Web Document Manipulation for Small Screen Devices: A Review

Web browsing using small screen handheld devices is becoming more and more common. There has been a realization over the last couple of years that handheld devices are becoming much more than Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), as were originally called, that they are here to stay and are about to become direct competitors to laptop and desktop computers. There were two principal shortcomings that prevented the widespread adoption of these devices in the past. The first was the absence of workable connectivity and network access with good speed. The second problem was its relatively tiny display area. Since the incorporation of wireless technology inside the handheld computers and 3.5G systems offering high network speeds, the first problem is being aggressively addressed. The second problem is a different type of problem and requires manipulation of web pages to create a different paradigm for serving and browsing web pages. Researchers have been working to solve this problem and this review presents a concise summary of the state of the art of the research related to web page manipulation for small screen devices.