A couple of years ago people talked about the difference between killing time and saving time when it came to mobile internet usage. Well, you know there’s progress when Google now presents no less than three different user scenarios:

“Rechis said that Google breaks down mobile users into three behavior groups: A. “Repetitive now” B. “Bored now” C. “Urgent now”

In one way this makes perfect sense. I just wonder if mobile internet usage can be simplified to such an extent compared to using the internet on a PC. On the other hand, maybe that’s one of the key differences between mobile internet and fixed.

When using the web on a PC you can switch between many different ways of consuming the net because that’s the flexibility a PC gives you. At the same time, you physically don’t move. You most likely sit by a desk in a chair. You have a full size keyboard and a large screen etc. A mobile device, however, is by its nature restricted. It’s also a completely different experience using a mobile device while walking around compared to sitting down. It’s even different if you sit down in a couch at home or in, say, a subway.

The mobile internet experience is the combination of the device itself and the surrounding environment. Do I have a surface to put the device on? Can I use both hands? Can I use even one hand? Do I want other people to see what I’m reading? Can I use sound or vibrations from the device? Can I read the display? And so forth.

What we call things affect how we percieve them. A “horseless carriage” and a “car” are two different things but they both originate from the same meaning. Maybe “mobile internet” should rather be called “dynamic environments internet” because that’s really what it’s about.

From that perspective I think there’s definitely more than three types of environments.