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Felt Bicycles Adds Mobile Website, Gets Twitter All a-Flutter

felt mobile iPhone app
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felt mobile iPhone app

If you’re a Twitter freak, you’ve likely already caught wind of this. Rather than go the app route like Rapha, HED, Gates and so many others, Felt has just launched a mobile version of their website fine tuned for Android devices and the iPhone and iPad. In addition to viewing all the models, frames and parts, it’ll use your location to find the nearest Felt dealer and map you all the way there.

Press Release after the break…

PRESS RELEASE: Felt Bicycles is pleased to announce the launch of its mobile version website at feltbicycles.com. This new mobile version is currently live and has been tailored for modern mobile phones and tablets including the iPhone, iPad, Android and most other mobile platforms.

Features on Felt’s new mobile-optimized site include the ability to view all products—bicycles, frames, parts and clothing—and their specifications; switch between color options; zoom in or out; swipe through product families; and even make purchases* using Felt’s online store. To complement the product menu, users can also geo-locate a Felt dealer using the simple, intuitive mobile-specific Dealer Search function.

Operational highlights include an auto-detector on Felt’s global landing page, which recognizes mobile users and offers the option of bookmarking Felt’s website to the device home screen with an icon that functions like any installed app. Once logged on, the user has the choice of selecting USA or International product menus. Also present on the new mobile site are icons and links to Felt’s other online destinations including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Felt’s blog and more.

“A mobile version of our site is something we had discussed early in our 2012 planning. At the time, even our internal habits were a clear indicator of the shift to mobile online usage and interaction,” says Doug Martin, Felt’s Market Director. “Especially in cycling, which is such a technology-driven activity and demographic, having the ability to view, find and engage with our products and brand while on the move is something we believe our customers will find both useful and enjoying.”

To find out more, just log on to feltbicycles.com from any mobile device.

* (limited to select products and markets)

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Tom
Tom
12 years ago

Is a bike company creating a simplified version of their website for display on mobile devices that ground breaking that it is news-worthy? Seems weak. Glorified favicon on your home screen? “Rather than go the app route like Rapha”… Rapha didn’t create an app to browse their existing website, they create an app that has a function beyond their website for organizing rides. Way to compare apples to oranges.

Bikefreak
Bikefreak
12 years ago

@Tom completely agree… not exactly ground breaking from Felt! Rapha’s app however hits the mark.

Rick Vosper
Rick Vosper
12 years ago

While I appreciate Tom’s point about apps and functionality, the real question is how much more traffic Felt will get from creating a mobile-friendly site. That’s a tough call, because they way people use mobile is very much in flux.

Even for things we’d rather see up big– pictures of bikes you might want to buy, for instance– users are increasingly doing their initial investigation as soon as they think of it, and possibly coming back later if they like what they see. To that extent, a mobile-optimized site gives Felt a leg up on the competition and is therefore newsworthy.

But the larger question of approach is even more interesting. By bundling their functionality with something else in app form, Rapha has created value outside their brand and product offering…something very rare for any bike company. It’s also a lot more expensive to do than mobile optimization.

So which one’s the best approach? Darned if I know. But it’ll be an interesting process to watch.

For me as a marketer, getting more eyeballs to my site will always be Job #1, so I’d spend $ on mobile-friendly before I’d do app dev.

PS: My own site for Airborne is not yet optimized for mobile.

Johan
Johan
12 years ago

Why did they bother – they should have made their main website responsive to adapt to screen size. It would have provided a better and faster experience than using jQuery mobile.

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