SMoW: An Energy-Bandwidth Aware Web Browsing Technique for Smartphones

Abstract

With the rapid advancement of mobile devices, people have become more attached to them than ever. This rapid growth combined with millions of applications (apps) make smartphones a favorite means of communication among users. In general, the available contents on smartphones, apps, and web, come in two versions: 1) free content that is monetized via advertisements (ads) and 2) paid content that is monetized by user subscription fees. However, the resources, namely, energy, bandwidth, and processing power, on-board are limited, and the existence of ads in websites and free apps can significantly increase the usage of these resources. These issues necessitate a good understanding of the mobile advertising eco-system and how such limited resources can be efficiently used. In this paper, we present the results of a novel web browsing technique that adapts the webpages delivered to smartphone, based on the smartphone's current battery level and the network type. Webpages are adapted by controlling the amount of ads to be displayed. Validation tests confirm that the system can extend smartphone battery life by up to ∼ 30 % and save wireless bandwidth up to ∼ 44%.