With 2 million mobile Web domains, 31 percent of consumers now browse the mobile Web at lest once a month, with news, search and weather being the most popular destinations, according to a new report by the Yankee Group.
The report found that most mobile sites still fail to offer satisfactory experiences, earning an average score of 52 on a scale of 1 to 100.
Carl Howe
Director
Yankee Group
“Unlike last year, most of the sites we reviewed adapt their content to many differing feature phones and smartphones,” said Carl Howe, director at Yankee Group and author of the report.
“And some companies are also starting to incorporate location-awareness, something other sites should strive to emulate.”
For news, Google and Yahoo performed the best. Both companies earned a score of 73, with a solid balance in offering enough information to mobile users without overwhelming them. Other sites are still struggling with leveraging mobile context and site discoverability.
For sports, MLB.com came out on top. Major League Baseball scored a 71 for its device detection and ability to tailor content to fit mobile screens. Yahoo’s Rivals.com (58) and ESPN (57) were a close second and third.
For search, Google led, edging out Yahoo. Google’s mobile search site, with its basic interface, format specific device detection and location-awareness, scored an 81, the highest number given to any mobile Web site so far. Yahoo scored a 76, hindered by irrelevant content and HTML validation errors.
The report found all mobile carriers need to improve. Sprint’s site was found to be slightly out of date, but it does help mobile users find Sprint stores and the carrier, it received a score of 53. Other national carrier sites still ignore mobile web users who are not their customers, forcing consumers to view information on their desktops.
