So my friends and I are in a debate about what Apple said when about Flash support on the iPhone.
I did some searching but in the process I found this, on the site now:
http://www.apple.com/iphone/questionsandanswers.html
Can I view regular websites on iPhone or just mobile websites?
With the Safari web browser on iPhone, you can surf websites just as you do on your personal computer. You’re not limited to mobile WAP sites.
The first sentence does seem misleading. I can’t surf sites just as I do on my personal computer. Without Flash, Java or Quicktime, content is missing.
I wonder if a consumer agency will take Apple to task on this?
Yep my point exactly.
And I’ve already been asked about such things from clients. What am I expected to say? It’s not my job to defend Apple’s misleading statements but then again if people see that from the company itself, they could lean away from Apple and then thus that does affect my business. Which is why I wish Apple would have just said the truth to begin with.
mmm I think they really wanted to say some other phone browsers only let you surf to web pages that are WAP compliant. Go check your favorit websites for WAP complicity? Got any? Didn’t think so…
Also don’t forget Apple users via Safari or firefox uses cann’t see ALL Web pages because of Microsoft IE embrace, extend, destroy nasties. I’m sorry you must use IE 7.0xxx.yy to view this page, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/vista/IE.htm to download…
That’s great the iPhone can surf websites just like our personal computers and not be limited to mobile WAP sites. However, I’m thinking that in order to fit the contents of those websites into the reduced amount of screen area on a mobile device would make it extremely difficult to read. My HTC Hermes can surf websites like our personal computers but if not WAP enabled sites, viewing and navigating through these sites are tedious, frustrating and limited.
Wise: Safari ROCKs for existing websites! I use it daily and the 160dpi screen is fantastic, the UI is fantastic. Apple did not just implement scroll and pinch, the tapping is very smart about what DIVs and IMGs you tapped on, for example.
john:I fully agree, honestly I do, but stating that you can view sites you do on your personal computer, with no asterisk, for example, is not very fair to the non-technical consumer. I think they could have worded it better.
While I can understand the inconvenience of learning to browse regular websites from a smartphone, those of us who have already become comfortable with regular websites find mobile websites extremely limiting. For example, I used to be able to select whether I want to use my home or PO box as my shipping address on amazon.com, now I see a message that tells me I’ve got to log on from my PC in order to do that. I can no longer make up a new e-mail address online from my smartphone, I’ve got to “log on to your personal computer in order to do that”. Very frustrating.