Browsing The Internet On Your Pocket PC

[marlof]

<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?

[ipaq_wannabe]

i am in japan, and i browse the web a lot using my PPC - and it is not much of a hair-raising experience for me...

for one, mobile accesses here are on a flat-fee basis - use-all-you-can in speeds of either 32, 64, 128 kbps. well, for speeds higher than that, one would have to resort to packet-based rates which could get expensive.

as for me, i use a 6-months pre-paid service that allows me unlimited connection at 128kbps PLUS unlimited connection to FOUR of the country's major hotspot providers. aint it cool?

also, we the numerous sites specifically designed for cells here in japan (i-mode craze), it is but a simple step to use the browser's “signature” to access them - nicely formatted, simple, and fast!!!

-@PIE@Loox

[stevew]

I enjoy browsing the internet on my 2215. I pair it up with my Siemens 56 bluetooth phone and use my dial-up account that comes along with my home Bellsouth ADSL Fast Access account. No data charges that way just minutes which I have plenty of with a Cingular Rollover account. Almost all my surfing is on mobile friendly sites. There are plenty of them out there, enough to satisfy me.

[CEGiven]

I lug a laptop around with me everywhere I go, and have been doing so for several years (three generations of laptops). But about the only time I use it for web browsing is in a hotel or when in its docking station (one at home and one at work).

The PPC on the other hand is used a lot more than even I expected! At home it's easy and convenient when sitting in the living room or den to do a quick lookup. At work a quick VNC session allows me to remotely access my desktop. Outside these zones it's not as frequent due to the lack of free WiFi AP's, but when one's available it does get used.

What I use mostly is my Sprint PCS phone's Vision plan to access the internet. I've found sites to meet the most critical of needs. The phone is very, very slow but it does get the job done. I could/can/have connected the phone to the PPC using a special cable. But that inconvenience factor makes it a rare occurence. I'm more likely to find a WiFi hotspot than to dig out and connect the cable. But it's nice to have the option if an emergency does arise.

[bdegroodt]

I wouldn't say I use my PPC for browsing, but do connect to the internet for directions on a (unfortunately) too frequent basis. I only say unfortunately because it seems like when I need directions, a T1 to the back of the PPC wouldn't be fast enough. I don't worry about it otherwise. I'm especially fond of a few sites that make getting news and other useful information quick and easy.

I've always speculated that speed-to-user issue on the PPC isn't an issue with bandwidth, but rather the processor and RAM and their ability to quickly process the inbound information. I submit the speed difference (or lack of proportional difference) in displaying information downloaded via WiFi vs that downloaded by GPRS. There's nowhere near an equal increase in performance as the bandwidth differences might lead one to expect.

[Phillip Dyson]

I browse the internet on my PDA all the time. Today I tether it to my Audiovox smt5600.

The only frustrating thing is when my hp2200 runs out of memory and I have to soft reset.
That and the fact that its hard to do real work like making purchases.

Netfront is my friend.

[sub_tex]

I've been browsing the net on my various Treos (300/600) for over a year and have found the experience to be quite good actually. It's very dependant on which browser I use though.

PDA/cell phone friendly sites of course play best, but even "busy" sites like Wired scale down well thanks to CSS.

It is true, though, that you shouldn't go into it expecting to be viewing the web like you do on your desktop. in my experience, browsing on a pda is more info-centric and less browsing for fun.

I tend to focus on what i'm looking for and zone in on the text I'm reading on the small screen.

[SteveHoward999]

I use mine to browse regularly. Without Pocket IE Plus it is a pain. With PIE+ it is tolerable. Would be lots better with VGA or better screen, even allowing for PIE+ reflow mode.


I find using the PDA to browse slow and less rewarding compared to the laptop or PDA, but for true mobile use, in other words if NOT trying to replace the larger machines, it is a good tool provided you recognise the limitations - especially speed, formatting, and the fact that some web sites will automatically either kick you out "not supported" or give you a poor or badly-working site becuase you are not using IE6 or similar.


Wow - long sentence ... sorry!

