If internet on the iPhone is not:

• A "watered down version" of the internet.
• The "mobile version" of the internet.
• The "kinda sorta looks like the internet" internet.

(Source: Apple.com TV ads - "Watered Down")

... then why are there sites being developed specifically for the iPhone? Sites that certainly appear like "mobile" sites, as we've been accustomed to seeing over the last few years, ie: m.mysite.com would be the mobile alternative.

This one, for example, is a random link share from a Twitter friend. I don't mean to pick on it, but it came to my attention as I was writing this post.

Notice on this "iPhone specific site":

• The narrow width (about 400 pixels wide).
• Limited images.
• Plain, easy-to-read text.

The intention was clearly to make viewing this site on the iPhone much easier.

But if the iPhone's internet is "just the internet," shouldn't any moderately standards-based site work just fine?

If I had to come up with reasons why there are "iPhone specific" sites being developed, I'd guess a few things:

• "Exclusively designed" to imitate the same "smoothness" that the iPhone interface presents.
• The smaller screen space makes scrolling more prominent, and developers love to limit scrolling.

No more "mobile versions"

In the long-run, I'd hope that internet-enabled devices will become strong enough to handle any web site, no matter how it is developed. Then we can finally stop having to make "mobile versions" of the same site.

The iPhone is certainly a step in the right direction.