To say we are fast approaching 2010, you might think that people accessing the Internet on their mobile phones would be a worldwide phenomenon. However, it seems the popularity isn’t increasing as rapidly as you might expect, with a recent report suggesting that only 24% of Europeans regularly access the internet on their mobile phones.
Forrester Research has found that mobile internet use has increased over the past year, but this is only a rise of 4%. With new high-tech phones arriving on the market each month, it is interesting to note that people are still turning to their trusty laptop or desktop to access the internet and the increase in mobile web is still a relatively slow idea to catch on. Some might even say it’s not really taking off…
Perhaps this is due to the majority of people focusing on making calls with their phone as opposed to accessing the web on it. It could also be due to the security risk – there is still a very grey area when it comes to mobile web security and most people access the internet via their laptop on the train etc. Another possible reason as to why there is a very slow increase in the mobile web popularity could also be due to the fact the screen is so small. If you’re trying to read some important information and need to see the full screen properly, a mobile phone is not the best apparatus to use. Small, fiddly and unreliable, accessing the web via the mobile phone isn’t the ideal solution for everyone and many feel it never will be.
According to Forester Research, some 35% of iPhone users and 30% of Smartphone users regularly access the internet. However, we don’t know for how long they access the internet for – they could be trying it and give up after a minute or so because they get so frustrated with it! In addition to this, it is interesting to note that if any mobile user is going to access the internet you would expect it to be with the iPhone or Smartphone; two phones built around the basic premise of offering multi-functional web capabilities. But what of these results? To say that only 30-35% of owners regularly access the internet leaves you wondering what the other 65-70% do with these phones! Perhaps they have realised its far too much hassle than its worth.
It is fair to say that the mobile web is gaining momentum, but not as quickly as many of us might have predicted…
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