[gmontielh]

I browse using the WiFi capability of a new PPC. Quite fast for checking e-mails and quick look at the news and some shopping. The websites I visit more or less accomodate to the display format allowed by PIE. However, some site are not fully accesible because of data encryption which I understand and really prefer to check those in a capable PC/laptop. But for those that are mostly accessible should display better as I find somehow cumbersome to to navigate as items seem to be "all over the place". I must say that in those sites "designed" for PPC the information is more simple and easy to read. You get right to the point without much of the bells and whistles. This should be a standard to follow in the web but I guess that will put a lot graphic designers out of work....

Something I would like to have available one day is the capability of a laptop in a PPC size and weight with the simplicity of use of a PPC (of course with BT/WiFi/Phone built in). With the technology miniaturization it seems we are heading fast towards the first one. I hope they keep it simple to use...

[JD Silver]

I have been browsing the Internet for the last few years using Thunderhawk. The latest version has significantly improved the experience and speed of access. Currently I use a converged device, the Samsung i700 PPC Phone Edition. On the road, I use 1xRTT with Telus Canada. At home, an SD wifi card speeds up the access.

Thunderhawk does a remarkable job rendering web pages on a QVGA device. It does have problems with complex pages that include a lot of Java etc, so I haven't been using it for online shopping or banking. Most web pages render rather well. Obiviously, VGA graphics would be better, but I am going to hold out for WM2005 before buying such a device.

Having "anytime/anywhere" access using 1xRTT is expensive (in Canada) but it sure is fun! When combined with a today add-in such as Journal Pro, and a news aggregator like News Break, you have remarkable mobile capabiliites. I use the WebIS @Mail program for access to all of my email accounts.

Hopefully the number wifi hotspots will increase, but they are not common in the Great White North, Edmonton. So for now, on the road, I must use the cell network. Opps, gotta go, here comes my bus stop!

JD

[alabij]

The browser on the PPC has always been categorized as an app for getting information on the go. Obviously it has the ability to funtion as a regular desktop browser but the display on the PPC limits that.

Yes! Pocket IE lacks features and certain capabilitie but for those who want information on the go it works fine. Now for those who want full blown desktop surfing experience need to look again.

Even with apps like Netfront, it is all about identifying crucial information not about experiencing the web the way it was meant to be.

IMO even the desktop browsers haven't fully martered the ability to portray rich web pages.

[bjornkeizers]

I do quite a lot of surfing on my Clie. Not only that, but I can even listen to internet radio, download the news, or grab a file from my network.

I'd say internet works quite good on a mobile device. The only problem is, most sites aren't set up for it. Sure, through some gimmicks I'm able to view just about everything except Flash pages, but it's not ideal.

[powder2000]

I've been using my ppc for browsing for two years. Ever since I could browse wireless, I have used my home computer merely as a proxy server or as an alternative to browsing on my ppc. I simply like to be able to sit, stand, lay or stand on my head and browse with my ppc. I think that more mainstream sites need to cut down on the clutter and make them more mobile friendly. Nothing is worse than trying to open a non-ppc formatted page and waiting hours for everything to load. I really need to get a vga ppc but have not been able to justify spending even $400 on a new dell.

[Ryan Joseph]

I browse on my PPC only like...every day! I use it constantly. The WiFi at school is great and I use the one at work to check email without taking up a work computer. Quite brilliant. :)

[jgalindo]

Nothing beats browsing the net while in Bed using my pocket pc, a laptop is just to big for a quick browse before I go to sleep or when I wake up!

8)

[buzzard]

I browse everyday on my PPC using Netfront with the home wi-fi and also use Thunderhawk if I connect to my cell phone with a cable. Using PDA sized news and sports sites make it a breeze but if I want to go to the full CNN, for example, that's not a problem either. I can check my corporate email website and can look at bank balances (easy when they're $0 :lol: ), credit card sites (never $0) and all transactions before I can even log into the laptop, so why bother.

