dotMobi - the registrar for .mobi domains - aims to make the process of web browsing on a mobile device much smoother. DeviceAtlas its new tool will provide data on early model data capable mobiles to the very latest smart phones. This will enable developers to create device aware content with the most up to date information.

The main issue with making m-commerce a viable bankable asset is about to be addressed. This morning dotmobi launched its low cost, comprehensive database of global mobile handset information. Until today developers and enterprises had to sift through hundreds of handset specs to develop sites to fit each.

"There are many sources for device data, but they are scattered throughout developer forums and embedded into various products. DeviceAtlas is a single, definitive source of device information," Paul Nerger, vice president of advanced services and applications at dotMobi

Consumers, developers, retailers and carriers alike will stand to benefit from dotMobi has to offer. The present mobile browsing experience has consisted of squeezing the browser on to a 2-inch screen or searching through a selection of m-commerce sites.

"The mobile phone browser has been seen largely as a disabled Internet browser. We want to make the mobile browser into a power all its own," says Nerger. "We think enterprise will move from 'dotcom think,' where the mobile Web site is just a scaled down version of the Internet site, to 'mobile com think' where the site is built specifically for mobile, including a one-click feature to dial the phone number from a link," added Nerger.

dotMobi believes its new developer tool will help drive the web into the mobile era and hopes a ton of new mobile websites will appear overnight.

Nokia, Vodafone, Telecom Italia, Volantis and many others are working closely with dotMobi to refine and collate information on handset specifications. "The introduction of DeviceAtlas will help Internet Web developers and content providers build tailored Internet experiences for a range of devices. As Nokia expands from a handset company to offer a range of Internet services -- making these experiences powerful and valuable is very important," said Timo Skytta, Nokia's head of technology management. "DeviceAtlas is a great tool to help mobile developers create a personalized and valuable mobile Web experience for their users," Peter Thompson of Vodafone Group R&D said.DeviceAtlas means that information can be shared with the global development community and allow it to be updated online. This simplifies the development process and allows developers to create the best experience for users. Alongside the free web-based version, users can access a local copy of DeviceAtlas via an application programming interface (API) for a modest annual fee. "DeviceAtlas helps developers of all sizes build better mobile Web applications that adapt to -- and are optimized for -- the widest possible range of mobile devices with structured, accurate data. This also means device data will be available for everyone, regardless of company's size, because of the low costs of DeviceAtlas. In fact, access to the Web site version of the database is completely free, and we will provide one free DeviceAtlas Developer Edition license to every member of the http://dev.mobi developer forum," added Nerger. "The initial release of DeviceAtlas only represents the start of an ever-evolving tool for the mobile development community," James Pearce, vice president of technology at dotMobi, said. "The road map for the next few months includes further property vocabularies, a full test suite, the ability of all community members to provide additional data, and compatibility with W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) recommendations."

dotMobi DeviceAtlas comes in three editions, The price changes with the frequency of updates the user requires. The editions at present are: • DeviceAtlas Premium Edition with anytime updates is priced at US$299 per installed computer per year. • DeviceAtlas Standard Edition with weekly updates is priced at $149 per installed computer per year. • Device Atlas Basic Edition with monthly updates is priced at $99 per installed computer per year.