Best way to redirect single php page for mobile devices with PHP/Javascript

Question

I have a PHP google map application that I want to make visible to users when they are using a desktop but redirect to another PHP page if the visitor is using a mobile device. I know there are numerous ways to do this from OS to browser type detection but was wondering if someone could provide some code they feel is the best way to handle this and it being the most consistent?

Answer 1

If you don't want to use javascript, you can handle it via php. Take a look at this lib: http://code.google.com/p/php-mobile-detect/. And then you could do something like:

<?php
include 'Mobile_Detect.php';
$detect = new Mobile_Detect();

if ($detect->isMobile()) {
    header('Location: yourpage.php');
    exit(0);
}

Answer 2

Disclaimer: I know this regex is not perfect, so don't down vote just for that :)

Just wanted to share these few points.

1. Some servers have $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'] as not set, so make sure to check if empty first
2. Readability is important to us, so we are using this instead of others complex regex. Just add other devices as you see fit.

Here is the code we use:

<?php
if(! empty($_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'])){
    $useragent = $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'];
    if( preg_match('@(iPad|iPod|iPhone|Android|BlackBerry|SymbianOS|SCH-M\d+|Opera Mini|Windows CE|Nokia|SonyEricsson|webOS|PalmOS)@', $useragent) ){
        header('Location: ./mobile/');
    }
}
?>