From the day we launched Mobitest, we were also working on getting it working on Tablets. Today, after a few rounds of bug fixes and UI improvements, our tablet agents are finally ready for prime time. To try it out, simply choose a tablet from the agent drop-down menu over at Mobitest.
As of today, Mobitest has 3 new agents: iPad 1, iPad 2 and the Motorola XOOM.
These devices are currently only available from our lab in Ottawa, Canada. We’re hoping a few additional locations will be added soon. If you’re interested in hosting a tablet device in another location, please let us know.
Mobile Sites No Longer an Option
Tablets share similar hardware and software with smartphones, thus also sharing the lack of tools and the many performance concerns. However, while mobile phones often solve this problem by creating a simpler mobile site – tablets don’t have that luxury. On tablets users expect to get the fully featured website, and all the performance challenges it comes with.
Example: Walmart website and waterfall on iPhone and iPad 2
Optimizing for Form Factor vs. Optimizing for Platform
Tablets also add another dimension to the optimization matrix website owners need to address. Before tablets, your mobile site addressed two concerns:
- The limitations of the mobile platform (e.g. lack of flash, weaker CPU)
- The different form factor, making your website usable on a small screen
Tablets create a third category: Sites with the mobile phone’s platform limitations, but with a large screen form factor. Some sites handle this challenge gracefully, some don’t. Hopefully Mobitest can help you figure out where your site stands.
More about Tablets vs. Phones
Adding tablets to Mobitest was a part of a bigger study we performed, including some deep comparison of different mobile devices. We’ll be sharing the insights and data we found at Velocity next week – come check it out!