A couple years ago, before the arrival of Apple's innovative and groundbreaking iPhone, it used to make sense to have mobile versions of websites. Back then, bandwidth on mobile phones were limited and mobile browsers weren''t capable of displaying the full web. Often times, the formatting is a jumbled mess. Back then, I tend to browse mobile sites with images turned off to speed up the loading time. It made sense then to create websites that were specifically formatted to thebandwidth and screen-size limitations of cell phones. Now, that's no longer the case. Because of the iPhone, recent and upcoming smartphones all come with mobile web browsers capable of viewing websites like they would appear on your desktop computer or laptop. Wireless carriers also have data plans capable of delivering broadband speeds. There's really no need for mobile versions of websites anymore.

I use OperaMini and Skyfire on Windows Mobile 6.5. Both render pages like they would appear on desktop browsers. OperaMini is speedy and easy to use, but it can't handle flash; I use Skyfire for that. I have no need for mobile versions of sites where I only get a portion of what's available on the full version. It's so pre-iPhone. I get annoyed whenever I get directed to mobile sites. What's worst, few sites provide an option to view the full version. To webmasters of existing sites, please turn off your mobile sites or provide an option to view the full version. To future webmasters, don't bother creating mobile sites. It's a waste of time. They'll be gone in a couple years.

The only practical reason I can think of for creating mobile sites is to display mobile ads. It provides another source of revenue for website owners. Still, you could probably solve this issue by offering mobile ads to mobile users when a mobile browser is detected.