This page is simply a mini directory of links to mobile friendly sites. My only qualifications are sites that load quickly and aren't filled with a lot of bloat. These are mostly simple sites but offer useful features.
Online Reference
OneLook Dictionary - A very simple page that loads quickly. Basic definitions and related words plus a meta search of other online dictionaries.
OneLook Thesaurus and Reverse Dictionary - Synonyms, antonyms, and look up a word by its meaning. Fast and simple like its sister site.
Search, Email, Maps and Directories
Search, Email, Maps and Directories
DuckDuckGo Lite - Even faster version of the privacy conscious search engine..
Google Maps Lite - A lot lighter version of their regular maps service.
Yandex Mail - I don't have an email account with them so I can't say what their online email is like, but the sign in page is simple and loads in a snap.
MobiLinks Directory - A mobile optimized directory of mobile sites and mobile friendly sites.
News (Text Only)
Left or right, domestic or international, news sites are purely capitalist in their bloat and being loaded with ads (good gawd put the news ahead of the effing greed). Here are some text-only news sites where you can get the news and nothing but the news.. so help ya gawd.
CNN - Lite version of the website that can be read on any device. Fast!
NPR - Text only version of their site. Covers news, arts & life, and music.
News and Opinion
The Intercept - Fearless, adversarial journalism with a focus on civil liberties, injustice and politics. Not the fastest of sites but there is no advertising as they are a non-profit funded by donations.
The Conversation - Online academic and journalistic magazine cutting across various topics including arts, culture, environment, politics and more. Different editions by country/region/continent.
Fight Back! - News and views from the people's struggle. Journalism standing up for working class and low income folks. Fast mobile site. No ads.
Inequality - Studies and news on social and economic inequality. Could use a friendlier site design but interesting stuff and no ads.
National Security
National Security Archive - Leading investigator of national security using the Freedom of Information Act. Published documents, news and commentary. A bit slow, but vital. No ads.
Films and Filmmakers
Films for Action - Filmmakers for social change. Over 4500 films and documentaries from filmmakers exploring social issues on a global scale. Nice rendering to mobile. No ads.
Movie Reviews
The Movie Critic Next Door - A clean looking site without ads. Prolific and popular reviewer of indie films.
Entertainment News
Cele|bitchy - The poor man's TMZ. Celebrity news, gossip and trending news with a liberal slant. Fast loading clean site, especially if you block the ads. 4 ads.
WeSmirch - Content aggregator. Pulls news from various entertainment websites. Quick summaries or click on the stories to go to the websites. Quick to load and no ads.
Old Time Radio (OTR)
ABN Old-Time Radio Antioch - 24 hours of streaming old-time radio programming. Mystery, horror, westerns, sci-fi, comedy and more. A full schedule is available to view in case you want to tune in at a particular time. Mobile site defaults to the player while the desktop site has a link to the web player in the left sidebar, above the old-time radio. No ads.
Internet Archive OTR - If you would prefer to find old-time radio shows and listen to them by single episode, the Internet Archive is the best source as most of them are in the public domain. You can stream episodes or download them in different audio formats. No ads.
Converters, Time and Weather.
CalcNexus - Free online calculators and converters for mobile phones. No ads.
Every Time Zone - Might take a few seconds to adapt to your browser window but it's a neat, colorful and interactive time zone slider clock. May need to pinch or zoom. No ads.
National Weather Service - Weather for the United States. No ads.
Hong Kong Observatory - Hong Kong weather and appears to cover some international locations too. No ads.
Fun Stuff
Horoscope.mobi - A simple and free daily horoscope. Just click on your sign to get yours. Fast too. No ads.
Tarot Reading - Ask a question and get a 3 card Tarot spread. Fast site specifically for mobile devices. No ads.
LabRat Web Games - Though designed for mobiles these are free games you can play online on a phone or desktop. No downloading necessary; play them in your browser. Completely free to play and no ads.
Online Mobile Games - Sims style strategy games. Be a farmer planting and raising crops, build your business empire on the planet Mars, build your own airport and more. No downloading; play in your browser on any device. No ads.
5ives - A simple Wordpress blog that loads quickly. A weird premise; the author makes humorous lists of 5 things, and has lots of lists. No ads.
Free Stuff
Both of these sites have ads but they offer very valuable free resources. They are among my most visited sites and I do use an ad blocker. I would offer an alternative that has no ads but no such alternative exists.
FontSpace - 1000s of free fonts and mobile friendly. The only free font site, that I've found, that re-sizes properly for mobile devices and is fast to load. 3 ads.
OpenClipart - 1000s of completely free to use, for any purpose, public domain clip art. Downloadable in various sizes as PNG images. 1 ad.
