Wednesday, December 1, 2004
Browsing The Internet On Your Pocket PC
Posted by marlof in "THOUGHT" @ 04:00 AM
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:
"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."
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?
"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."
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?
