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View Full Version : Browsing The Internet On Your Smartphone


marlof
12-01-2004, 12:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.ppcw.net/?itemid=2140' target='_blank'>http://www.ppcw.net/?itemid=2140</a><br /><br /></div>On PPCW.net Dr. Wolfgang Irber has written a very interesting column on the browsing experience on mobile devices. He describes the problems he encounters (like sites not rendering well, those that do use hidden URLs or link to larger sites, the cost of mobile data usage which esp. in those countries where flat fee data access is a thing of the future is a *huge* issue, etc.). He also describes the different solutions websites find to deal with those problems, and although these specialized sites make things bearable, he is not sure if this is a good overall solution. His final conclusion is that he might be better off with a subnotebook in the end:<br /><br /><i>"The outlook for the PDA-friendly "mobile Internet on the go" appears to be mixed. At least, the evolutionary progress is on hold right now, or shall I call it consolidation? Or did the wireless carrier loose interest in the PDA-friendly web world? With respect to the number of sold Pocket PCs with GPRS modem, I wonder if they are missing something, or do I? If my neighbor would ask me if browsing the Internet on a PDA is good idea, frankly, I would tell him no, not for what he expects, except he needs access to a few specialized sites, than yes. No doubt, it is nice to have the possibility of always accessing the Internet, as long as you are willing to pay the much higher prize. But technological limitations may often block access to the "normal" websites for PDAs. I personally already think about getting a UMTS/GPRS card for my subnotebook in combination with a volume tariff. If you are actively browsing the Internet, you never know how much volume the next click is going to generate, with a time based tariff, you are safe with respect to the costs. And with a notebook, you always know that you can access the site of your desire."</i><br /><br />What do you think? Do you browse the net on your mobile device a lot? What is your personal experience with that? Do you have any suggestions on how to improve the mobile browsing experience?

Santa Fe
12-01-2004, 04:59 PM
"Browsing" is probably not the right description for me. It is much too painful. However for semi-quick access to useful information at specfic sites it is o.k. I look up cattle prices, grain prices, weather forecasts, sports scores, news headlines and flight information frequently when away from the PC. My use is highly personal and tuned to things I need or want to know "right now". But I'd not find the smartphone very good for general browsing around a cup at the local coffee shop.

By the way the Google cellphone search mentioned here awhile back is good for quick information searches.

Jerry Raia
12-01-2004, 06:36 PM
I would have to agree, wandering aimlessly around the internet on a smartphone is about the same as having your appendix removed with a warm spoon.

Mike Temporale
12-01-2004, 07:08 PM
The only pain I feel is in the speed. Ya sure, some sites just plain suck at formating for a mobile device, but that will change as we move forward and more and more people come on board. However, the incredible slowness felt while connecting and downloading a simple page is horrible.

encece
12-02-2004, 12:12 AM
I'm going to start looking up cattle and grain prices too! I have no reason other...but it sounds like fun! :lol:

I mostly stick with mobile sites as well. I hate it when I really NEED to read a post in this forum and have to wait for that page to load...I should turn off graphics first....but I never do.

Jerry Raia
12-02-2004, 12:42 AM
I think now that the smartphone craze is really getting started we will see more and more mobile web content.

Janak Parekh
12-02-2004, 10:33 PM
The only pain I feel is in the speed.
Especially PIE, which is achingly slow on my Smartphone. Opera is much much much better and (8O) I find that it's almost good enough for web surfing.

--janak

ARW
12-03-2004, 01:13 AM
I find that I only use PIE for a few select mobile designed sites. To try and use it for general surfing is too painful. It works for general sites, bit PIE is too slow for me to deal with. If I need to do any serious surfing I pull out my laptop and connect it to my Smartphone.