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The Sun The Sun does have a mobile site, but doesn't automatically redirect mobile users there; instead the best way to find it is by searching for 'sun mobile' on your phone's browser. <img alt="The Sun mobile" height="303" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3585/3510410925_006b1a10b6_o.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" width="235" /> Diverting users to the <a href="http://www.thesun.mobi/">mobile version</a> of the site is the best way to do it; newspaper homepages are often very busy and cluttered, and hunting for a link to the mobile version is hard even on large screen phones. Users that prefer to view the full website can always choose this option from the mobile version. The Sun's mobile site isn't too bad, providing a selection of news, sport and showbiz stories. The links are very difficult to select on an iPhone, being too close together, and the range of content is limited, but newspaper has at least kept it simple. Daily Mirror The Mirror is one of the only newspapers here that redirects users to the <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/mobile/">mobile version</a>, which makes it a lot easier to find. <img alt="Mirror mobile site" height="303" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3582/3510410405_7eb3c4ae23_o.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" width="235" /> It's not a bad site either; it does the basics well and keeps it simple and easy to read for mobile users. It also seems to provide a larger, though still limited range of content than The Sun. It is also the only mobile newspaper site that allows users to read and leave comments on articles. The Guardian I <a href="http://econsultancy.com/blog/3692-mobile-site-review-the-guardian">reviewed Guardian Mobile</a> recently and also <a href="http://econsultancy.com/blog/3778-qa-guardian-mobile-product-manager-marcus-austin">talked to</a> mobile product manager Marcus Austin about the site, which is one of the best here, and a big improvement on the old version. <img alt="Guardian Mobile" height="299" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3645/3510411031_402afc5c17_o.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" width="235" /> The Times The Times doesn't divert you to the main site, which means you can have a job finding it. Once you do, it's a good, basic site, but it could be improved for smartphone users; the content is limited, and the habit of splitting articles over multiple pages has been carried on from the main website. This is fine for a very long article, but The Times does this for almost every story. <img alt="Times Mobile" height="297" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3649/3510410489_e7fca20b86_o.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" width="235" /> Not bad though, it does the basics well and provides useful services such as live football scores, but a new version is needed to match The Guardian and FT.com's mobile sites. The Telegraph The Telegraph's mobile site is simple and easy to use, but offers a very limited amount of content. A much better experience can be had from <a href="http://econsultancy.com/blog/3288-telegraph-releases-iphone-app">the newspaper's iPhone app</a> <img alt="" height="302" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3591/3510410555_e77bd2caea_o.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" width="235" />. Daily Mail As far as I can tell, despite finding a few articles from last year about the imminent launch of a mobile site, the Daily Mail doesn't have one. Or else it has and has made it impossible to find. The huge homepage makes it particularly difficult to navigate on a mobile browser. As you can see from the screenshot, it still hasn't finished loading, and that's after more than a minute on a wi-fi connection: <img alt="Daily Mail on iPhone" height="299" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3398/3510410319_a4d0a47f93_o.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" width="235" /> Daily Express The newspaper of the same name from East Malaysia <a href="http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/mobile.cfm">has a mobile site</a>, but not the UK version, which still claims to be the 'World's Greatest Newspaper'. Here's how it looks on a mobile browser; not very appealing: <img alt="Express on iPhone browser" height="298" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3550/3510411123_d33485f75e_o.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" width="235" /> The Daily Star Like the Mail and Express, if The Daily Star has a mobile site, I was unable to find any mention of it on the homepage or after a few minutes' Googling. <img alt="" height="300" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3565/3510410655_abf16d88f7_o.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" width="235" /> Independent The Independent seems to have been slower to adapt to the web than its broadsheet rivals, and this is the same for mobile, as it has no site that I can find. <img alt="Independent on iPhone browser" height="301" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3607/3511219456_026a459675_o.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" width="235" /> FT.com This is <a href="http://econsultancy.com/blog/3212-mobile-site-review-ft-com">one of the best</a>, at least for smartphone users. The newspaper has looked at the stats for its mobile site, found that 60% of visitors have either Blackberries or iPhones, and optimised for these devices. <img alt="FT.com mobile" height="296" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3637/3511219546_170b8ddb5d_o.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" width="235" /> This may not work for the other newspaper mobile sites, but it produces an excellent user experience for the FT's audience. Conclusion Of those newspapers that actually have mobile sites, most are reasonaby easy to use and cover the basics, though some could so with a revamp. The Guardian and FT.com are the two most recently updated mobile sites, and are also the pick of the bunch here. This is because they have seen the increased use of smartphones and the increasing prevalence of 'all you can eat' mobile tariffs, both of which make the mobile internet more appealing and accessible.

