Smartphones driving mobile browser maturity

Meanwhile, RIM is releasing new browsers for its latest devices – including the Storm, the touch-screen-only device expected from Verizon next week, and the Bold, already out in the wild. Those browsers provide much more of a desktop-like experience.

And finally, there’s Opera, which earlier this week released a preview version of Opera Mini 4.2, which adds improve support for YouTube and other mobile video services as well as new skins and improved sharing of bookmarks and history between the desktop and mobile versions of the Opera browser. Opera also announced that the Opera Mini – which can run on feature phones as well as more powerful smartphone devices – is now used by more than 20 million unique monthly users worldwide. Yankee Group analyst John Jackson called the Opera Mini a “mobile application to be reckoned with,” noting that usage of the browser has been growing at an average rate of 10% per month worldwide.

ABI Research noted in its analysis that three-screen strategies from mobile operators, as well as software providers like Adobe, Microsoft and Google, has also been driving increased mobile browser usage. For instance, many of the more recent browsers can readily playback Adobe Flash content, including in some cases embedded Flash Video, enabling for instance mobile usage of the YouTube.com site as if it was being viewed on the desktop.

Software and site providers are also formatting their sites and content for improved viewing in mobile browsers, particularly in the iPhone. Earlier this week, for instance, Google said that visitors to Google.com using the iPhone would see search results specially formatted for viewing on that device. Among the improvements – no side-to-side scrolling and easier access to local results, including maps and click-to-call links.