Professional Mobile Web Development with WordPress®, Joomla!®, and Drupal®

Chapter 3. Keeping Abreast of Developments

WHAT'S IN THIS CHAPTER?

• Learning how mobile devices and network technologies are evolving

• Understanding the major web technologies in use by mobile devices and how they are developing

• Reviewing resources you can use to stay abreast of these developments

As you may have gathered by now, the mobile industry in general is a fast-moving environment. Of course, all consumer technology evolves quickly, and mobile devices are no exception. Their form factors, functionality, overall capabilities, and performance are constantly driven by the demands of experienced users and newcomers alike. Similarly, mobile networks are under continuous renewal, as carriers add coverage, upgrade capacity, install new services, and upgrade to the latest, fastest cellular and Internet standards.

For the web or application developer, keeping up with these developments alone — on a worldwide basis — would in itself be a significant challenge. But unfortunately, the technologies, standards, and best practices involved in creating websites and services are also evolving at a rapid rate.

Finally, the commercial environment for the mobile industry and the mobile web continues to change. In these early days of the emerging medium, there are no certainties concerning state-of-the-art business models and commercialization techniques. For a newcomer to the world of mobile, all this can be desperately baffling at first, and understanding all these acronym-laden technological roadmaps ...