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(how well does it meet users needs), effort expec-
tancy (how much effort users thought would be
required to learn it), and social influence (from
users' friends and colleagues).
Kaikkonen (2008) looked at the question of
the use of full Web sites versus sites tailored for
use in the mobile environment between Asia and
the U.S./Europe. She found that the Asian use of
the mobile Web could be characterized as “mass
market,” whereas the U.S. and Europe werestill
early adopters, which leads to different usage
patterns. Asian users often used tailored operator
portals, whereas European and American users
were more likely to use full Web sites and new
gadgets. But in general, her findings about contexts
and patterns of use are consistent with those found
in the study reported here. Schmiedl, Seidl, and
Temper (2009) confirmed Kaikkonen's findings
that some user populations benefit from more
mobile-tailored information and sites. Their find-
ings showed that users prefer and effectively do
benefit from mobile optimized versions. However,
content providers sometimes do not understand the
mobile scenarios in which their sites are used and
consequently begin optimizing the functionality
at the wrong end.
In Japan, Ishii and Mikami (2002) examined a
number of factors influencing mobile Web adop-
tion: the setting of Web use (home, at work, on
the street); differences in the types and number
of sites accessed; and preferences for where to
access different types of content (lifestyle versus
business). The study found that people reported
an increased level of sociability from Web use
on mobile phones compared with degrees of
sociability reported in previous studies of the
stationary Web.
Kim, Kim, Lee, Chae, and Choi (2002) also
examined personal contexts (standing/moving/
sitting) versus environmental contexts (alone/with
people) and high versus low emotions, and found
that people used the mobile Web most frequently
when happy and when they were in a calm and
quiet environment. Another Korean study (Chae
& Kim, 2003) focusing on the commercial impli-
cations of Web usage found that the mobile Web
was associated with low-risk commercial activity,
synchronous (real time) communications, low-
intensity information, and less resource-intensive
applications. The stationary Web was associated
with higher-risk commercial activity, asynchro-
nous communication (for example, e-mail) high-
intensity information (for example, online games),
and more processor-intensive applications. Our
findings also support this distinction.
Motivations for Using
Mobile Technology
Mobile applications are becoming increasingly
Web-enabled, blurring the distinction between
mobile Internet and mobile application usage.
Ho and Syu (2010) developed a classification of
motivations for mobile application use: entertain-
ment, instrumentality, informativity, sociability,
mentality, trendiness and learning. The study found
users had a higher level of motive gratification with
entertainment oriented applications, and a lower
level for learning, instrumentality and informativ-
ity applications, where developers would benefit
from a deeper understanding of user requirements.
Kim et al. (2002) divided mobile Web use into
the categories hedonic (related to pleasure) and
utilitarian (related to doing tasks), a distinction
that our findings support. Hassenzahl (2006)
conducts an extensive analysis of the concepts
of hedonic and utilitarian usage that traces their
evolution in the literature and usefully elaborates
the nuances of meaning subsumed by the terms.
A longitudinal study of novice users of a new
mobile communication device found that people's
motivations for using mobile communication
technology are initially influenced more strongly
by their perceptions about the expected use, which
is more task-oriented (Peters & Allouch, 2004).
Over time, due to quick habituation to the new
mobile communication device, important initial
gratifications, like permanent access and social
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