Mobile Interfaces & My Problems Therewith

I recently got a phone that can use the internet fairly well. This means that the time I used to spend playing my DS on the bus is now spent checking my email, social networking websites, and news sources. And One Bus Away. OMG this tool has saved me so much hassle. Anyway, in using these websites, I found that some of them have a streamlined website for optimized browsing on the phone, and several do not. And the ones that do not have the most irritating interface, and the most half-baked explanation as to why they won’t be providing mobile support.

The problem is most obvious on the social networking sites, where comments or status updates should be streamlined. When posting requires a button that is not visible on the phone, or two input boxes are created which do not clearly indicate which (if either) are required to be filled for the comment or note to post, well, that is just frustrating for the user.

Do I need to stay in touch at all times? No, not really. But now that I have the ability to do so, why should the very website which purports to allow people to stay in contact frustrate that goal? Why add bells and whistles when the end result is something that becomes even more frustrating to use? You might as well add frames, sparkly custom cursers, and flash animations in an effort to make it “simpler.”