Published 2011

A traditional Web browser has been designed for use on personal computers such as laptops and desktops. The most prominent of which is Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox. These programs, however, are far too cumbersome to be applicable for use on mobile networking devices - such as,

• Mobile Phones
• Smartphones (Blackberry,iPhone)
• PDAs
• Tablets (iPad)

Therefore, the solution was to design browsers which were dismantled of all but the bare essentials. Thus, the Mobile Web Browser was born. Mobile browsers support markup languages such as HDML (Handheld Device Markup Language) and XHTML MP (XHTML Mobile Profile) - computer languages specifically developed for mobile devices.

Due to the restrictive nature of mobile browsing - low bandwidth and download/upload speeds - handheld device languages have proved essential. However, as mobile Internet coverage has been expanded and improved upon (usage levels which are currently out pacing traditional connection methods) mobile browsers are beginning to support more languages, such as HTML, WML and CSS.

Provided below, is a list of popular mobile browsers,

• Android (Developer - Google)
• BlackBerry
• Bolt
• Firefox Mobile (Developer - Mozilla)
• Nokia Series 40
• Opera Mobile
• Safari Mobile (Developer - Apple)
• Skyfire