Mobile web browsing: usability study

The mobile phones are increasingly used to access different kind of information other than just to make voice calls. However, browsing large web pages which is not adapted for small-screen viewing is still very inconvenient. Web browsers are emerging which try to solve the interaction problems that occur when small-screen devices are used to access web pages designed for large screen viewing. This paper presents the results of the usability study in which users' mobile web browsing experience was evaluated in comparison to desktop Web browsing. The results indicate the users' performance was poor on mobile browser as users expected similar experience as on desktop; however for some users familiarity of web on desktop helped instead to navigate easily on mobile browser. The main problem participants had was difficulty of locating the content in long narrow page, which in turn caused extensive scrolling. This research suggests some improvement for mobile web browser and important consideration in designing mobile friendly websites that could help limit a lot of scrolling and increase the readability.

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