The number of mobile phone users accessing the Internet on their handsets continues to rise, according the Mobile Data Association (MDA). 

 

A total of 40.7m users were recorded as having used their phones for downloads and browsing the mobile Internet in the UK during the third quarter of 2006, 14m of them in September.

According to research from Nielsen/NetRatings, a WAP-enabled mobile phone is the second most popular digital device owned by Britons, after the PC, with 57% of the survey owning a phone that could access the internet.

Increasingly tech-savvy, mobile users expect their phones to give them more features, flexibility and the handiness of the desktop on the move, says the MDA. Key features such as mobile e-mail and mobile web are becoming more popular as they become easier to use, with improved download speeds and connectivity. And it’s not just ringtones and games downloads that consumer are using the mobile Internet for. Google topped the list of sites most accessed via mobiles, followed closely by chat sites.

The MDA has dedicated a section of its website to providing information on how to set up a mobile phone to access the Internet, along with a list of “useful and entertaining sites to view on your handset” – well worth recommending to buyers. Check it out at www.text.it