U.Va. Mobile Site Survey and Enhancements

In May 2007, the Office of Web Communications conducted a survey of mobile web users at the University and began a project to mobilize the U.Va. web.

In June 2007, the previous mobile site, UVA TO GO, was relaunched as U.Va. Mobile.

U.Va. Mobile can be accessed at the following URL:

• http://mobile.virginia.edu

Realizing the emerging role of mobile web-enabled devices in daily life, we are committed to continuously improving the University of Virginia's mobile Home page to reflect changing industry standards, device capabilities, and input from our users.

New Features

Bus Arrival Times

The U.Va. mobile site utilizes HoosWhere, allowing users to find out when the next UTS bus is arriving at their stop.

• Watch a video on the new HoosWhere system.
• Learn more about the HoosWhere system.
• Use the mobile HoosWhere system.

Safety/Emergency Information

The U.Va. mobile site now includes information about how to contact U.Va. Police, get home safely, and what to do in an emergency. If information about a critical event or emergency is published to the U.Va. home page, it will also be available on the U.Va. Mobile home page. The following safety information is now available on U.Va. Mobile:

• U.Va. Police Emergency/Office numbers
• Blue-light phone information
• Safe Rides numbers and hours
• Yellow Cab ride reimbursement program information
• U.Va. Critical Alerts, if applicable
• Additional numbers and information from the Critical Incident web site.

Soft-key Navigation

To improve usability on smartphones that support using the numbered keypad for navigation, U.Va. Mobile now features visible numbers and corresponding soft-keys on main menus. To activate a soft-key link, simply press the corresponding number on your phone.

Hyperlinked Phone Numbers

A new page with frequently-called U.Va. phone numbers has been created, and each phone number within the U.Va. Mobile site is a "clickable" link that will call the number directly from your phone.

Expanded "Things To Do" Section

Our new site expands the previous "student events" section by adding RSS-fed content from our "Things to do" top-level page. Most events in this section link to a mobile-accessible page with more details about the item. This page features:

• University/Student Calendar
• Lectures/Readings
• Film/Theatre/Concerts
• John Paul Jones Arena events
• Exhibits
• Local Movie Showtimes via Cvillemovies.com

Additionally, a mobile-ready view of the day's Student Web Calendar has been added, with links to detailed views of each calendar event.

Weather Forecast

The current conditions and 3-day forecast are updated every hour with data from the National Weather Service (NOAA).

Week In Photos: Mobile Edition

This week's shots from the Week In Photos feature on the U.Va. Home page is now available in a mobile-optimized version.

Who are you?

• Staff: 22.41%
• Faculty: 10.34%
• Current Student: 51.72%
• Alumnus: 8.62%
• All other: 6.89%

Who is your mobile service provider?

• Sprint PCS: 15.51%
• Verizon: 22.41%
• Cingular: 15.51%
• Alltel: 13.79%
• Unspecified: 6.89%
• U.S. Cellular: 5.17%
• T-Mobile: 6.89%
• Ntelos: 6.89%
• Nextel: 3.44%
• None: 3.44%

Where do you surf the mobile Web?

• At Work: 12.06%
• In a Vehicle: 29.31%
• Home: 5.17%
• In Class/Studying: 15.51%
• Grounds: 20.68%
• Other: 10.34%
• None: 1.72%

What type of mobile Web device do you use to surf the web?

• Feature phone: 24.13%
• Smartphone or PDA: 25.86%
• Phone Web features not used: 32.75%
• None, buying soon: 6.89%
• None: 10.34%

What is the biggest obstacle to new users of the mobile Web?

• Service Cost: 41.37%
• Device Cost: 10.34%
• Not Useful Enough: 17.24%
• Lack of knowledge: 12.06%
• No Response: 18.96%

On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate the importance of these mobile content/services:?

• News: 3.08%
• Calendar: 2.94%
• Address Phone: 3.63%
• Maps Directions: 3.03%
• Email: 3.78%
• Emergency: 4.08%
• Bus: 2.7%
• Facility: 2.71%
• Hospital: 2.22%
• Academic: 2.52%
• Dining: 2.43%
• Safety: 3.84%
• Social: 2.44%

What other mobile Web sites do you use?

Cnn.com, Google, Gmail, yahoo, yahoo mail, Washington post, cville movies, mapquest, weather.com, espn, facebook, dictionary, news.com.

Comments about the current UVA TO GO site?

• I like the news and headlines section
• Not very graphics oriented, so it loads quickly
• I like my ability to search the events going on around grounds and important information

Comments about this survey?

• Mobile Internet is essential. I am a xxxx student and xxxx faculty to access U.Va. info would create a greater sense of community. Anything we do must be both Mac and PC compatible. Personal and administrative uses are important. However, educational potential is quite exciting. Consider Duke's original initiative. They let the 1st years loose with ipods equipped for recording and the students are creating a bottom up cultural change. If you need an interested user (but not a techie), I think this sounds like a fascinating project.
• I would probably disconnect UVA TO GO. It just isn't useful enough for UVA students, and for visitors, it's probably not worth their time to explore
• Just continue to improve as U.Va. Always does.
• A priority for a mobile internet at U.Va. is emergency information. Then other useful information would be, weather, important event times, locations and especially email
• Sports information
• Public media (radio, TV, etc.) are now offering mobile Internet for people on the go. Students and parents will need to add cell phone Internet access to go along with notebook pcs.
• This survey needs to be revamped -- labeled better with more relevant answer choices -- if you are going to be able to draw conclusions from it
• Great Survey!
• I've been enjoying U.Va.'s Mobile web service and hope it to be improved further