Earlier today I criticized the keitai web, calling it “sad” and a “nightmare”. Later, I was thinking about this a bit more and thought might have come off as a standards nazi (which I am, to some degree). I think my problem lies in the moniker: the keitai web. The keitai web came around when mobile handsets didn’t have the power nor the bandwidth to access the regular web. Rather than comparing it to the open web, I should have considered it for what it is: a proprietary content delivery system.

Taking a closer look the keitai web was/is a system where mobile users access custom designed content on their handsets (and only from their handsets), sometimes paying a per site premium through their carrier. Back in the day it was wildly popular for web designers. I remember when there was a plethora of books and courses to help you design your keitai site and get rich quick. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

I don’t criticize the App Store for not bowing to web standards simply because I think it is a different beast serving (mostly) different needs. I guess I shouldn’t be so hard on the keitai web either.