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Which phones for surfing the internet?

So, you want a good internet browsing experience on your mobile, but not sure what to look for?

There are many mobiles which you can use to surf the internet, some use WAP browsers, some use HTML, some connect via 3G, some via Wi-Fi, but don't get too worried, we're here to help.

WAP

What is WAP? Wireless Access Protocol. Officially, that means it is an "open international standard for application-layer network communications in a wireless-communication environment. Most use of WAP involves accessing the mobile web from a mobile phone or from a PDA" That's quite a mouthful!

WAP The short (and simpler) version is that it's an application specifically designed to surf the web on your mobile. Most (but not all) mobiles have this in-built, and the ones that don't either don't offer internet browsing at all, or offer HTML only, which is covered below.

WAP has been around since 1997, and has gone through some updates and changes since then. The current version WAP 2.0 which was released in 2002 uses more HTML coding (be it, a cut down version). The basic result of viewing a web page using WAP 2.0 (which more often than not, is paired with XHTML) is very good, although the page might display a bit differently, and may not look quite as attractive if it were on a big screen.

HTML

Hyper Text Markup Language is the code in which the vast majority of websites are written in, and is widely used all over the world. If a mobile uses an HTML browser, the web page will look a lot more like the actual website, be it, a bit smaller! HTML browsers are usually only offered on handsets that have 3G or Wi Fi (or both) in-built.

Connecting via 3G

Using 3G (which means 3rd Generation) to connect to the internet when you're out and about has become second nature to lots of people all over the world, and it's getting faster all the time. 3G isn't quite as fast as browsing the web on your computer for example, but it makes the possibility of getting onto the internet wherever you are, and whenever you want, a reality

Connecting via Wi-Fi

Surfing via Wi-Fi is the best way to experience the internet on your mobile. If you have a wireless internet network set up at home or at the office, then as long as you have a compatible device, you can use your personal internet network rather than the mobile network, which in most cases, is considerably faster.

Summary

If viewing the internet on your mobile is important, we recommend any mobile that either offers 3G or Wi-Fi (or both), anything less will be too slow, and will leave you feeling frustrated. View our range of Wi-Fi mobiles. In regards to the browser, both WAP 2.0 and HTML work just fine, but if you want the internet on your phone to look similar to your computer, then we recommend HTML browsers.

Feel free to contact us if you would like more help on this topic.