I was preparing to tinker some more with a d3.js visualization from last year, with the idea to improve the experience on mobile devices. In looking at it, I had forgotten I had already done this in a first pass, so that it is roughly usable on iPhone and iPad.
Some may insist that you use feature detection, and not try to target specific devices. I have seen some insist you just manually find out where the breakpoints are by resizing your screen, etc. These are nice goals. However, you would still need to take a look on the actual devices (or in a simulator/emulator) to see what really happens, and potentially need to do something for a specific device, anyway. And there could be a LOT of breakpoints that require a reorganization of the interface. Yes, each breakpoint would result in a nice little puzzle to figure out as to a nice way to flow on the page/screen, but there could be a lot of them.
For the last month, for example, about 30% of the hits were from a mobile device of some sort. There are 411(!) different mobile devices listed. Number 411 on the list was the ZTE Z990g Merit, which apparently is a prepaid phone you can get from WalMart, with a screen size of 320x480 pixels.
| Mobile Device | % of Mobile Devices | % of Total, including Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone | 48% | 15% |
| iPad | 13% | 4% |
| Galaxy S III | 4% | ~1% |
| Not Set | 3% | ~1% |
| 407 Other Devices, each with 1% or less | ~32% | ~9% |
| A Breakdown of Mobile Devices hitting a Viz for the last Month
(via Google Analytics) | ||
Who has resources to confirm their stuff looks ok on 407 other devices (or more), and adjust accordingly for each device?.
Personally, until I see how it looks on a device (or at least an emulator), I wouldn't rely on any generic approach or reported device characteristics, and doing this for the 407 devices that make up 9% of the total seems an undertaking that requires some careful thought before embarking on such an enterprise. Sure, as a personal technical challenge, it would be fun, and you'd learn a lot. But it is not a trivial amount of time.
Maybe there's a silver bullet here. I don't know what it is.
Anyway, one thing for sure is that I need to take another look at things on the iPhone and iPad - especially the iPhone. And I happened to get a new one of those today to help test. Alas, my daughter has never been particularly charitable with letting me borrow her iPhone for the odd minute or two I need it every now and then.
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