into providing an optimized interface for those connecting to their site through mobile devices.
If Namejet or Snapnames either has a mobile interface I sure have not been able to find it when browsing on my iPhone. If someone reading knows of one feel free to correct me.
If the mobile interface was available I would not of missed out on somewhere around $5K of purchases I would of made this week. I am sure I am not the only one that would appreciate a mobile optimized platform for making and monitoring bids on names I am already in auction on, it really doesn't have to let me make backorders, simply monitor and bid on names I am already in auction with.
Anyone else wish for the same?
Hello Bruce,
Yes, none of the domain auction services provide an interface for mobile phones.
In fact some services do not even correctly works with IE.
Programmers still have work and I share with you that the support of mobiles will be a great addition for the auction sites but also the domain marketplaces.
Just this past week I fixed myself a glich to can display most domaining.com pages in iPhones without having to zoom, I will continue to fix the others pages to fully support this expanding media.
That is why .mobi is ready to rule
Not saying there is no value in .mobi (we have seen several large brands use it), but why not have the site recognize that you are coming from a mobile browser and automatically display the properly formatted site? Like domaining.com for instance?
This is all very interesting but a great deal foreign to me – I have a cel phone but not an iphone and I do not do auctions – nor do I feel the need to be looking at any screen wherever I am so am I completely out of the loop of understanding – and for what reason and where would I jump in – ?
It’s an interesting idea and a challenge for our company. If you could describe in details what are the use cases/scenarios you expect with NameJet and SnapNames on your mobile device, we could quickly come up with a solution. We have no expertise in domaining, and your explanations would be of great use.
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Ajigat.com – Mobile Interfaces for Useful Web Sites