The Sun The Sun does have a mobile site, but doesn't automatically redirect mobile users there; instead the best way to find it is by searching for 'sun mobile' on your phone's browser. <img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3585/3510410925_006b1a10b6_o.png" alt="The Sun mobile" width="235" height="303" /> Diverting users to the <a href="http://www.thesun.mobi/">mobile version</a> of the site is the best way to do it; newspaper homepages are often very busy and cluttered, and hunting for a link to the mobile version is hard even on large screen phones. Users that prefer to view the full website can always choose this option from the mobile version. The Sun's mobile site isn't too bad, providing a selection of news, sport and showbiz stories. The links are very difficult to select on an iPhone, being too close together, and the range of content is limited, but newspaper has at least kept it simple. Daily Mirror The Mirror is one of the only newspapers here that redirects users to the <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/mobile/">mobile version</a>, which makes it a lot easier to find. <img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3582/3510410405_7eb3c4ae23_o.png" alt="Mirror mobile site" width="235" height="303" /> It's not a bad site either; it does the basics well and keeps it simple and easy to read for mobile users. It also seems to provide a larger, though still limited range of content than The Sun. It is also the only mobile newspaper site that allows users to read and leave comments on articles. The Guardian I <a href="http://econsultancy.com/blog/3692-mobile-site-review-the-guardian">reviewed Guardian Mobile</a> recently and also <a href="http://econsultancy.com/blog/3778-qa-guardian-mobile-product-manager-marcus-austin">talked to</a> mobile product manager Marcus Austin about the site, which is one of the best here, and a big improvement on the old version. <img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3645/3510411031_402afc5c17_o.png" alt="Guardian Mobile" width="235" height="299" /> The Times The Times doesn't divert you to the main site, which means you can have a job finding it. Once you do, it's a good, basic site, but it could be improved for smartphone users; the content is limited, and the habit of splitting articles over multiple pages has been carried on from the main website. This is fine for a very long article, but The Times does this for almost every story. <img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3649/3510410489_e7fca20b86_o.png" alt="Times Mobile" width="235" height="297" /> Not bad though, it does the basics well and provides useful services such as live football scores, but a new version is needed to match The Guardian and FT.com's mobile sites. The Telegraph The Telegraph's mobile site is simple and easy to use, but offers a very limited amount of content. A much better experience can be had from <a href="http://econsultancy.com/blog/3288-telegraph-releases-iphone-app">the newspaper's iPhone app</a> <img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3591/3510410555_e77bd2caea_o.png" alt="" width="235" height="302" />. Daily Mail As far as I can tell, despite finding a few articles from last year about the imminent launch of a mobile site, the Daily Mail doesn't have one. Or else it has and has made it impossible to find. The huge homepage makes it particularly difficult to navigate on a mobile browser. As you can see from the screenshot, it still hasn't finished loading, and that's after more than a minute on a wi-fi connection: <img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3398/3510410319_a4d0a47f93_o.png" alt="Daily Mail on iPhone" width="235" height="299" /> Daily Express The newspaper of the same name from East Malaysia <a href="http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/mobile.cfm">has a mobile site</a>, but not the UK version, which still claims to be the 'World's Greatest Newspaper'. Here's how it looks on a mobile browser; not very appealing: <img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3550/3510411123_d33485f75e_o.png" alt="Express on iPhone browser" width="235" height="298" /> The Daily Star Like the Mail and Express, if The Daily Star has a mobile site, I was unable to find any mention of it on the homepage or after a few minutes' Googling. <img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3565/3510410655_abf16d88f7_o.png" alt="" width="235" height="300" /> Independent The Independent seems to have been slower to adapt to the web than its broadsheet rivals, and this is the same for mobile, as it has no site that I can find. <img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3607/3511219456_026a459675_o.png" alt="Independent on iPhone browser" width="235" height="301" /> FT.com This is <a href="http://econsultancy.com/blog/3212-mobile-site-review-ft-com">one of the best</a>, at least for smartphone users. The newspaper has looked at the stats for its mobile site, found that 60% of visitors have either Blackberries or iPhones, and optimised for these devices. <img style="vertical-align: middle;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3637/3511219546_170b8ddb5d_o.png" alt="FT.com mobile" width="235" height="296" /> This may not work for the other newspaper mobile sites, but it produces an excellent user experience for the FT's audience. Conclusion Of those newspapers that actually have mobile sites, most are reasonaby easy to use and cover the basics, though some could so with a revamp. The Guardian and FT.com are the two most recently updated mobile sites, and are also the pick of the bunch here. This is because they have seen the increased use of smartphones and the increasing prevalence of 'all you can eat' mobile tariffs, both of which make the mobile internet more appealing and accessible.

2009-05-07T20:59:51+01:00

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I've reviewed the mobile sites of The Guardian and FT.com recently, and both are excellent examples of how newspapers can make their content accessible for mobile users, as well as creating more advertising opportunities. With this in mind, I thought I'd see what all of the UK's national newspapers are doing with their mobile sites, how easy they are to find and access, and if they even have one...

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Econsultancy has published a <a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/mobile-marketing-buyers-guide">Mobile Marketing Buyer's Guide</a> which is aimed at those who are investigating the market for mobile marketing platforms, with profiles of 14 leading suppliers and an analysis of market trends. See also our <a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/mobile-statistics">Mobile Statistics Compendium</a> for data, facts and charts relating to mobile.

Which UK newspapers have mobile sites? false

2009-05-08T09:30:38+01:00

which-uk-newspapers-have-mobile-sites

2009-05-31T08:28:53+01:00

2009-10-13T10:13:44+01:00

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