JAYNE AUGOYEwrites on the growing preference for mobile browsers.THE latest information from StatCounter, a web traffic analysis tool, shows that mobile browsing has overtaken desktop computer browsing in Nigeria.According to the web statistic tool, this is happening for the first time. Specifically, the statistics reveals that internet browsing from mobile phones witnessed an over 25 per cent increase between October 2010 and October 2011. It also adds that internet browsing from a desktop computer decreased by over 27 per cent within the past year. Nigerian mobile web users have also been busy, with the average user viewing 345 pages each month.StatCounter says Opera Mini Browser is by far the most popular mobile browser in Nigeria with about 90 per cent of total usage. The report also showed that mobile phones and devices accounts for about 52.5 per cent of internet browsing in Nigeria, while personal computer accounts for 47.5 per cent.Coincidentally, this is coming at a time when Nigeria is said to be the country with the largest mobile subscriber base in Africa, with over 93 million mobile users as at September 2011.Experts have attributed this trend to the fact that accessing the web from ones phone is much cheaper because the browser cuts the amount of data one uses to view the same content on the desktop computer.In a related news, the October 2011 State of the Mobile Web Report , released by Opera Software, says that Nigeria is now the fifth largest country in the world and number one in Africa for Opera Mini browser usage. With the ranking, Nigeria surpasses technology-savvy countries such as China, the United States and Brazil.Opera also reveals that Opera Mini users are more likely to use their platform on Andriod - for travel and tourism - on iOS for sports and technology. This happens on BlackBerry for news, on Windows Phones for social networking ditto for feature phones.According to the report, the top three sites for Nigerian mobile surfers are Facebook, Google and Yahoo. It points out that Nigerians now engage in more data services with 90 per cent of mobile surfing done using Opera Mini.Shedding light on the trend, the company says the flexibility of the mobile browser, which adapts to more than 3,000 different mobile-phone models, from basic feature phones to the latest Smart phones, has also accounted for the surge in the mobile web users. It reveals that mobile web users are responsible for the 73 per cent of all mobile web users in Africa.This is not the first time Nigeria will be witnessing a surge in Opera usage. In July this year, it became the worlds fourth largest user of the Opera Mini browser, after recording the most bullish growth in Opera Mini usage. The growth of Opera Mini users in Nigeria increased by 1,150 per cent since July 2010, the highest upsurge ever in the countrys history of opera mini usage, according to information contained in the Opera Software report.Nigeria broke into the top 10 countries in March 2009 and has since proved to be a leader in mobile web usage. With Nigerias population advantage and its more than 80 million cell phone users, it is not surprising that she is getting this feat.The Opera report also examined differences between web usage for Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and feature phones users and came up with the following findings. Android users are more likely than users of other platforms to visit education sites. Windows Phone users are more likely to visit email and communications sites, compared to users of other platforms.Feature phone (any mobile phone that is not a Smartphone) users are far and away the most likely to visit social network and community sites on their handsets, with Android users being the least likely. BlackBerry users are more likely than anyone else to visit computer and sports sites.Android users are the most likely to view Music, video and media sites whereas iPhone users are least likely to view sites in that category.In September 2011, the Opera Mini browser experienced an increase in unique users and data consumed. The number of unique users has since increased by 84.2 per cent.In all, it says that 131.3 million people used the Opera Mini browser in September 2011, a 2.6 per cent increase from August 2011; 79.1 billion pages were served, and 11.6 pet bytes of operator data were compressed for Opera Mini users.Opera Mini Facts- Europe is the continent with the strongest indicator of Opera use because of its diversity of handsets.- Of the top 10 phones in the top 100 Opera Mini countries in Europe, 71 were Nokia, 10 were Samsung, six were Sony Ericsson, six were BlackBerry, six were Alcatel, and one was LG.- Among African countries, the most popular sites include Facebook, Google, YouTube, Yahoo and Wikipedia.- In the top 10 African countries listed, of the 100 total handsets listed, 89 of them were Nokia, seven of them were Samsung, one was a Sony Ericsson, one was an Alcatel, 1 was an Apple and one was an LG.How to choose the best browserHERE are a few things to consider when choosing a Web browser:SpeedSwitching to a browser with better Javascript performance can be like switching to a faster computer. Also, browsers take some parts of the websites you visit and store them on your computers hard drive. So, they dont have to download those pieces again when you return. This caching makes web pages load faster. Some browsers will even download pieces of web pages before you decide to visit them (based on your Web-browsing patterns), so they will load faster when you do.SecuritySecurity is critical when completing important tasks on the Internet. Browsers use methods not only to protect your information as you access websites, but also to protect your computer from malicious websites. Encryption, phishing filters and download warnings are common in most browsers. Some also use a sandbox, a memory space that cannot talk to the rest of your computer, as a way of protecting you from malicious websites.CapabilitiesBrowsers have different built-in capabilities, and most have the ability to expand on those capabilities through add-ons, extensions, or plug-ins. Some will allow you to change their look through different colour themes. Customising your toolbars by adding, removing or moving buttons and bars is another way browsers can be personalised.Source-technewsdaily.com
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