When Will Mobile Internet Reach Web 2.0 Performances?

Mobile Internet has developed at a fast pace in the last years. Still, there is a long way to go for making mobile wireless technology actually be capable of competing with the Web 2.0 of PCs.

The need for high Internet performances has made itself clear especially in the case of business people that need fast access to a large amount of information. Cellulars come with a great advantage, that of mobility. Still, the Internet speed often proves to be disappointing, as well as the limited number of options that are available.

"It's really still wireless Web 0.5" said Neil Edwards, chief executive of dotMobi in Dublin, Ireland. "Most people would say the mobile Web is still in its infancy", he observed. The fact that most mobile Internet activity currently resumes to downloading ringtones, wallpapers, games and finding restaurant addresses shows that there is still a long way to go until mobile Internet services will be fully satisfying. That would actually mean an evolution towards the shape of PC Internet, with considerably high transfer rates.

Mobile phones bring several disadvantages through their nature. The display screen is small, which forces web pages to simplify their content as to make information intelligible for the user. Moreover, transfer rates are considerably low. Still, cell phones bring two great advantages that make it a promising Internet environment: mobility and compactness.

Mobile service providers are making great efforts in order to break through the limits that are currently being set. "We are opening up the door slowly, and we're looking at (Web) browsers that support more capabilities", said Lee Daniels, Verizon's vice president of wireless data technology.

The future of mobile Internet will also bring viral video and applications that people will want to share. Web 2.0 is especially appreciated by younger users, while only 2-3 percent of all mobile phone users are interested in social networking, podcasting, RSS feeds and user-generated content.