Cell Phones and the Internet

You already know the power the internet has for helping you solve problems. It can help you find information, news or even directions. Moving this power into your cellular phone seems like a natural step.

Having the internet on your phone is a great tool, but you should understand it is significantly different than the internet you have at home or work. Looking at the two the most obvious difference is size. Over the years computer monitors have been growing progressively larger and with higher resolutions. In fact the most common size for new computers is a 17" monitor with 1024 resolution. Most cell phones have a much smaller viewing area usually somewhere in the range of 160 x 160 pixels or 200 x 200 pixels. This leaves the phone manufacturers with big problem to solve. Most phones take the standard HTML delivered by web pages strip out the images and convert what's left in WML or wireless markup language. It's distilled down its most basic text elements, to speed transmission and rendering on the smaller screen. Now some services such as Vindigo and Mapquest deliver content specifically designed for mobile devices, so it is much more similar to the internet you already know, however these are premium services, which you have to pay additional fees for.

The next thing you will need to get used to is the keyboard or lack of one. Some phones such as the Nokia 6800, 6820, or Palm One Treo 600 will have a full keyboard, most will not. This means you will need to use the phone and hit the keys repetitively to type in data. It does take some getting used to.

Aside from directions, the most popular use for the internet on your phone is to check messages. With this function you can tell people your mobile address or have your regular email forwarded to your mobile address. You may whish to use filters or rules with your email client to keep the undesirable email to a minimum.

Another more popular use for the internet on your mobile phone is by having it interface with your personal computer. You will need to purchase a data cable for your phone or use your phones IR port if available. Your phone will then act as a modem for your laptop computer. You may be able to get a discounted rate from your cellular provider, or use a dial up provider like AOL, EarthLink, or Net Zero. Remember you will be using your cellular minutes when you make these calls.