An empirical study of the use contexts and usability problems in mobile Internet

Abstract

Mobile Internet, which is a combination of the Internet with mobile devices, is becoming increasingly popular. Mobile Internet is primarily different from stationary Internet in that it may be used in various contexts, whereas stationary Internet is mostly used in predetermined environments. However, it is far from clear in what places and situations mobile Internet has been used and what the impact of the contexts has been on the ease of use. This paper proposes a framework for studying the use context relevant to mobile Internet. It then presents the results of an empirical study of the use context and service usability for mobile Internet using monitoring methods. The results indicate that the use contexts of mobile Internet are concentrated rather than being widely diverse. Moreover, the different contexts present unique usability problems. The paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of the results.