opinion wanted: iphone-specific version of website?

[rwillmer]

Hi all

I'm looking for some feedback about my website ebookprice.info, when viewed from an iPhone. (It's a price comparison website for ebooks.)

As an iPhone/iPodTouch user, do you prefer to see the same website as you would from a computer browser? Or do you prefer to see a different interface which looks more like an iPhone app?

If I did an iPhone-specific version of the site, then it would probably be a list-driven interface similar to the iPod app on the iPhone. Would that be better?

Also, what book formats and stores are particularly good for iPhone books? I'd heard mention that Random House were making books available via iTunes for example, but can't see any ebooks, just audiobooks.

Any feedback welcome!
Thanks
Rachel

[GntlmnBndt]

Originally Posted by rwillmer

As an iPhone/iPodTouch user, do you prefer to see the same website as you would from a computer browser? Or do you prefer to see a different interface which looks more like an iPhone app?

If I did an iPhone-specific version of the site, then it would probably be a list-driven interface similar to the iPod app on the iPhone. Would that be better?

Also, what book formats and stores are particularly good for iPhone books? I'd heard mention that Random House were making books available via iTunes for example, but can't see any ebooks, just audiobooks.

Personally, I prefer an optimized view, but it does not have to be iPhone-specific. It is possible to make a mobile-friendly version of a website to cover iPhones, Android, Symbian, Blackberry, WinMo... you get the idea. On the other hand, many people are specifically excited about the new mobile browsers that offer a desktop-style view of the "real" page, so I may be in the minority on the topic.

As for iPhone-friendly stores and formats, if you are referring to direct download ebooks, there are several apps that support a broad range of formats, but for most iPhone users it seems to come down to three formats (ePUB, eReader and Kindle), and only a few stores, the obvious ones being Fictionwise/eReader, BooksOnBoard and Amazon. I have also purchased and downloaded from SmashWords, but if you are looking to compare prices on mainstream books, they are probably not an option.

Good luck!
The Bandit

[ilovejedd]

I tried your site on my iPhone. It looks pretty nice in Safari, although I think an iPhone version would be great. Integration with Stanza would be even nicer.

You can find more information on Stanza's RSS/atom/catalog feed structure on:
http://www.lexcycle.com/developer

[curtw]

If you download the new Beta of Safari, you can set your useragent to the iPhone browser, and see for yourself.

(this is the trick that also lets you view the Zinio.com magazines that are supposed to be iphone-only)

[rwillmer]

Originally Posted by curtw

If you download the new Beta of Safari, you can set your useragent to the iPhone browser, and see for yourself.

(this is the trick that also lets you view the Zinio.com magazines that are supposed to be iphone-only)

Thanks for the suggestion! Actually, I've got an iphone myself, so I can see what it looks like - just trying to figure out whether it makes more sense to take advantage of the fact the iphone has such a nice screen to view "ordinary" websites with, or whether taking the effort to make a website that looks more like an iphone app is worthwhile.

cheers
Rachel