I'm - right now - changing the embed code of 45k individually added (and this often with a char that differs here and there so a "change all" is imossible I'm afraid) quicktime films on my site just so that iphones and ipod's with video can see them withot having to click one extra link.

So that would be "yes"

meanwhile, I can't afford no damn iphone or ipods because I spend all my cash on that site instead what the fuck am I thinking?

Yes, I've definitely gone back to ensure that clients' sites look good on the iPhone and have the same functionality as the full sites, where possible. Most of them didn't need much tweaking because they were pretty simple HTML / PHP with valid code / CSS so they worked fine. Alternate content for flash, and that's about it.

I think it's smart to make sure that sites look good on the iPhone, if only because a number of the sites I've done would appeal to some of the same demographics.

On metachat - Mobile devices account for about 2% of traffic. I'd guess the percentage is nearer 5% for signed in / regular users.

In contrast, Opera browsers only account for 1.5% of traffic.

Also - You need to take into account the fact that the sort of people that visit your site with mobile browsers will be the trend setters. Making the mobile experience work for them may drive other visitors to your site.

So, for me too - It's a yes.

The style sheets for mobile devices aren't that different. Again, on metachat, there's little difference between the style-sheets for mobile and the style sheets for desktop. We cut out the side bars and remove extraneous elements, but that's it.

I also wonder if phone browsing will/has replace/d the ubiquitous wifi that I thought we would have by now. Other than file transfers (another issue in itself), my biggest hassle with phone browsing are the retailers like amazon whose pages are bloated with content that does not translate well to a small screen. imdb is another such culprit, and I haven't even tried rottentomatoes yet.

I can't get Metachat to work quite right my wife's G1 Phone. I can browse the site but I can't log in, I fill in the username/password but the "login" button doesn't do anything.

metachat looks pretty good on my iphone g3. I was actually really surprised at how many sites had a version optimized for mobile devices, or the iphone in particular.

retailers like amazon

Not sure what phone you're on, but the amazon iphone app is pretty handy.

I have a Verizon Voyager. I think they have an Amazon add-on but it is $3.99/month. I don't use Amazon enough to justify that, and I feel it is the web admin's responsibility to simplify their sites if they want my traffic. I was already getting frustrated with content bloat on a normal computer with broadband before I bought the phone browser. As more manufacturers release phone products, I think site admins will have to simplify their content to reach their maximum audience.

As it is, I would rather deal with a little web inconvenience (my Voyager has 3 different web rendering modes and one or another can usually resolve a site adequately) than lug a laptop around. The main exception is I cannot read Metafilter's comments: 'invalid URL'.

I have an iPhone (3G) and can read MeFi fine, with either the standard, lofi or mobile versions. The mobile version (obviously) works best, except that I can't log in or comment with that version. The mobile version of MeCha is most excellent - full functionality without the cruft.

I can't get Metachat to work quite right my wife's G1 Phone.

Are you using lofi.metechat.org to reach the site, octothorpe?

The site works fine on my G1, but before I knew about the mobile URL I was accessing the normal one, and would have login issues. I found if I zoomed WAY out so that the header of the site wasn't cut off- then the login would work.

But on the mobile version that hasn't been an issue at all. Also, once I logged in the first time, it's let me stay logged in ever since, which is convenient.