.mobi / .tel comparison
With the recent launch of .mobi and pending launch of .tel many people have asked us how to compare the two and how they might work together. Below is more information to help you provide a comparison between these two new TLDs.
What's the difference between .mobi and .tel?
Simply put, .mobi should be thought of as the TLD for mobile content whereas .tel should be thought of as a (telephone) directory for your contact information. The purpose of .mobi is to provide a way for you to get your website or content out to the mobile market. Many websites do not cater for mobile users - a user base which is currently growing at a faster rate than standard desktop computer users.
The new .tel TLD is a different beast altogether. It is nothing like a standard TLD in that it does not allow you to set up a website on it or an email address. The concept of .tel is to provide a central area for all of your contact information, allowing you to instantly update it when necessary.
How would I use a .mobi?
A .mobi domain can be used in much the same way as a .com, with the exception that you must provide mobile content on your website. This can be done by creating a website and using the tools available on the dotMobi website to ensure that it will work for all mobile devices. The other option is to use the dotMobi Instant Mobilizer which allows you to turn a conventional website into a mobile version in seconds. You can also set up email addresses on non Instant Mobilized .mobi domains in the usual way so that you can be contacted.
How would I use a .tel?
Once you register a .tel domain, you can start to configure your contact details. Details include telephone numbers, fax numbers, email addresses, postal addresses, instant messenger IDs, social networking IDs, gamer tags, website addresses and location (longitude, lattitude) data. All of this data can be configure to be either public or private.
With your data populated, your friends, family or business contacts are then able to access your data. For example visiting your .tel in a web browser will display an interface containing your data. If the user has one of the many .tel address book applications installed on their mobile device they can also instantly retrieve your data. This way, they need only ever know your .tel domain name in order to always have your up-to-date information available to them.
How would I use them together?
Contact pages on your .mobi website could link to your .tel with instructions on adding your .tel to their address book for future use. This way, once they have added your to their address book any changes that you make to your contact details will be instantly reflected should they try to contact you. Equally, your .mobi website can be one of the items in your .tel data, allowing anyone visiting or using your .tel to be pointed in the direction of your .mobi website.