User Experience of Mobile Internet - Human-Computer Interaction and Innovation in Handheld, Mobile and Wearable Technologies - page 179

ceived higher ease of use of the services than other
users. Their results show that the most important
factor in increasing consumer behavioral intention
to use 3G mobile value-added services was atti-
tude, followed by perceived ease of use, perceived
costs and perceived usefulness. Perceived useful-
ness had the strongest effect on attitude. Lopez-
Nicolas et al. (2008) have studied user acceptance
of mobile services in the Netherlands. They also
found that innovative people have a more positive
perception of usefulness and are more likely to
start using advanced services. Their results show
that social factors exert an important influence
on people's decision to adopt advanced mobile
services. The opinions of friends and relatives
had a significant impact, and perceived benefits
were related to flexibility and status.
Koivumäki et al. (2008) found that the dura-
tion of service usage did not affect consumer
perceptions of mobile services but familiarity
with the device and user skills had an impact on
the perceptions of the services. The tolerance
of service imperfections decreased with device
familiarity, i.e. people who were familiar with
mobile devices were more demanding of the
services. Koivumäki et al. (2008) emphasize the
importance of enhancing the technology skills of
the general public and potential mobile service
users. They claim that skills can be enhanced by
tutoring workshops, easily accessible user aids
and providing hands-on user guidance in situa-
tions where new mobile phones are purchased.
Lee et al. (2007) indicate four factors in the
relationship between the user's cultural profiles
and post-adoption beliefs about the mobile Inter-
net. They concluded that uncertainty avoidance,
individualism, contextuality, and time perception
have a significant influence on the user's percep-
tions of mobile Internet services and that the cul-
tural characteristics of users have a strong effect
on how services are adopted and used later on.
Fang et al. (2006) present a study of task
technology fit by classifying the effects of task
type on wireless technology acceptance. They

argue that in the mobile context, when a user is
performing general tasks, perceived usefulness
and perceived ease of use are emphasized, but
when s(he) is playing games, perceived playful-
ness is important. Furthermore, when the task is
transactional, perceived usefulness and perceived
security are emphasized.
The mobile Internet is increasingly being
used also in work-related services. The users
may be of very varying ages, educational levels
and technology-adaptation readiness. Their usage
motivation may not always be strong, as it is often
for the company's benefit - and not necessarily
that of the individual worker - that the mobile
service is taken into efficient usage (Väänänen-
Vainio-Mattila et al., 2007).

Contexts of Use

Mobile Internet usage takes place in different
places and even while on the move. The context
of use influences both the user's intrinsic state
and the way the system may work and can be
interacted with. The design for different contexts
of use should take into account not only the physi-
cal context (lighting, temperature, unstable usage
positions, noise levels, etc.) and environmental
factors (moving surroundings, network coverage,
technology compatibility, etc.) but also the social
context, i.e. people around the user and other,
wirelessly connected people (Väänänen-Vainio-
Mattila & Ruuska, 2000).
The context of use includes also temporal and
activity-related dimensions (Maehr, 2007). The
temporal context denotes how important time
is for the user at that moment. The user may be
highly stressed as the goal of going online is to
find time-critical information such as the fastest
connection to some place. In contrast, in some
other situations the mobile Internet may provide
entertainment to kill time. In terms of activity,
the browsing may take place as a secondary task
when the user's main attention is on some other
primary task, e.g. walking downtown.