Mobile phone Browser Features

After you’re on the Web, you’re ready to navigate it. Depending on the class of your phone model, you might access these navigation features in different ways. These features are generally available across all phones and browsers, however. You can access each feature described here from your mobile browser’s Options menu or Tools menu (the features may be renamed slightly across different models):

- Open: Opens or launches a bookmarked URL or subfolder.

- Refresh/Reload: Updates the page.

- Back: Returns you to the previous page you were viewing.

- Bookmark: Acts as your Favorites repository. You can save the URL of the mobile Web page, just as you can on your computer Internet browser, to access the site quickly the next time you launch your mobile browser.

- Go To/Address: Lets you manually enter a URL for a mobile Web site. You enter the URL and then select OK or Enter. It’s the equivalent of the address bar on your computer Internet browser.

- Select a link: All mobile browsers let you click links on a page. Some, such as the traditional mobile phone, require that you scroll up and down with the phone’s arrow keys; others, such as most PDAs or the iPhone, let you use a stylus or your finger to click a link.

- Scroll up or down: Every mobile browser has a mechanism for scrolling up and down on a page, using the phone’s arrow keys, a stylus, or your finger. Some phones may even have a small joystick to not only scroll up and down but also pan left and right or zoom in and out on a mobile Web page. Joysticks are usually found only on the higher-end traditional phones, smartphones, PDAs, and on the iPhone.

- Exit: All mobile browsers have an Exit feature. If your phone is not subscribed to an unlimited data plan, be sure to use the Exit feature when leaving a site. If you don’t, and you abandon the browser to use another phone feature (to call someone or use the calculator, for example), you may still incur data charges.

- Advanced features: You may also find advanced features on your mobile browser, such as the ability to delete browsing history, cookies (such as ones for form file in data and saved passwords), cached sites and pages (use this feature especially if a Web page isn’t rendering properly or your phone memory is getting full). You’ll also find a Settings feature, used for configuring access details and establishing a connection with your wireless carrier’s Internet access gateways.