Are you an Embracer or a Pragmatic?

Do you log on to the internet on your cellphone simply to update yourself or randomly surf the Web till your battery dies?

Depending on what your surfing habits on the mobile are, a global value-added services (VAS) player, Buongiorno, categorises you as a 'Pragmatist' or an 'Embracer'.

In India, analysts estimate that 20-25 per cent of mobile handsets can be used for internet surfing. Embracers, for instance, are hooked on to the technology on mobile phones and battery power is their only limitation when it comes to being online. They browse the internet using mobile phones to stay connected, and for entertainment and information.

They browse with friends; when alone; at bus stops; and even when in the bath, according to Buongiorno Co-CEO and Country Manager Milind Pathak.

On the other hand, Pragmatists use mobile phones as tools to make their life easier. "For them, browsing is simply about being informed. They usually spend short bursts of time online, that is just enough to get the job done," he said.

For Pragmatists, browsing is a personal activity that is not to be shared with friends. While Embracers consider mobile phones and surfing the Net as close to them, for Pragmatists these are just another tools to make life easier, Pathak added.

However, regardless of whether they are Pragmatists or Embracers, an important aspect of mobile browsing is that people tend to check the opportunities on the homepage of the operator.

This is an important trend as default homepage setting or bookmarking a website is a complex procedure on a mobile phone. "But operator links are forgotten or discarded in favour of other sites as people become more and more confident," he added.

Downloading of ringtones and wallpapers are associated with getting started, which are discarded for entertaining and intelligent content as the browser gets comfortable with mobile browsing.

Awareness of content options, frustration due to the technology that leads to opting out, security and price are the other factors that limit browsing over mobile phones.

These can be overcome by providing awareness of the technology, while people are also seeking personal computer capabilities on mobile phones.