5 Great iPhone Optimised Sites and Then Some

After several months with the iPhone (I know we were late in the game to getting some, damn blackberry) we thought it be a good idea to share with you some of the best sites around "optimised" for the iPhone.

One clear factor in designing a site for the iPhone has become apparent... well thought out structure. You can pimp it up all you like but if it's not clear to navigate (after all your dealing with a smaller resolution) and easy to use then don't bother. If your good at web site design then the tranisition to iPhone will be a breeze and you'll probably find it fun. Designing to 1024 these days can become pretty samey.

VW

Fans of Volkswagen will be pleased to know that they have launched a mobile site optimised for viewing on the iPhone. You can check it out from your desktop at http://www.vw.com/mobile/iphone. But for best results visit it on your iPhone.

The site allows you to browse all current cars, including galleries and feature lists for each. You can also use it to find a dealer by entering a ZIP code (currently only stateside at the moment... shame). But perhaps the most useful feature of the site is the Emergency Roadside Assistance feature. Tap on the ‘Assistance’ option from the homepage, and you’ll notice a button that lets you connect with emergency assistance.

This site will also works on the T-Mobile G1 by autodetecting the G1 browser and redirecting you to the mobile version. This is also as perfectly formatted. Nice site from VW.

BBC iPlayer

Anyone who lives in the UK knows just how great the live-streaming and on-demand TV from the BBC iPlayer is.

With the iPhone-optimised iPlayer, you can have have all the beebs fixes whenever you like. And it does all this with no flash, no apps, no nothing. But at 512Kbps, you’re going to want to be using WiFi - EDGE to get the full experience.

It's also great to see the modular approach the beeb took in the new site and have carried it over to the mobile site, expanding modules at the touch of the screen, looking as good as ever.

Yahoo Mobile

So the marketing speil goes something like this "Set the new Yahoo! Mobile as your mobile homepage and see what’s happening in your world". Sound interesting? We thought so, so we had a look. The site brings together all those services you use from across the web onto a single page. Users can access email, social networks (including twitter and facebook), favorite websites, news, sports, movies, weather, stocks and more.

The homepage is continuously updated throughout the day, so users are kept up to date with the latest in their interests. And with a simple but great looking interface design that's clear to navigate Yahoo have kept up with the move for optimised iPhone and Smartphone site designs.

Facebook Mobile

Anyone using an iPhone is probably using the Facebook App but those of you who aren't then your going to get a pretty similar experience using the mobile site. A very clear interface design the site allows users to update status, browse news feeds and view friends' profiles quickly all from the home screen.

Users are also able to update status' or message friends using text messages. By receiving SMS texts as well you can keep up to date with messages and wall posts as they happen and send photos my MMS (although some 02 customers might have to wait till apple launch OS 3.0 for the iPhone before we can do that... but who needs it though when we have the app!?).

Times Mobile

Not the greatest looking mobile site out there but all the same with a well layed out interface the site is extremely easy to use and to navigate. Not as nice as maybe the beebs news site but it has some interesting features such as the entertainment guide. This means you can put your phone in your pocket and take the Times experts with you when you are out and looking for a great place to eat, a good film to see or something to do.

Using the latest location-based technology the site can direct you to the nearest events and services, and you can check whether the Times recommends them or let's you know to stear clear. We like!

And Then Some...

Picasa Web Albums
Google’s Picasa Web Albums iPhone interface is great but then in general all of Google’s Mobile "suite", which includes Search, Gmail, Reader, Calendar, Docs, and more is nice to use.

eBay
eBay provide a valuable service to many web users, and now that you can use a slick iPhone friendly interface to browse the latest bargins.

Digg.com
Digg for iPhone is great to use and much easier to read than the main site.

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