In the United Kingdom, Google continues to be the most widely visited website by people logging on to the Internet using their personal desktop computers. This may be due to the simplicity of the Google homepage or simply the fact that the Google search is as good a place to start online as any.
On mobile Internet in the United Kingdom, the BBC News is the most trafficked website. Currently, over one quarter of all mobile internet consumers are using BBC News as the homepage for their mobile computing. BBC News is followed by BBC Weather and Sky Sports in popularity as mobile internet portals. Analysis by Nielson Online reports that the primary purpose and use of mobile Internet connectivity is for information relative to immediacy.
Generally, people desire fast, almost instantaneous access to weather and sports news. The simplicity of handheld mobile devices supports this perfectly. The majority of leading mobile sites are made up of weather, sports, general news and email access applications.
The basis for this popularity may also be traced to the ease of functionality these topics allow, as opposed to entertainment and e-commerce requiring more sophisticated and complex download capability. 25% of the mobile Internet audience ranges in age from fifteen to twenty-four, compared to 16% in that age bracket for desktop PC users. Only 12% of mobile Internet users are age 55 or older.
These figures support the rationale behind Internet provider “3” launching their new Facebook phone. Aimed at the youth audience, the Facebook phone completely integrates the networking site with the standard functions of the mobile phone.