Mobile Versions of Popular Sites
If you're on a phone you'll usually be redirected to the mobile version of the site, but on a tablet or HD phone you could end up with the regular site which is much more time consuming and more likely to freeze your browser. This also comes in handy for desktop and laptop users who may have a poor connection, an older computer and/or browser. Mobile sites load faster and don't hog your bandwidth as much when idle and can provide a way for you to use the internet if you find yourself with limited access.
Twitter Mobile
Facebook Mobile
Wikipedia Mobile
Amazon Mobile
IMDb Mobile
MobiLinks Directory - A mobile optimized directory of mobile sites and mobile friendly sites.
News (Text Only)
Left or right, domestic or international, news sites are purely capitalist in their bloat and being loaded with ads (good gawd put the news ahead of the effing greed). Here are some text-only news sites where you can get the news and nothing but the news.. so help ya gawd.
CNN - Lite version of the website that can be read on any device. Fast!
NPR - Text only version of their site. Covers news, arts & life, and music.
News and Opinion
The Intercept - Fearless, adversarial journalism with a focus on civil liberties, injustice and politics. Not the fastest of sites but there is no advertising as they are a non-profit funded by donations.
The Conversation - Online academic and journalistic magazine cutting across various topics including arts, culture, environment, politics and more. Different editions by country/region/continent.
Fight Back! - News and views from the people's struggle. Journalism standing up for working class and low income folks. Fast mobile site. No ads.
Inequality - Studies and news on social and economic inequality. Could use a friendlier site design but interesting stuff and no ads.
National Security
National Security Archive - Leading investigator of national security using the Freedom of Information Act. Published documents, news and commentary. A bit slow, but vital. No ads.
Films and Filmmakers
Films for Action - Filmmakers for social change. Over 4500 films and documentaries from filmmakers exploring social issues on a global scale. Nice rendering to mobile. No ads.
Movie Reviews
The Movie Critic Next Door - A clean looking site without ads. Prolific and popular reviewer of indie films.
Entertainment News
Cele|bitchy - The poor man's TMZ. Celebrity news, gossip and trending news with a liberal slant. Fast loading clean site, especially if you block the ads. 4 ads.
WeSmirch - Content aggregator. Pulls news from various entertainment websites. Quick summaries or click on the stories to go to the websites. Quick to load and no ads.
Old Time Radio (OTR)
ABN Old-Time Radio Antioch - 24 hours of streaming old-time radio programming. Mystery, horror, westerns, sci-fi, comedy and more. A full schedule is available to view in case you want to tune in at a particular time. Mobile site defaults to the player while the desktop site has a link to the web player in the left sidebar, above the old-time radio. No ads.
Internet Archive OTR - If you would prefer to find old-time radio shows and listen to them by single episode, the Internet Archive is the best source as most of them are in the public domain. You can stream episodes or download them in different audio formats. No ads.
Converters, Time and Weather.
CalcNexus - Free online calculators and converters for mobile phones. No ads.
Every Time Zone - Might take a few seconds to adapt to your browser window but it's a neat, colorful and interactive time zone slider clock. May need to pinch or zoom. No ads.
National Weather Service - Weather for the United States. No ads.
Hong Kong Observatory - Hong Kong weather and appears to cover some international locations too. No ads.
Fun Stuff
Horoscope.mobi - A simple and free daily horoscope. Just click on your sign to get yours. Fast too. No ads.
Tarot Reading - Ask a question and get a 3 card Tarot spread. Fast site specifically for mobile devices. No ads.
LabRat Web Games - Though designed for mobiles these are free games you can play online on a phone or desktop. No downloading necessary; play them in your browser. Completely free to play and no ads.
Online Mobile Games - Sims style strategy games. Be a farmer planting and raising crops, build your business empire on the planet Mars, build your own airport and more. No downloading; play in your browser on any device. No ads.
5ives - A simple Wordpress blog that loads quickly. A weird premise; the author makes humorous lists of 5 things, and has lots of lists. No ads.
Free Stuff
Both of these sites have ads but they offer very valuable free resources. They are among my most visited sites and I do use an ad blocker. I would offer an alternative that has no ads but no such alternative exists.
FontSpace - 1000s of free fonts and mobile friendly. The only free font site, that I've found, that re-sizes properly for mobile devices and is fast to load. 3 ads.
OpenClipart - 1000s of completely free to use, for any purpose, public domain clip art. Downloadable in various sizes as PNG images. 1 ad.
Mobile Versions of Popular Sites
If you're on a phone you'll usually be redirected to the mobile version of the site, but on a tablet or HD phone you could end up with the regular site which is much more time consuming and more likely to freeze your browser. This also comes in handy for desktop and laptop users who may have a poor connection, an older computer and/or browser. Mobile sites load faster and don't hog your bandwidth as much when idle and can provide a way for you to use the internet if you find yourself with limited access.
Twitter Mobile
Facebook Mobile
Wikipedia Mobile
Amazon Mobile
IMDb Mobile
