How do I detect mobile clients on my web server?

Question

When http request comes to my server, how do I detect if it is from iphone, android, or other devices?

Answer 1

You need to check the header of the HTTP request. You can find both the OS and the browser being used in the "User-Agent" field.

If you are using javascript then use the navigator object

navigator.userAgent

If you are using php then you can access the HTTP header

$userAgent = $_SERVER["HTTP_USER_AGENT"];

Answer 2

You can grab the User Agent. That tells what browser type it is (iphone, chrome, ie, anything)

To help you:

http://whatsmyuseragent.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_agent