Mobile Internet - Human-Computer Interaction and Innovation in Handheld, Mobile and Wearable Technologies - page 283

there aren't so many people you'll send it to, so
it doesn't actually get through. I have some that
I have uploaded to Flickr as well [Interviewee
from London].

motivation for use is less related to killing time
than when browsing mobile-tailored sites:

I used Google at school, with my classmate. I had
to look for school information. Because I can't
use a normal PC browser at school so I use my
mobile, it's so normal for me. I think it's so posi-
tive, cos it's very useful to have Internet always
with me! [Web survey respondent];

Mobile Tailored Solutions
for Web Access

Hinman et al. (2008) applied a diving metaphor
to Web browsing. They said that browsing on a
desktop computer is like scuba diving, and brows-
ing on a mobile device is like snorkeling. As we
have just shown, there are different ways to use
the Internet on mobile devices, and in the same
way there are different ways of snorkeling. Based
on my experience with Internet use on mobile
devices, I would extend Hinman et als ' metaphor:
I see full Web browsing on mobile devices as
free diving, browsing mobile-tailored Web sites
on mobile devices as snorkeling with occasional
deeper dives, and Internet use via mobile applica-
tions as snorkeling in a swimming pool.

Also I will use it at home. When I'm home I won't
just go to my room and sit on my PC all the time,
you know parents don't like that. They think I'm
a good girl, as I'm not on PC all the time. They
do not know I browse with my phone.[Interviewee
from Hong Kong].

Why Browsing Mobile-Tailored
Web Sites is Like Snorkeling with
Occasional Deeper Dives

Browsing mobile-tailored sites is like snorkeling
near the surface with occasional deeper dives
because mobile-tailored site browsing is often
related to killing time or browsing interesting
information. When a user sees something interest-
ing when browsing, he/she delves deeper into the
information, but usually returns to the surface (for
example, the home page of the portal) to browse
for the next interesting topic; sometimes the next
cue is caught when a user is viewing the deeper
information, but that is less common. Sometimes
a user just needs to quickly access specific infor-
mation, like timetables or weather information:

Why Full Web Access on Mobile
Devices is Like Free Diving

When browsing the full Web on mobile devices,
users looked for specific information that was only
available in a full Web version, or users were not
aware of a mobile-tailored solution. Full Web site
browsing on a mobile device is like free diving
because information needs are specific, and users
know where to find the information; no matter
how deep within a site structure the information is
located, a user dives directly to it. Very often the
depth of the information is more profound than
when browsing on mobile-tailored sites. Infor-
mation needs are often time critical, and usually
the context in which information is being sought
does not allow the use of a desktop computer:
there is either no desktop computer available, the
social context does not allow the use of a desktop
computer, or the user knows he/she will be chang-
ing location during the information search. The

The last service I used was the BBC Traffic News
WAP site (I used the “Services” browser for this).
I was on my own, just got in the car and about
to drive off - checking for congestion etc on my
route. I use this a lot - very useful to me! The ex-
perience was good - in a way a WAP site rather
than a full Website is better for information like
this; it gives me the information I need, quickly.
[Web survey respondent];