Move over laptop, iPhone’s in town

Six months ago, while killing time at the airport I was seduced by the Asus Eee PC. It was small, sleek, came in five different colours and was the solution to my husband’s need for extortionately priced daily newspapers while on holiday.  With built-in Wifi, and small enough to chuck in my bag it was perfect.  We’d be able to sit on a beach while he read his paper on-line.

However, last week we bought an iPhone making my little laptop completely redundant.   Why carry a laptop around when the phone can do everything you need?  It’s not a thought that is mine alone,  it’s a sentiment shared by The Wall Street Journal in their article about the demise of the laptop.

They wrote: “Faster Internet connections over wireless 3G networks are getting more pervasive. Cutting-edge devices like Apple Inc.’s iPhone are sporting bigger, touch-sensing screens that make it easier to surf the Web. And mobile software is finally getting good enough for users to get their work done when they’re on the go  – The result: Many travelers are now using smart phones the way they once used laptops.”

It’s an inevitable progression.  Once the desktop was the pride and joy of many homes.  Then came along the laptop and shunted it out of the way.   So the fact that mobile devices  are nipping at the heals is no surprise, after all, they can be used to create powerpoint presentations, word documents, send email, access the web, watch movies and listen to music, makes business-on-the move a much lighter and more enjoyable prospect.

And who couldn’t resist the charms of the iPhone with it’s gorgeous design, slick body, easy-to-use functionality and practicality, fast processor and wireless internet access at broadband speeds?

However, this move to truly mobile web surfing isn’t something many companies take into consideration when designing their websites.  That’s why it’s important to ensure your websites are probably

designed so that it doesn’t matter which platform they’re viewed on, they still look their best.  This of course doesn’t mean that they’ll see identical content on all platforms, but it does mean that whatever they do see is a good representation of the company.  So when someone looks at your site on the iPhone, not only will the thing in their hand look hot, but the view on the screen will be as awesome.