Mobile-only users outnumbered desktop users in March of 2015 according to Comscore. It is anticipated that this trend that will carry on in the next 10 years, as both business and personal users shift away from working in their desks and instead choose to access the internet any time from anywhere.
With Tech giants like Intel announcing that it was giving more attention to mobile devices than PC’s recently, businesses mainly focused on creating online experiences should give more thought into the differences between the use of desktop and mobile devices.
Read on to find out the similarities and differences between the mobile versus desktop experiences, along with ways to optimize both experiences.
Similarities
- Good user interfaces (UI). Browsing experience on both platforms are good given that it is using a well thought user interface.
- Researching and digesting content. Today, all types of devices deliver reasonably good experiences unlike before. Moreover, research tools like Yelp, Google or Kayak helps people find what they want fast and easy.
- Email. People use both platforms to serve them to their advantage such as using mobile devices for quick perusal and responses to urgent emails and desktop for digesting or crafting lengthier emails.
- Photo browsing/editing. While it is easier to take photos and videos on a mobile device than on a laptop or PC, browsing and even editing, are relatively easy to do on both formats now.
Differences
- Real estate. In a desktop, checking a real estate page could give you too many choices and less intuitive placement of features while on phone it means different choices, including more compact navigation, different graphic layouts, bigger type and less text.
- Location. A mobile device could track a more precise location down to a five-ten meter radius compared to a desktop.
- Photo/video capabilities. Photos and videos is much easier to take and share on social media using a mobile device than on a desktop and smartphone and tablet cameras catch up with the megapixels offered by high-end digital cameras.
- Push notifications. There is a greater impact and messaging opportunity brought by push notifications on a phone or tablet than the alerts on PCs and laptops.
- Portability. The number one reason why people opt for mobile usage is portability. In general, most people have their smartphones with them everyday than a laptop.
Instead of arguing which device is better than the other, the bottom line of this whole thing is to ensure that as marketers, we are providing the best possible outcomes for our customers as they navigate their omnichannel experiences.