14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is rolling out a more cohesive experience for MSN, not only across the main portal, but also the online destination dedicated to users of mobile phones. Both MSN.com and MSN Mobile now share the same look and feel, after the Redmond company overhauled the mobile version of the portal, following in the footsteps of the major redesign rolled out for MSN in March 2010.
But there's more to the MSN Mobile homepage revamping than the facelift, although this is by far the most evident. Users already familiar with the mobile flavor of the portal will notice speed improvements, which are made possible by the work done to boost overall performance, with a focus on making the homepage download as fast as possible. In addition, there are also new features introduced as a part of the overhaul, with users now being able to enjoy video within content, but also immediate, one-click access to Bing, now with auto-suggest features. Similarly, both Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger are also a single click away from MSN Mobile.
“The new MSN Mobile homepage offers mobile internet users access to a broad range of content and services that they need to stay in the know. The page design provides smart phone users with the most usable, relevant mobile experience. From the new homepage, MSN Mobile users can enjoy access to a broad range of content and services, including programmed, dynamic news, sports, entertainment, video, money, weather, astrology, and dating content,” Farhana Ahmad and Darrin Eide, MSN Mobile Program Management, revealed.
Just as it was the case with MSN.com, MSN Mobile’s evolution was also focused on the way content was served to end users. While the old mobile portal featured a linear organization of information, requiring users to scroll down, the redesigned homepage sports content consolidated under a number of tabs, right at the top.
The tabbed content modules streamline access to news, sports and entertainment information, by simplifyingnavigation and discoverability. The Breaking News module highlights the most prominent headlines on MSN, but, once users are done digesting the latest information, they can move on to consuming additional content. Of course, Personalization capabilities have also been kicked up a notch with this release, allowing the homepage to be tweaked in order to display preferred stock quotes, weather content and astrology content.
“The new homepage can be accessed by going to http://mobile.msn.com on a range of mobile devices and browsers, including Safari on Apple iPhone, Safari on Android 1.x and 2.x, Opera 9.5 on Windows Mobile, and Webkit on Palm’s webOS. This device list will give us approximately 40% device coverage,” Eide added.
