Apple hires...

Mobile phones offer faster processors, larger screens and smoother interfaces - just how far we are from experiencing a full desktop internet experience on our mobile?

Internet on mobile was first brought to handsets in 1999 and although very basic with few websites supporting the basic HTML markup, it was sufficiant for most users who just wanted to check the latest headlines or sports scores on the move.

In 2002, WAP 2.0 was introduced and with the support of XHTML, it can display almost all web pages available on a PC. However, there are still a number of problems with internet on the move that deter people from accessing the net on their mobile.

What users want now

Jay Sullivan, head of mobile at Mozilla, says that people want to get to their favourite websites and applications quickly and easily. They want sites to load fast and be responsive and secure.

However, they are deterred because mobiles aren't as user friendly as a PC.

"It's much harder to type on a mobile phone," Sullivan explained. "Entering URLs, user names and passwords can be challenging enough that [it] presents a big barrier for lots of people."

Another issue he said, is that many mobile browsers don't render the web very well.

One of the biggest barriers is that there's still confusion and unpredictability about cost, especially data pricing plans because they are still based upon the number of bytes consumed and most people do not know how many bytes a given site will use.

Julie Sajnani, communications manager at Opera, agreed that the mobile browsing experience is far from perfect.

"Currently, multi-tasking between applications is cumbersome. There are a number of hardware limitations and RAM, processor and network limitations may cause certain discomforts."

Mobile phones, even smartphones, aren't adapted well enough to run multiple applications at once. Although a device my feature 288MB RAM, that's nothing compared to even a basic netbook which can feature up to 1GB of RAM, sometimes more.

What's next

However, Sullivan thinks there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

"On mobile, many of the pieces are falling into place to make these wants possible, including faster mobile networks, improved handset hardware, and more polished, fluid, interactive touch-screens,"

Networks are certainly becoming faster across all operators. Although the current highest standard for internet speeds is 7.2Mbps, operators are already trialling higher speeds. O2 Germany has trialled 28Mbps, Vodafone 16Mbps and Orange 20Mbps.

Most operators offer a £7.50 monthly charge on top of your usual tariff for 'unlimited' (fair usage) data, although Orange does charge £5 for adding a 500MB data package to any tariff.

On a business tariff, you can expect to pay around £25 for a voice, text, unlimited internet and email plan.

However, operators need to make it clear exactly how much data is in 'real' terms so customers don't exceed their allowance and aren't lumped with a huge bill at the end of it.

There's also still a way to go before we'll see the software functionality of mobile phones developing enough to provide a better browsing experience. Useful tools such as the ability to swap between tabs quickly and copy and paste from one web page to another are still to be addressed.

Browser wars go mobile

However, browser developers are now realising that to be effective in the mobile space, they need to make mobile applications as similar to a desktop experience as possible.

For example, Mozilla's new mobile Firefox browser (currently codenamed Fennec) uses the same core browsing engine as Firefox, which means it will have better compatibility with websites because most web developers already build and test for Firefox. It will also have the latest JavaScript technology, which helps make websites and applications faster and more responsive.

Mobile browsers work by compressing the data that is sent to your phone, usually on the browser developer's servers.

Opera's compression technology, for example, plays a central role in overall web browsing effectiveness. Opera Mini compresses traffic by up to 90 per cent, without removing or altering website content.

"This results in the fastest and most robust experience possible, regardless of network constraints," explained Sajnani.

Similarly, Opera Turbo is a cross-platform solution, available for desktop computers, mobile phones, and other internet-enabled devices. By compressing network traffic by up to 80 per cent, Opera Turbo helps to enable the sustainability and scalability of networks.

"Opera Turbo ensures a superior browsing experience and maximizes hardware capabilities by processing web pages on server-side," Sajnani added.

As more and more finger-operated touchscreen devices enter the market, technology is developed to make full use of this and eradicate the problems of previous 'stylus only' interfaces.

Sullivan explained: "We're making it easier [at Mozilla] to navigate by including a version of our Smart URL Bar that gets people to their favourite web sites in one or two keystrokes. We're also working on synchronising your browsing history, bookmarks and password manager with your PC so that your mobile browsing experience can take advantage of all you've done at your PC."

Opera has also introduced a touchscreen interface designed to take the stress out of browsing the internet on mobiles.

"Opera Fingertouch was designed to make interacting with the navigating Web pages, selecting links, forms, and any other web element, much easier without needing a stylus."

However, much of the struggle with making mobile web browsing as painfree as PC surfing is co-operation from developers to create more mobile-friendly websites.

Mozilla is exposing the capabilities of the mobile device to web developers so that they can create new types of sites that take into account the user's location, enable the use of the built-in camera among other phone features, all using simple JavaScript code.

"This is the essence of Mozilla - we're a global community dedicated to building free, open source products and technologies that improve the online experience for people everywhere," said Sullivan.

Not just smartphones

Smartphones may be more prepared for web browsing than non-smartphones, but getting the internet on the move is becoming easier for those with java-based devices to.

Opera has a series of innovations created to tackle such issues. For example, Opera has developed Small Screen Rendering that reformats a page to fit in one column, eliminating the need for horizontal scrolling. In addition, innovations such as Opera Zoom allow users to pan and zoom into their desired content in just a few clicks.

Widgets are also becoming more popular for those without full browser functionality. They allow you to view snippets of information using mini-applications such as stock markets, news headlines and weather information.

"Opera Widgets make multi-tasking on a handset more efficient by cutting through the clutter of the Web to get to the information users most want. Users are able to run Opera Widgets on their idle screen and use multiple applications without needing to switch," explained Sajnani.

Making accessing email on mobile is certainly an issued that needs to be addressed by more than one aspect of the mobile phone industry. Mobile manufacturers need to improve the multitasking and memory issues often associated with running a powerful application such as a 'PC-experience web browser'. Operators need to explain to customers the real-life data download cost, while browser developers must find a way to bring the factors together and produce a web platform that is comparable to a desktop experience.