WOF: Do you browse the web with your phone?

[Jos]

[Weekend Open Forum] In the past few years we've seen a number of smartphones and mobile operating systems burst onto the scene and drive mobile Internet usage through the roof. It's difficult to get reliable statistics, as numbers tend to vary significantly depending on whom you ask, but some estimates even claim the number of mobile Internet users will be higher than that of users browsing the web via a desktop computer by the year 2014.

Today the majority of mobile Internet consumption comes from users of iOS, Android or BlackBerry devices splitting their time between emails, browsing, and social networks. The benefits of mobile browsing are pretty obvious: you can access information anywhere at any time. But there are also a few shortcomings like carriers' expensive data plans and their all-too-common usage caps. Plus, you can't beat the comfort of surfing the web at home on a larger screen.

Today we want to know about your mobile browsing habits. Do you use your phone to get online? How often? We've attached a simple poll after the break, but if you are a regular mobile Internet user we'd love to hear what type of activity you are using it for and what your most-frequented destinations are. Discuss.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/40495-wof-do-you-browse-the-web-with-your-phone.html

 

[TomSEA]

Nope. I have the most basic of pre-paid phones. I spend enough time sitting on computers and looking at the net without doing it from a phone too.

 

[mrtraver]

Sometimes i'll check the weather or facebook, or go to m.newegg.com to compare prices to something in walmart or best buy, and occasioanlly read a news story, but i don't use it a lot for any of those. I don't have a smart phone, though, so the browsing experience is less than ideal even for a phone.

 

[Guest]

I dont have a cell phone, im broke.

 

[gwailo247]

If I'm not around the computer, I use the phone.

 

[Tekkaraiden]

No I'm far too cheap to pay to access the web on my cell phone.

 

[spikester48661]

my pc is for the web not my cell phone

 

[Cueto_99]

They block internet access at my office, where I spend most of my day, we only have access during lunch time... so, I had to get an iphone to continue reading techspot news!!

 

[HaMsTeYr]

Yep, I browse using my Sony Ericsson W705 Most of the time using Wi-Fi instead. Thats what MCDonalds is for lol

 

[Ritwik7]

I occasionally browse Facebook, Gmail or Techspot on my HTC Wildfire when I don't have access to my PC.

 

[Jesse]

I use my iphone whenever I need to look at something at blocked site while I'm at work.

 

[Midgetmax]

All the time! I'm posting this from my moto droid1.

 

[Tanstar]

I never browse the web from my phone (though I do sometimes txt Google) so I hate that I have to pay an extra $10-$30 a month to get a great phone! I could enjoy a Moto Droid X just fine without internet access (or just using the net when connected via WiFi. I could watch TV shows transfered from my computer, listen to the radio, and play games; never needing that net connection I'd still have to pay $30 a month for

 

[Lokalaskurar]

Browsing the web with my PC is nearly free. Browsing the web with cell phones around here costs a fortune! I'd rather use a portable notebook using a wireless modem than paying loads of cash only to realize that most pages takes forever to load, thus costs thereafter.

 

[treeski]

I currently don't have a phone/data plan for even basic web browsing, so the answer is no. I do however plan on having a phone/data plan for web browsing by the end of the year.

 

[Guest]

I have a good plan with softbank in Japan. About 5000 yen a month for all the data you can download so I use the net on my iphone a lot especially at work where I don't have free internet access. Mostly for uni study, Oz and tech news or weather. I am using Mini Opera. Its better than safari but has some glitches. When my contract runs out in 8 months I will change to an Android phone asap. I couldn't get an Android 1.5 years ago in Japan so had to settle for an iphone. Good experience to know not to get apple anything again. Too restricting.

 

[Guest]

Sometimes in my Samsung i8910HD = opera browser (no flash sigh)
no 4G in Israel no set dates

 

[yukka]

Yes I do all the time really. I have an iPhone and we have wireless everywhere on campus so I use it quite a bit. Also in bed sometimes when I can't be arsed to turn on the PC. Some things bug me about it though - mainly to do with the crappy on screen keyboard. Too many sites do not remember login details in mobile safari so that stops me posting on forums using it unless I REALLY want to enter my username and password again again.

I do not use it on 3G or GPRS tho. Only wireless is fast enough to make it bearable.

 

[twojpodlysyn]

i use about once a day Opera on my nokia E71

 

[seefizzle]

I do sometimes. But never for any sort of extended browsing/reading session. It's usually to find one specific piece of information I'm looking for. The internet on my phone isn't fast enough, the screen isn't big enough, and it tends to be just wonky. This is unacceptable.

To google who says that cell phones will take over computers in 5 years... not until you can fold out a full size keyboard, mouse, and monitor from them all transformers style.

 

[gobbybobby]

I use my Touch 2 windows phone to browse the web all the time. Both in my house over wifi and out and about using mobile internet. Navigate to this website sometimes via mopbile web as well, along with checking email, news and watching youtube videos. Yesterday I followed by ttrip to London using google maps and the phones inbuilt sat-nav. (kinda classes as Mobile web use right!)

Some say Win mob sucks, i have no beef with it, does what I want it to. battery life on the touch 2 a bit crap when using Net and Sat nav tho.

 

[Guest]

Killing time in school has never been easier!

 

[gobbybobby]

@ Guest, Yea I do that at college now they blocked FB and Twitter.

 

[LNCPapa]

I do often - especially if it's late and I forget to do something on one of my machines, I'll remote control a machine from my phone and do it from bed.

 

[pretzelwagon]

If I'm not near my computer(s), I'll get on my phone. Especially useful for price-matching in stores.