Since 2010 the use
of the internet on portable devices, namely smart phones and tablets has seen
an extremely rapid increase. As consumers engage in new technology, your
website needs to keep up to par. Optimising your website for smart devices will
enable better usability and greatly improve the visibility and impact of your
brand. Here are a few tips on how to expand your website to reach smart phone
users:
1. Google now indexes mobile devices
when searching keywords specific to mobiles. So use all the same search engine
optimisation tactics, however optimise the keywords to be specific to mobiles,
including: titles, headings and URL's. When using Google on a mobile there is
favouritism to mobile optimised websites and apps. Google indexes mobile
friendly URL's over websites simply made for desktop.
2. One of the most important aspects to
consider when presenting your website on a mobile device is the screen size.
Smart phone screens have smaller screens and as such you need to rescale your
images so that they are not pixelated. There needs to be fewer buttons and each
button should be much bigger in size to combat the small touch screen area.
Text needs to be shorter and precise with a larger font size. By optimising
your website for mobiles in this way you are minimising the amount of scrolling
and zooming around.
3. When optimising your website you have
a few options. Google Transcode and mobile subdomains are a couple of the
easiest to utilise:
You can get Google to do all the work
for you, which includes resizing images, buttons and text. Google achieves this
by converting classic HTML to mobile HTML. The disadvantages are; images may be
pixelated, text will be bigger, but may be missing words and entire indexed
pages may also be missing.
o
A mobile subdomain is another option for a visually attractive website
on mobile devices. Having a specific mobile URL keeps the classic optimisation
separate from the mobile optimisation. Google bots will then be able to find
your website easier as they search through mobile optimised websites.
A mobile subdomain
is another option for a visually attractive website on mobile devices. Having a
specific mobile URL keeps the classic optimisation separate from the mobile
optimisation. Google bots will then be able to find your website easier as they
search through mobile optimised websites.
Tablets are taking
over laptops for the simple reasons that they are smaller, lighter and more
convenient. Tablets are for people on the go and the top uses are blogging,
social media and online shopping. This is great news for businesses operating
online but only if you take the steps to stay ahead of your competitors. Here
are a few tips on how to optimise your website onto tablets:
1. The key difference between mobiles
and tablets is not the screen size, rather the internet connection. Tablets
predominantly rely on WI-FI and 3G, which means your website may take longer to
load and as such you need to optimise your website to be simple and fast.
2. The fewer pages on your website the
user has to visit before getting to the goal (e.g. contact or purchase) the
better. The consumer should not have to tap more than twice to purchase a
product or enquire about a service. Consider having an app developed as there
is less waiting and the purchasing system is easier to use.
3. Have back and forward buttons as they
are more visually enticing compared to scrolling through text. Having the
majority of your content optimised on one page can be better than viewing
multiple tabs on a tablet.
Both smart phones
and tablets have two viewing angles: portrait and landscape. Optimising your
website for both angles will offer your consumers the best user experience. To find out more
about optimised websites for mobiles and tablets visit the professional
Brisbane Website Designers at Eight ball Media.
Mobile tablets are
on the increase. The IDC has upwardly adjusted its sales estimations to a
predicted demand of 107.4 million units worldwide for the year. Largely, the
partition among iOS and Android tablets will continue to rest marginally in
Apple's favour, while other tablet operating systems will not really make an
impression.
But this sort of
penetration isn't yet sufficient to reach the common classroom. The development
of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), where people take their laptops and other
devices from home to the work environment isn't applicable for the classroom,
where convenience will almost always be crucial. In other words, writing
equipment and books will, for some time yet, continue being more widely
available than alternative technologies.
So educational
institutions will forever lag behind the technologically advanced, although
that doesn't necessarily mean mobile learning won't flourish. The web has
proven that learning isn't restricted to school environments. Online learning
providers are growing. And even though smartphones have heralded the arrival of
mobile apps, studies show that it really is tablets that will prove a much more
comfortable home for mobile learning.
The Tablet
Advantage
A key distinction
between tablets and smartphones is monetisation: tablets are classified as the
stronger of the two. Around 14% of Apple's app downloads are paid ones, in
contrast to only 1% for Android. This means that content providers need to find
alternative methods to push revenue. But based on research by the Online
Publishers' Association, 23% of apps downloaded on tablets are paid-for. In
addition, a Nielson report unveils that 40% of tablet users find ads
acceptable, in contrast to only 30% of smartphone users. Considering the
ever-troubling issue of 'How to monetise?', advertising continues to be a
necessary function in bankrolling app development, and the advantages of
tablets in this particular domain may prove vital.
A further clear
benefit is the fact that tablets are often used more for significant purposes,
such as business or finance apps, compared with smartphones whose major use is
generally for Facebook and games. Consequently educational content may well be
more popular with tablet users than consumers who use smart phones.
