Yep, we’ve only gone and done it again with the launch of our fancy new iPhone site, which as far as we’re aware is one of the first of its kind due to its clever Orientation-Specific Content. So, simply tap on over to engageinteractive.co.uk on your lovely little gadget and have a play.
There’s no doubt the iPhone has been a bit of a hit. Modestly dubbed the Jesusphone by many an apple (dare I say it) fanboy, we’ve decided to find out what this little gizmo can really do or if it’s all just cheap tricks.
Now, at Engage we don’t wear black turtle necks nor do we repeatedly say BOOM during presentations but we do all have iPhones (it’s a perk of working here). Regardless of what some people say, it’s a great bit of kit which boasts the first fully standards compliant mobile browser. In theory it can display web pages the same as any computer would. In practice however it makes a valiant attempt, but due to small screen size, connection speed and lack of plug-in support it can sometimes struggle.
The really fancy bits
Hold it upright and you’ll be able to read our blog. Turn it left and you’ll be able to find out more about what we do and contact information (with full iPhone application integration). Turn it to the right and we’ve got a mini portfolio – Clever huh?
The solution? – Create a site specifically coded, optimised and configured for the iPhone. You may have already heard of, or even used the increasingly popular Facebook iPhone site – well, in an attempt to rub shoulders with the stars we thought we’d create our own – but adding some features that you probably haven’t come across before – mainly Orientation Specific Content (or OSC if you’re a fan of the old acronyms)
It’s not just our website scaled down though. In the same way our main site is big on slidey innovation, so is the iPhone version! Taking advantage of the accelerometer (the little bit of ‘Back To The Future’ sounding wizardry that knows which way up the iPhone is being held) we’ve built the site so that different content is displayed depending on how your holding your phone. Hold it upright and you’ll be able to read our blog. Turn it left and you’ll be able to find out more about what we do and contact information (with full iPhone application integration). Turn it to the right and we’ve got a mini portfolio – Clever huh?
If we’re honest, it’s unlikely that a site such as ours will ever see a huge amount of traffic, but as this type of browsing becomes more common – can companies afford not cater for this ever growing market?
For now, all that it’s useful for is the iPhone, but with lots of companies bringing out their own version of the iPhone in the near future and mobile carriers reluctantly beginning to embrace true mobile internet plans, it’s likely that designing and building websites with fingers and small screens in mind is going to become more and more important.
Check back in the next few weeks, or subscribe to our RSS as we’ll be covering the basics of building your very own iPhone site!
