It is all over the Web — .mobi public registration is now open.
So I went to my registrar Dotster and checked the prices for .mobi… not that I really want to register a .mobi TLD, but to have a first look at .mobi prices. Dang! They require a minimum of 2 yrs for almost $80! An article on BusinessWeek says initial prices are $25 per domain, but that is not what my registrar is selling .mobi for — everyone wants their share, inflating the price. The same article says the prices will drop to about $12 on October, let's see. Yes, other registrars might offer .mobi cheaper, but I like to manage all of my domains from a single place.
Forget it. I hate this whole situation, really. .mobi is not only unnecessary, and will become irrelevant, but it also has created a new complexity/dilemma – if you don't register it, you will be exposed to domain name (cyber) squatting. So many people and companies will register their .mobi TLDs primarily just to protect themselves, and probably you should do the same. It is all a f@*!^ up situation, where the only winner really is whomever is getting all that cash from .mobi TLD registrations.
And before I forget, shame on all the companies who are pushing for this unnecessary, money making scheme.
So, what are the alternatives to .mobi, you may ask? Well, you can use URLs such as mobi.yourdomain.com, or www.yourdomain.com/mobi, or even better, use yourdomain.com combined with user-agent detection. Regardless of .mobi or not, when servicing mobile handsets, you have to properly format the content.
Update:
I just wanted to include the list of the companies that are backing .mobi, and as I said above, shame on them — I'm sorry to see Ericsson, Nokia and Google on the list: Ericsson, GSM Association, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, Syniverse, T-Mobile, Telefonica, Three, TIM, Vodafone, Hutchison (3), Google.
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