Emerging habits
And there's another
insight which may directly complement mobile learning: the rise of 'dual
screening'. This is where you watch television whilst using another device.
David Gosen, Head of digital strategy in Europe for Nielson, says:
"Tablets are driving a rise in 'dual screening'. This really is both good
and bad for advertisers. People are unfortunately more distracted during TV ad
breaks, with 64 present simultaneously using a tablet while watching TV at
least 'several times a week'."
Nonetheless what's
bad for advertisers could prove useful in the field of e-learning: user
behaviour reveals that tablets are happily observed as a complementary device -
people are comfortable accessing content or obtaining information while
watching a TV show (or maybe more likely, whilst the adverts are on).
For advertisers,
this creates an undesirable distraction. But educational content providers
should really target harnessing the convenience of the tablet to create
multimedia content spanning traditional and digital publishing - this means
companion apps which complement online or in-book content. An app can
correspond with a TV program, or possibly a chapter in a book, or perhaps
website, and the data demonstrates this method will prove highly effective to
consumers. Educational content that matches the tablet's capabilities - and
understands exactly how tablets utilized - will prosper.
The mobile
computing revolution is growing, and it's gathering pace as more and more
people are leaving the laptops and PCs aside and surfing merrily on their
iPhones, iPads, tablets or smartphones. As an SEO specialist I'm watching these
developments with anticipation, and wondering what this all means for the SEO
industry.
In terms of the
work to be done to optimise any webpage or website, there doesn't seem to be
much difference. When someone searches for a particular word of phrase, such as
" SEO in Sussex" or " SEO in London ", the result will not
be affected by the type of device the results will be displayed on. If you're
number 6 in the results for “SEO in Sussex” on a laptop, you'll still be there
on an iPad. So the usual techniques of good onsite content and use of good meta
data are just the same, and all the off-site work of links, directory listings,
social media etc are also the same. That being the case, is there anything we
SEO types need to think about?
Well, actually
there is, and it has to do with the way people will want to view websites on
their devices. Most mobile devices have a smaller screen than your average PC
or laptop, and with smart phones this is particularly true. The way the devices
present web pages is either to make them so small that you can hardly read
them, or just show you a portion of the screen and give you scroll bars so you
have to navigate around the page in chunks. Neither of these options is
particularly satisfactory, especially if there are flash graphics or video
streaming involved, and much of the design impact on the page is lost. Websites
presented this way are unattractive and unlikely to encourage visitors back
again. Not exactly an SEO problem, but still an issue for the website owner.
One way to get
around this is for web designers to build duplicate websites, with one for
display on normal laptops and PCs, the other with changed layout that are much
better for mobile devices. This presents the SEO problem of duplication. The
latest version of the Googlebot is really hot on picking up duplicate content
and the website could be penalized for this. A definite SEO no-no. The best
solution is for the website designer to serve different versions of the same
site, each one optimised for each particular device, through changing CSS. It's
a bit techie how to go about this, but with research any good web designer will
figure this out. It avoids much of the duplication issue and still provides the
best user experience for users of the website whatever device they're using.
So in SEO terms,
the revolution in the way websites are being viewed across a range of devices
has not meant there is a lot of new work to do, it's more a case of working
closely with the web designers to make sure they are not working against the
existing SEO efforts to meet a technical need.
A few years ago, we
almost completely abandoned traditional cable phones, so is it possible that we
will soon see the end of mobiles? As the world heads into the tablet era, the
latest mobile devices in their slim forms now encompass dozens of useful tools,
such as mobile dealers.
Is this a new era
for telephony?
Immediately after
the iPad launched back in April 2010, millions of industry experts and Apple
fans went crazy for it. Today, all the leading companies in the mobile devices
market have introduced their own take on the tablet, with the number of users
increasing at an incredible rate - according to ABI Research it will hit
150,000,000 in 2015. Additionally, as reported, shipments of netbooks and PCs
have already fallen significantly since last year, so does this mean it is
going to be the same fate for smartphone? Will we all start to use tablets
instead of the phones?
Calling
applications inside
Shortly after the
first presentation of the iPad it became clear that a tablet can be not only a
modern toy or gadget for geeks, but also a useful tool. We can download and
install dozens of handy applications on it, such as organizers, document
editors, e-book readers, maps and much more. Among them, the mobile dialers,
convenient apps that enrich each tablet with the ability to make phone calls.
Such software is usually offered by large or medium sized telecoms operators,
as an additional service, as well as by independent companies, to download for
free or for a few dollars from online stores. Softphones (as they are also
called) are based on the Voice over IP technology, which instead of a
traditional telephone network uses WiFi, 3G or Edge.
