In this thread, Biomehanika threw down the impressive statistic that, of the time he spends on this forum, 50% is while using a mobile device!

That got me thinking: How much do people use their mobile device to access rich, interactive, media- and data-heavy Web sites - for example, forums, online stores, Web 2.0 sites, and other destinations with complex navigation or functionality? Or, do most people stick to sites that have been heavily optimized for mobile devices - that is, reduced to essential text, images, and navigation, or even RSS feeds?

Obviously, part of the answer here has to do with what's possible now vs. the not-too-distant future, but still... Today, right at this moment, what's your preference?

Sometimes I wish Pocket Internet Explorer had the option that FireFox has for removing all CSS and rendering the site in its barebones black on white readable text glory.

Okay, so I've chosen "Mobile-optimized sites with styled text and some graphics", but it is more a case of going to site and optimizing them myself, all depending on the original site. There are some whose desktop version translated perfectly for mobile browsing, but there are others where the mobile version is the only usable option and others where text only is the best choice. I have shown a few examples below:

Here on Connection I have my view option set to "Fit to Screen" and this renders the site perfectly for 240x320 pixel viewing.

But for BBC News, I will choose the printable version which displays the text only. The BBC site is wider than my screen so when I am using finger gestures to scroll the screen it can be hard to keep the text alligned. The printable page is easy to read and although it then loses related links, I can always switch back to main page if I want to learn more background on the story.

I visit YouTube on my mobile quite a lot, but here I have two different methods. For general watching I use an App called YouTubePlay, providing a search option and a fast and constant stream, but I also visit the site to download videos. I do not use the Mobile site, I view the full desktop version because in this case it gives more info.

I also have Google as my homepage (it is quick to load) and here I do use the mobile page as the frontpage and the results have been designed very well for 240x320 viewing.

All of the sites that I frequent on my PC, I will also visit while mobile and how I view them, simply depends on they translate onto a smaller screen. If/When I get a VGA mobile device, my viewing style will alter accordingly.

Apparently this is a pretty interesting topic to others, too - BoyGeniusReport has a new article posing exactly the same question. They also quote some research showing that the top sites in use on mobile devices are: 1) Craigslist, 2) eBay, and 3) MySpace and Facebook. Comments? 

So it seems that we all spend most of our time looking for new jobs and selling our old junk 

I seem to spend all of my time looking for news. Which, I guess, reflects my interests outside of the net as well.

I am always looking for something new to entertain me and to move me forward.  Be that a new piece of information, a application to improve my electronic experience or a new video clip that I can say I have watched.

But, I guess that makes sense, our Web usage is suley an extension of our personalities.