Years ago, a Norwegian columnist wrote how the Internet was just a passing fad. It’s easy to look back on that now and laugh at it, but predicting the future is difficult, and if you get it wrong you’ll be laughed at. This is why I’ll try to be a bit careful with my statements here. ;)

A friend of mine asked me recently what the point of browsing on your mobile phone really is. It’s a good question. Web browsing on mobile phones is getting a lot of attention these days, mostly brought on by the rise of the iPhone, which makes the browsing experience on a phone much more enjoyable than on many others. Opera Software is having success with their Opera Mobile 9.5 beta, which is a great product (now all they need is an equally great phone to run it on).

So, what is the point of web browsing on your mobile phone? After all, many or most people are usually nearby a computer, either at home or at work. And the rest of the time you’re on the go, perhaps driving a car. Sure, you could be taking the subway, in which case browsing is something you’d just do to pass the time.

So really, what is the point of web browsing on mobile phones? Unless some killer application is made (which may happen, of course) and critical mass is reached, mobile browsing may be doomed to be something that is just done once in a while. After all, there is a limit to how much browsing you need to do when you’re on the go. Isn’t there? There’s nothing wrong with this, of course, but the killer app is still missing for it to take of completely.

Perhaps casual browsing is the point, though. With high quality browsers on our phones, with us at all times, the Internet will truly be ubiquitous.

It will definitely be interesting to keep an eye out on the usage patterns for mobile browsing in the coming years.