Web Browsing on Mobile Phones

The increasing importance of the Internet means that a person should be able to access Web services also when not sitting in front of a computer. Technically, it has been possible to access the Internet on a mobile phone since mid-1990''s, but the mobile browsing experience has often been cumbersome for ordinary people. Understanding the user needs in different use contexts is the key in improving the user experience and thereby popularizing device independent access to Internet. In her dissertation research, Virpi Roto has interviewed users of mobile browsers in several countries, and identified characteristics that should be taken into consideration in order to improve the mobile browsing user experience. In addition to user and use context, all the system components should be taken into account: device, browser, network infrastructure, and web site. A partial outcome of the research is a visualization method called Minimap, which gathered publicity as the first practical way to view large Web pages on a mobile phone. The method has been used in Nokia S60 mobile phones since 2006.