While a number of today's cell phones only have limited Web browsing, more and more handsets, such as the BlackBerry, iPhone and other smartphones, boast browsers that support AJAX, RSS and other advanced functions.

In a new report, ABI Research forecasts that this segment, which it dubs "open-Internet" browsers, will grow from 76 million instances last year to nearly 700 million browsers delivered in 2013. Opera, Openwave, Access, Skyfire and the open source Webkit solution all fit into this category.

"There is a lot of development momentum for Web content on mobile phones," said ABI research director Michael Wolf. "The move towards Web-based applications means browser and Web services engines will become increasingly important for mobile."