Remember the '.com' days, when the internet was changing everything, from how we communicate, to how we shop?   Well, some techies say that the mobile internet is about to do something very similar in 2008.  You may ask: "What does that mean?  Can I browse the web and buy things using my phone now?"  Well, yes!  But, that's not necessarily what the mobile internet revolution is.

Being a mobile web developer I know that the biggest challenge of the mobile web, is that every mobile device has different capabilites (supports color, cookies, javascript, etc.) and they all have different screen sizes.  Leaving that aside, you also have the problem of different markup languages (cHTML, xhtml, wml, etc.).  So, really, how do you develop something that is compatible with everything?

Then the iPhone launched.  All of sudden, the web space is filling up with iPhone sites - which are a subset (mini version) of the original web site - but developed for the iPhone specifically.  Essentially, the developer assumes the mobile device is an iPhone and hard codes the screen size and css (using Apple WebKit style hacks) into the site.  The question is, Is the iPhone pushing the frontiers of the mobile internet - or is it steering the developers' focus in the wrong direction.

By my definition, a revolution takes place when party A is taking advantage of party B (C, D, etc.).  Then party B (C, D, etc.) realise they got the short end of the stick, and decide that party A has to go.  In some ways, we have seen this with media sharing.  Media companies said we own it, so pay whatever we ask for.  And the developers responded with "No, we'd rather get it for free."  and so P2P media sharing software was born.  Or, Voice over IP is another good example.

So who is party A in 'the mobile revolution'?  Personally, I think it's the network operators.  What better example than the iPhone again, where the only way you can get your hands on it, is with a two year $40-a-month contract, and to pay for the iPhone value in full - to show you, that network operators control the 'game' in full?  You want it?  Come and pay for it!  Also, expensive SMS messaging costs, and slow mobile internet browsing (that costs a fortune)?  These are the issues that need to be addressed, if the mobile internet revolution ever wants to be noted in IT history.

Fortunately, I believe that it's round the corner from actually taking place.  Being involved in a fast-growing project (wadja.com - still in Beta) set out to do just that, I know that solid steps are being made in this direction, not just by the project I'm working on, but also by other developers around the world.  Opensource projects are building common standards for developers to follow, which even the phone manufacturing companies are following.  Nokia's new minimap browser is somewhat opensource.

So, how will the network operators react and adapt?  The music and film industry has yet to realise the full potential of the internet. Mobile Web 2.0 is on its way to becoming a reality.  The question is, are network operators going to take advantage of its potential - or are they going to ignore it until it's in their face?