ABI: 60 per cent of mobiles to have web browsers

The number of people looking for cheap mobile broadband deals could be set to rise in the future as more and more mobile phones operate web browsers.

A recently-published report by ABI Research has predicted that the proportion of mobile handsets operating mobile web browsers is set to double over the next five years.

According to the study, 3.7 billion mobile handsets will contain web browsers by the year 2015.

This will account for slightly more than 60 per cent of the world’s mobile handsets, according to the study.

The research also revealed that mobile web browsers are set to evolve in two separate ways in the coming years.

Mark Beccue, a senior analyst at ABI Research, explained that smartphones and other enhanced devices will operate “highly-sophisticated” web browsers, known in the industry as “full internet browsers”.

“Such devices can host these browsers because they have advanced application processors, expanded memory capacity and adequate screen size and resolution,” the expert explained.

These browsers will typically rely on 64Mb of memory, the expert said, but the second option will require much less.

Mr Beccue explained: “These browsers move some caching and processing off the phone to a nearby server, allowing the browser to run on lower-cost processors and requiring as little as 4Mb of memory.

“That means these browsers can be used on even the lowest-cost phones.”

A recent report by industry analysts Gartner has predicted that the number of people using wireless internet will hit one billion by 2014.