[jgrnt1]

I browse with my iPAQ 4700 every day. I use it in landscape mode. I have narrowed the scrollbars with Tweaks2K2, so I can fit a little more on the screen. WM2003SE's three layouts work pretty well. I use the default for most of my browsing, though it still requires some sideways scrolling. The one column view fits everything on the screen, but some sites don't reflow very well. I'm not sure if this is PIE's problem, the sites, or both. I only use the desktop view when I want to get a closer look at a photo. I even use my PPC in the "reading room" at home all the time. Since most of the books I read are ebooks, I now have a choice of reading or surfing.

I tried surfing on my previous PPC, an iPAQ 2215, but I found the QVGA screen too limiting.

[jeffmd]

ive been browsing on my ppc for almost a year now, its a 2002 now upgraded to 2003. 2002's browser really sucked, so I used netfront in 2002 and IE in 2003. Browsing the web on these things is a bit of a trick. netfront required alot of switching between forced portrait view, and relaxed, depending on if the page used 3 verticle windows and such (nothing like reading english letters japanese-style verticle). I tried landscape mode for a while but at 320x240 res, it dosnt improve a whole lot view wise (same problems, you either can or cant view the page with forced wrap around) and you could run into problems if windows poped up, since the windows could end up falling off the screen (especialy the cancel/ok buttons). In 2003, I found ie handels wrapping sections of text so that you can read it without to much scrolling left and right alot better, but its no pleasure for sure. How ever when you are far away from your pc, its a whole lot better then nothing.

I notice quite a few people here like to use it for "quick lookups" at home, Id like to beg to differ. First, usualy atleast one of my PCs is on when im home/awake (bit torrent, video editing, what ever), and if I need to do a quick lookup, it usualy requires a google search. I can search google alot quicker and more efficently with the speed and multiple window support of firefox then I can on my pocket pc. ;)

[ctmagnus]

I do it all the time.

One thing that could (should/would) make it a more pleasant experience is a mandate in the next CSS (or similar) spec that requires different stylesheets for different display types, even down to SPOT watch-type devices. I just hope the CSS gods consider this.

[gry]

I browse the Net on my OQO now to any site I want, so no more compromises with PIE, MultiIE, or FTxpbrowse.

Any site.

I understand the author's annoyance.

[MikeUnwired]

I don't browse the net on my hx4700 every single day, but I do it every once in a while. Some of the sites I go to regularly have mobile options, so I get a pretty good experience on those -- better with the crisper VGA quality screen.

I used a Treo 600 for a year and have to say the 160 x160 screen was really limiting. I moved to the PPC for the larger screen real estate and multi-tasking capabilities and to the hx4700 for the capability of 640 x 480 (with add-on software). Browsing and spreadsheets with the two things I had in mind in all that transition work.

If I didn't have an all-you-can-eat data plan (Cingular), I wouldn't do nearly as much browsing as I do -- I'm cheap that way. :D

[MitchellO]

I tried this for the first time today, and I am really impressed.

It is great to be able to check email anywhere, but I think I will leave web surfing to WiFi at home/hotspots. To expensive for me.

But for email (GMail on my PPC with POP3!!!!), is is fantastic. Replying on the keyboard in my 4350 is great, and MSN works perfectly too (plenty fast over GPRS).

[Ryan Joseph]

I tried this for the first time today, and I am really impressed.

Completely off topic (I seem to be good at that), but I like your Avatar, Mitchell. Voyager was the best series in my opinion.

[MitchellO]

Thanks! I completely agree. TNG, DS9 and the new Enterprise are good, but Voyager was the best. Different every episode!

[maikii]

I browse the internet on my PDA all the time. Today I tether it to my Audiovox smt5600.

.

I know this is an old post, but in case you are still reading, could you please post your settings on the IPAQ?

As I wrote in a different thread, I also have an IPAQ 2210, and I sometimes connect it to the Internet via Bluetooth tethering to my Audiovox SMT5600. (T-Mobile T-Zones. GPRS).

Lately I cannot get it to work at all. No connection at all. I can connect to the Internet directly with the phone, or my laptop tethered to the phone, but not with my IPAQ tethered to the phone. I have tinkered a lot with the settings, but cannot get it to work again.

Can anyone help with this?