Mobile web boosted by Twitter

Twitter is driving mobile web usage and URL-shortening services such as TinyURL and Bit.ly are reaping the rewards, according to a report.

Mobile web firm Novarra said that clicks on mini-URLs from mobile devices had grown 1,068 per cent in 2009, with TinyURL.com one of the top 200 most popular sites visited on mobile handsets.

Mini-URLs are often used in Twitter because of the 140-character limit for 'tweets'.

Randy Cavaiani of Novarra said: "The growth in mobile traffic to sites that shorten URLs demonstrates that Twitter is a great viral tool for exposing consumers to new and interesting content."

Meanwhile, software company Opera is also benefitting from the boost in mobile web visits.

Usage of the firm's cut-down browser for mobile devices, Opera Mini, grew 11 per cent in the last month, Opera said.

Opera Mini is compatible with most mobile phones - the only requirement is that they support Java - and it compresses data on websites into a manageable size for mobile networks and handsets.

"Because Opera Mini compresses data by up to 90 per cent, people everywhere can reduce the amount they pay each month for mobile data," said Jon von Tetzchner, chief executive of Opera.

"By making the web accessible and affordable on mobile devices, we can usher in a communications revolution on an unprecedented scale," he continued.


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