It's a sign that big brands are starting to take the mobile internet seriously and the launch of the domain name could help kick-start growth in the sector.
"It indicates a very serious intent on their part to serve the mobile content market because they realise it's a huge growth area and one they ought to be tackling quite quickly," says Ronan Cremin, director at dotmobi.
He points out that some of the brands that have registered domains have already had mobile sites for some time.
"A lot of existing desktop content players are moving quite rapidly into the mobile space, and I think we will see serious content put in place behind these domains very shortly from the more innovative brands like Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft and the BBC," he adds.
But, there are a lot of brands on the list that don't yet have a web site compatible with mobile devices. Can we expect these to suddenly start rolling out new mobile sites later this year when .mobi goes live?
Ben King, marketing manager at Wireless Information Network (WIN), which provides messaging and content services for brands and network operators, including Vodafone, The AA and FT.com, thinks not.
He argues that, while many brands have realised they need a mobile internet strategy, most haven't worked it out. Registering a .mobi domain is about protecting their trademarks.
"The majority of the brands on the list are probably just aware that it's something that has to be on their agenda, so they're future-proofing themselves and making sure that if they decide to do anything, there won't be any licensing issues with the domain names," says King.
Domain names
He also questions whether it is actually necessary to have a separate .mobi name, pointing out that technology exists that enables .com and .co.uk sites to be viewed on mobile devices. "Why would you go to the extent of marketing two different domain names because it will cost you twice as much to get your services out there?," he asks.
The issue is that, while some .com sites are compatible with mobiles, the majority are not. Users currently have no way of knowing which sites are mobile-friendly and which aren't. It is an issue that has been blamed for holding back the growth of the mobile internet.
"It's an indication for consumers," says Daniel Appelquist, senior technology strategist at Vodafone Group. "So, if they see the .mobi name advertised, they know that the web site will work on their phone."
Another issue is that there is no uniformity or standard way of naming sites that have been optimised for mobile devices. Some use wap.brand.com and others use brand.com/mobile.
Short-codes
"It's hard to overstate how important this is because, at the moment, for all these different sites there are different ways to do it, and you have to know the right address to go to. What dotmobi does is bring in a standard," adds Cremin.
Yet, most people accessing the internet via their mobile are not actually using URLs. The way most sites are accessed today, according to King, is through mobile short-codes, so people text a word, such as 'sport', to a five-digit number and receive an SMS with a link to a WAP site.
"By having a .mobi URL you are making the assumption that people will navigate to known URLs, and people aren't really doing that yet," says King.
But, this could be because people simply don't know where to go. If all mobile sites used the .mobi domain, it could encourage more consumers to actually type in URLs, thereby reducing the need for short-codes.
Shortcodes, while simple, require people to remember a number. "Shortcodes have been a stop gap. They're a way to do something because there is no better way," says Cremin.
Web content
"There's a bit of a chicken and egg situation going on. To some extent there isn't a great deal of mobile content because content providers haven't provided it as they feel consumers aren't looking for it. But, equally, there is actually quite a lot of content out there; for example, Google, Yahoo!, BBC and CNN. It's just that people haven't been able to find it," adds Cremin.
Dotmobi has the potential to solve this issue because it will make content easier for people to find and provide a guarantee that sites are mobile-friendly, which should, in turn, encourage brands to make more web content available for mobiles. At the same time, newer phones are being developed with better keyboards and bigger screens, which should also encourage more users to use the internet on the move.
It's early days. But, the fact that many brands have registered .mobi domains is encouraging, but there's no guarantee the domain will be a success.
As King points out, there are a number of top-level domain names that haven't succeeded in the past, and .com and .co.uk still remain the most popular.
"My personal opinion is that I would rather that technology re-rendered .com sites for mobile browsers than having a separate domain," says King.
But, he adds: "It's an encouraging sign and I don't want to be overly negative about it.
"I think it's very good that brands, which three years ago wouldn't even know they had to be in mobile, now realise that it's absolutely inevitable that they will be in mobile in some way, shape or form."
What is dotmobi?
Dotmobi was launched by mobile Top Level Domain Name Ltd (mTLD), a joint-venture company based in Ireland. It ensures that services and web sites are optimised for use on mobile devices. The firm gained approval from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for the '.mobi'-sponsored TLD in the second half of 2005. MTLD is backed by leading players such as Ericsson, Hutchison 3, the GSM Association, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung Electronics and Vodafone.
Brands that have registered dotmobi domains
EasyGroup, BBC, Virgin, BSkyB, Channel 5, Channel 4, ITN, Ticketmaster, News International, News Group Newspapers, Times Newspapers, Choice Hotels, Eidos, EMI, Fish4, Post Office, Royal Mail, George Wimpey UK, VNU, Haymarket Business Publications, Ziff Davis, Heathrow Express, HSBC, Land Rover, Liverpool FC, Marie Claire, Marks & Spencers, Norwich Union, Nominet UK, Yell, Whitbread, Interflora, Marriott, Hilton, Ikea, Jack Daniels, Johnson & Johnson, Nintendo, Nike, Parcelforce, Visa.