More than a phone
Tablet users decide
to download a mobile dialer not only because it enables them to make cost
efficient international calls but also because these calls can be several times
cheaper than traditional calls offered by telecoms providers. These applications
are considered as something more than ordinary phones. In addition to a variety
of convenient functionalities, such as call recording, voicemail, or texting,
the user also has the ability to make voice conferences or video calls. On the
large screen, face-to-face conversations on tablets are becoming more
enjoyable, enhancing the quality of everyday long distance conversations. With
this in mind, it's no wonder softphones are so often chosen by enterprises to
improve their business communication.
It's so simple
Using softphones
for tablets, despite what it may seem, is extremely easy. You don't need to
raise a large device to your ear, because the built-in speaker and sensitive
microphone allow you to conveniently and effortlessly chat with others. In this
way, every single phone call can turn into a high quality comfortable video
conversation.
Even though tablets cannot threaten the position of
netbooks or mobile phones, they will for sure provide them some serious
competition. It takes place with the undoubted help from the innovative new
applications that appear on the market every day. We can only wonder what next
changes will be to affect our online communication in the near future. If
you're looking for a portable computer that is smaller and lighter than a
laptop or notebook, more user-friendly than a smart phone and more powerful
than a netbook, then a tablet could be just the thing for you. Tablet PCs come
in a variety of sizes and price ranges, and capabilities are increasing fast
now. These convenient and practical mini-computers are also known as MIDs
(mobile internet devices), and are sometimes also labelled UMPCs (ultra mobile personal
computers), although many vendors reserve this term for mini-notebooks.
In contrast to
notebooks and laptops, tablets come with touchscreens that typically range from
7 inches to just over 10 inches in size, but you can also attach an external
keyboard if you prefer to type longer documents or emails the traditional way.
Depending on the model, you're also likely to get all the usual computer
features such as wi-fi and 3G or 4G connectivity, an internet browser, a media
player, games, spreadsheets and word-processing programs, a camera, and the
ability to install a growing range of apps - all in a streamlined, handheld
device.
The best known
tablet is probably the iPad, but it does come with a hefty price tag, and not
everyone is a Mac fan. The release of the iPad around a year ago set off a
frenzy of competing devices, most of which run on Google Android is operating
system. A lot of manufacturers both large and small are now bringing out tablet
computers in varying specifications, and the choice is expanding fast while
prices are falling too.
The explosion of
tablet PCs onto the market was definitely in evidence at the Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, 2011. With big-brand producers such
as Samsung, HP, Dell, Asus and Lenovo showing tablets of all kinds, you can be
sure that this product type is here to stay, and that the fierce competition
among them is great news for consumers.
However, the best
value can generally be found among the many different tablet computers produced
in China and sold online under various brand names that might not be so
familiar to Western consumers. For a fraction of the price of an iPad you can
now buy a tablet that offers a dazzling array of features that make it a truly
portable communications device and information center. Chinese manufacturers
are quick to adopt the latest technological advances and incorporate them into
a steady stream of new electronic gadgets that combine stylish looks with
function and durability.
So are we going to
swap all our laptops and PCs for tablets now? No, say most experts, that won't
happen just yet, especially since tablets still don't pack anywhere near the
computing power of their larger cousins. That might, of course, change pretty
quickly as the technical wizards figure out how to increase the memory and
storage capacity of a tablet PC to adequate levels, as well as when new,
improved operating systems are launched. For the moment, however, a tablet is
an excellent complement to your standard computer, and can take on a number of
its everyday functions too. With convenient on-the-go access to the internet
and a multitude of other functions, a tablet is the ideal portable device for
both professional and leisure users.
Jamie Jansen is an
expert author in the electronic products industry, and specializes in writing
about the latest great-value consumer electronics [http://www.brandsdragon.com]
such as tablet PCs
[http://www.brandsdragon.com/Notebook-UMPC-MID-st1-sid95.html], notebooks,
cellphones, MP3/MP4/MP5 players, digital cameras and camcorders, LED light
bulbs and watches from China.
In the last few
years there has been an increase in the variety of functions and features on
phone technology and tablets. The question is what will you use if for, there
are so many uses now whether, finding places with maps, using software for
products online, gaming technology, business technology, organizational tools,
calculators, apps, advertising, Facebook, twitter, Wayn, Groupon, and other new
software. So in this article we will break down some of these technologies to
determine what the best use is for you the user. Some of the important
questions to ask are:
1. What function or
purpose does it serve? In this case is the new technology actually going to be
helpful to you and save you time, make it more convenient for multi-tasking or
is it really just too distracting. We are all so busy with our lives that sometimes
we use technology before thinking about it.
2. Who am I
connecting with and why? Technology is a great way to connect with others when you
can't physically be there, whether it is family, business, friends, or other
social networks. Travel can be expensive and this sometimes helps but nothing
can really replace being there in person. However with video, pictures,
software and a variety of tools it is almost like being there.
