It’s not official, yet, but MacDailyNews has obtained information that Qantas today will announce and/or launch a version of the airline’s website, qantas.com, designed especially for the new Apple iPhone 3G and iPod touch.
Qantas is the third airline in the world and the first in the Southern Hemisphere to introduce the initiative. It is the only airline to incorporate an accessibility function using the phone’s touch interface.
iPhone users would be able to access timetable information for both Qantas and Jetstar, plus a range of other information including lounge locations, airport services and airline contact details. Qantas is planning to expand the features available on the iPhone and also offer its customers similar services on other mobile devices in the future.
You know the iPhone is going to change things when companies start redesigning their websites to be compatible with it…and it was just introduced last year.
There’s a company that’s seeing the future. I wonder if anyone at SAS has even give it a thought…
It’d be great if they could tie it into the GPS system and then use the iPhone to guide you around the various airports to find their check-in desks, lounges, shopping partners, etc.
Even a facility for paperless on-line check-in when your at the airport would speed things along…
I personally don’t like being forced to use iPhone formated websites. They feel dumbed down to me. With Safari and Multitouch I enjoy the real web and I think there should be a standard check box on all iPhone formated websites to opt for the regular web page. Although these dumbed down pages are probably still better for most other cellphone’s browsers. Better than WAP. Do any other readers agree?
I’ve often been at one end of an airport looking for the check-in desk, only to find it’s at the other side of the building along a labyrinth of corridors…
If your at Desk 1 and you need to get to Desk 50, an iPhone guiding you could make the difference between making the flight and missing it…
I thought the *entire* purpose of putting Safari on the iPhone was that you would be able to use the *real* web sites — no more dumbed down and limited web sites for mobile users. This always sounds like a step backward to me. (Of course if a web site is creating an “iPhone web site” that does not have Flash while the normal web site does that may be a different story — until Flash finally gets ported to the iPhone.)
@ nomoremsbs:
I agree with you. I hate Continental’s iPhone site and there’s no way to get to the regular site. There should always be an option that lets you go to the regular site, unless it uses technology that iPhone doesn’t support (Flash, etc.).
If a company is interested in creating an iPhone site, maybe the best place to start is to reevaluate how they use technology on their main site and remain less dependent on Flash and other unsupported technology for core elements of the site (navigation, information, etc.). That’s what I would find most useful – not a dedicated iPhone site.
You’d think they’d concentrate on stopping their planes falling apart first.
@ MacDailyNews
How do your readers feel? I think this is important and maybe worth a poll on your website.
Different strokes for different folks. I find the “real web” to be a pain in the ass on my iPhone. All that tapping around, takes forever to load on edge, accidently hit a link when trying to enlarge a piece, etc…
I like New York Times App, I like Foxnews, Skynews, and several other apps which are formatted for the iPhone. And I appreciate webmasters who take the time to provide us with iPhone formatted pages…
I hope the iPhone KILLS Flash-based websites… like The Mojave Experiment.
Formatting for the iPhone is fine IF it means that all the original content is still on the iPhone specific page and not dumbed down so that key features are not available to iPhone users.
Weatherunderground.com is a decent example. Their regular site allows for ‘animated’ radar images but they are flash driven. The Weatherbug iPhone app on the other hand, offers the same animated radar (as well as forcasts for your area and all that) but they don’t use flash to generate it the animated radar.
Don’t dumb down the site but make all the content available to iPhone users… that’s my vote.
Allow iPhone users to opt in to the regular site… that’s my other vote.
(I live in Chicago… vote early, vote often)
All I care about is that the site works on my iPhone and that I can access all of the information. If it it iPhone specific I don’t care as long as it works better when using the iPhone. My vote . Get rid of the ads and pop ups and give me full functionality and yes I would prefer an iPhone specific site.
For the websites we designed, I detect if it is an iphone and then I adjust the system, we display photos and videos. So for the videos , we display 5 videos instead of 25, so it takes less time to display and of course instead of flash, we display quicktime player instead of flash. We didn’t do any change for the photos. I am planning on increasing the size of the navigation bar so numbers are easier to click on when you want to see the next page. So it’s not really redesign but it takes care of iPhone users. So at least it looks good when I look at it
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I don’t want sites dumbed down for my iPhone!! The reason I bought it was for the real internet, not the crap other phone users have to view.
“You’d think they’d concentrate on stopping their planes falling apart first.”
You should see what they keep in the seat pouches.
Finally!! OMG, this is amazing! I am going to go buy 10 iPhones now… One for each finger. Qantas web site!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, I’m going to go to Sydney, then Melbourne, then Perth and then probably like New Zealand or something. See ya when I get back everybody!!!
Where did Qantas suggest that they were going to make a dumbed-down iPhone web site? Nowhere.
The dumbing-down idea is a result of a few people lacking insight and imagination. The iPhone/iPod Touch have characteristics that are different from those of standard computers. Making good use of these characteristics when you design a web site is more likely to result in smart-up than in dumb-down for iPhone/iPod Touch users.
People with lacking understanding of technology still have the right to show off their limited mental powers. That does not make them more relevant or less annoying.