How do you surf?

[cjvitek]

So, with either wifi or 3G speeds, I was curious how people actually surf the web. Do you try to utilize website that are optimized for mobile (or optimized for the iPhone)? Or given how the safari browser is "the real internet", do you simply go to the same sites as you do on your computer?

I find that it depends from site to site. Some sites, when I only want specific information, I will choose the mobile/iPhone optimized version. But others I will use the regular website.

Unfortunately, I have found some automatically detect that I am on a mobile platform, and "choose" the mobile site for me.

Chris

 

[Jeremy]

I go for the real deal... why not. You have the best mobile browsing device there is currently on the market as of today. Take advantage of it.

*Yes I did say it was the best mobile browsing device.

 

[cherryhead25]

Agreed! Give me the "real internet"!!!!

I have found that I'd rather surf the regular pages with Safari than mobile pages or even native apps pages, ie, NY Times.

@Chris, sometimes when you dont have the option to choose the full page and your phone "chooses" for you, you can trick it to letting you see the full page. I do this with my google calendar. When I access google calendar with safari it takes me to the mobile agenda view. I couldnt find a way to access the full page through the links. So what I did was emailed the url of the "real internet" google calendar on my desktop to myself (the account I use on the iPhone) and then access the google calendar page through the link I sent. Voila! opens the full page. Bookmarked it and added it as a Web shortcut and now I can see my calendar in full "real internet" glory!!! Not sure what pages you use that "choose" mobile for you but maybe you can give it a try!

 

[cjvitek]

That's something I will have to try. It's not a big issue, but sometimes I want something on the "real" version of the page that isn't available on the mobile page.

 

[mikecc]

I always browse the original web version even if the phone detects a mobile version. There are something (different for every site) you can change on the URL to force it to display the regular website.

 

[BradM73]

To begin, I bought the iPhone because I wanted the REAL internet on my phone, not to have some watered down "mobile" crap. I wanted the real internet so that if I was on the road and needed to look up some information, I could do so easily without using WEP or WAP or whatever it was called. For the most part, the iPhone's browser is the real internet, without Flash and true Java support. For 90% of my web browsing needs, it works.

Overall, I don't typically use my iPhone to "surf", that is, unless I'm sitting on a toilet somewhere baking moist'n'chewy chocolate muffins. As I'm sure everyone else would agree, I really would like to get Flash support and true JAVA support on the iPhone, but I don't see that coming in the near future. It's not really been a major problem because the majority of the websites I visit on my iPhone don't need Flash or Java to run properly. I could see how people who want to ditch their laptops for an iPhone would want the full features though.

Other than that, when I do use my phone to browse, I mainly use it for looking up information or to read news or weather. I look up restaruants, or keep track of e-bay accounts (doing everything else I can't do with the eBay app), but that's about it.

 

[Nick9283]

i use the 3g to google (optomized) but other than that all other things are full websites unless it automatically makes it iphone friendly then i just use what they have set Ex. Remember the milk

 

[Dalekkiller]

Even as far back as the 2G iphone I was using it to surf far more than on my laptop, usually because my laptop was in its bag and it was easier to just pick up my phone. With all the problems that I was getting before 2.1 I stopped surfing so much but am back to previous levels now. Most days, I will do the first email check of the day on my phone and deal with any internet things on the phone. For me, it's just really convenient as the phone is on standby overnight so I don't have to wait for anything to boot.

Now if Safari supported Flash, I would probably use my laptop even less.

 

[WatersWest]

it really depends on the site, & I may be in the minority here, but I actually like mobile-optimized sites. I can get the essential info I need very quickly & not have to wait as long for pages to load.

 

[Dalekkiller]

it really depends on the site, & I may be in the minority here, but I actually like mobile-optimized sites. I can get the essential info I need very quickly & not have to wait as long for pages to load.

If it's a minority, at least there's two of us, that's one of the reasons I love surfing on the iphone. The one thing I find difficult is the two-fingered typing if I'm replying to posts but being able to bring the screen closer makes it much easier for me to see as my eyesight isn't too good.

 

[AZBear#CB]

Surfing the web is one of the major reasons I gave up my Blackberry Curve. I usually prefer the "real internet" but some sites really are better displayed in mobile format.

 

[mcdan333#AC]

I prefer the mobile optimized sites when they are available. Yes, there is no better mobile device for viewing full web pages when necessary, but mobile pages are faster to load and easier to navigate on the small screen. The less pinching, reverse pinching and side scrolling I have to do, the better.