Desktop and Mobile Versions of Websites

Sometimes when you look at websites, you’ll notice that two-finger gesturing does not work, and the display looks sparse and spread out. What you may be seeing is the mobile version of the website, such as the mobile version of Yahoo! shown on the left. It looks fine on a phone, but it’s not so pretty on a 10-inch tablet.

Browsers have a User Agent that tells websites the type of device you’re using. Google specifies that the User Agent for Android tablets is “Android” as opposed to “Android Mobile,” which is used for phones. This means websites can treat tablets differently than phones. That’s the theory, anyway. In practice, many websites simply have two versions: mobile and desktop.

If you see that you’re reading a mobile version of a website, you can usually scroll to the bottom and click a link that says “Desktop Version” or something similar. Not every site will provide this link, so sometimes you’ll be stuck with a mobile version of a site.

Unfortunately, the Browser app doesn’t allow you to change your User Agent in the Settings menu. There’s a method to enter debugging commands to change it; however, it’s complicated, and some users report that the settings don’t stick. The easiest way to change your User Agent is to use a browser that supports this change.