3. How much time do
I spend on? This is a good question to ask, what if you categorized how much
time you spend on each sector of technology, say web search, social sites,
information sites, software tools and see how much percentage of time you did
on each. Like we schedule our life what is we actually scheduled our own
technology, maybe we could learn what is working with our time sufficient and
what we could learn more of to make technology work more efficiently for each
of us.
There are so many
different websites, countries, industries, subjects and perspectives that it
sometimes can be overwhelming. Everyone has different interests but be sure to
try and understand and develop some knowledge for yourself. There are a wide
variety of experts in all areas of technology and taking some time to learn
about different subjects, industries and their leaders and innovators may lead
you to finding a way to do something differently that you never thought have
before, everyone has a different perspective. Ending on that note it is
important to keep perspective and see how that information may or may not
assist you in your quest.
Technology is a
fantastic thing and it is amazing how much technology has changed peoples
lives. But it can be a double edged sword with so many new technologies and,
more importantly, so many manufacturer's providing different options and
different prices it can be tough to decide. In this article we'll cover some of
the best features that are available and whether or not they are right for you.
When it comes to
buying a tablet, most people like the mobility that they provide. Being a flat
slate that is lightweight and able to be held in one hand, you can carry it
around with you from room to room and it's easy to pack up and go. But not all
tablets have the ability to connect to the web from the road. Just about every
tablet has built in Wi-Fi (I can't think of one that doesn't) but not all have
the ability to connect to the internet using the 3G service (the technology
that cell phones use). Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that if you
want the 3G portability you will have to subscribe with a cell phone carrier
and these plans cost anywhere from $40-65+ a month.
Another big thing
that differentiates tablet computers is the computing technology. Being used
for things like surfing the internet, connecting with friends on social media
sites (such as Facebook and Twitter), and play games, it's not really necessary
to have the same computing power as a laptop or desktop computer. And because
some tablets limit the size of their processor, you won't always be able to do
certain things such as multi-task (run multiple program at once) or stream
video from the internet. Depending on how you want to use your tablet this may
or may not be a big deal and you can pretty much guarantee it will be a factor
on the price. In general, if you are looking for top of the line performance or
just want the ability to watch movies or TV shows direct from the internet (via
Netflix or Amazon Prime), you will want to pick up a tablet that has a
dual-core processor.
Finally, there is
the end use of the tablet: are you looking to use it for business, personal
entertainment, a fun toy or to replace an old PC? Because the cost of this
technology is coming down and more people are using tablets for more things,
there are different apps and accessories that allow you to adapt a tablet for a
customized use. For instance, many tablets are integrating full size external
keyboards that plug-in or use Bluetooth. Or, if you can't find an app that will
help you run your business, you can have one custom programmed.
The Android OS powers more than just mobile phones. You'll also have your choice of tablets and notebooks. An Android VPN will give you an extra layer of security to get things done without worrying about revealing personal information. Many VPNs won't just support your phone; you'll also be able to protect your laptop, PC connection and any other devices that connect to the internet. This article outlines everything you need to know about Android VPNs.
How Do VPNs Work?
A VPN, or virtual
private network, creates a secure tunnel between your device and the Internet.
Data passing through this tunnel is encrypted and prevents hackers from
stealing information. When you're connected to the internet, you're exposed to
all kinds of security threats. A VPN is an extra layer of security that keeps
you protected on the web. When you connect to the VPN, you'll have your choice
of servers all over the world. Premium VPN providers offer servers in the US,
EU, and Asia.
How is an Android
VPN Different from a Normal VPN?
An Android VPN is a
VPN that is compatible with Android powered devices. Not all VPNs work with
every device. Make sure the service you pick is compatible with your device
before purchasing. In addition to researching compatibility, look at reviews of
the service to ensure you're getting the best VPN for your needs.
Do You Need an
Android VPN?
An Android
compatible VPN keeps you secure, but do you really need one? If you do any
online banking, check email, or share information on the internet, an Android
VPN is the answer. You don't have to be a business person to need the
reassurance and security of a VPN. You don't want just a mobile VPN provider;
you want someone who can keep all your other connections safe as well.
Stay Safe on Public
Networks
We all use public
networks every day, but you have to be careful. You can't just transmit your
data and hope no one is out there watching. Are you browsing on your mobile
phone? Are you browsing at school or work? These are public networks and you
need to keep your information secure. An Android VPN will keep your mobile
broadband secure with just a few clicks.
Secure your
network, mobile phone, and even your desktop computer with a premium VPN
Provider. Before you buy, make sure that research the company carefully and
that it's features meet your needs. Always look for companies that offer 24/7
support and money back guarantees.
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