Friday, August 11, 2006
Detecting Internet Explorer Mobile's User-Agent on the Server
Posted by Jason Dunn in "ARTICLE" @ 02:00 AM
"We recently made a change in the next version of IE Mobile for Windows Mobile, regarding the IE Mobile User-Agent string. It was a little (ok - a lot!) out of date, and it really didn't suit our needs. It was a relic of a long ago fragmented product that just didn't reflect the current state of the browser. What we discovered as we updated the string was that many sites that thought they were properly detecting IE Mobile really weren't doing it the right way. Our own MSN sites had a few problems, which they're updating, so that they'll be ready to go when the new crop of devices hits the market. We've even talked to some very friendly fellows at a big, popular rival search engine company and made sure their seach page will render right when these devices ship. In the interests of helping fix the broken sites out there now, and getting people ready for the future, we're releasing our new User-Agent string right here, along with a pointer to some other information."
If you're a Web developer looking at delivering a nicely optimized experience to your visitors, this article is a must-read. I'm really pleased to see the IE Mobile team thinking about the user experience more.
If you're a Web developer looking at delivering a nicely optimized experience to your visitors, this article is a must-read. I'm really pleased to see the IE Mobile team thinking about the user experience more.
