The widely accepted notion that Western Europeans are moving forward with technology at a faster pace proves to be false after the latest research by Nielsen/Net Ratings on Internet usage in Central and Eastern Europe. In addition, modern hardware in CEE countries is becoming more readily accessible. Fourty-four per cent of the internet users in Bulgaria work with laptops. In Lithuania 42 per cent connect to the Internet via their mobile phone, The Guardian reports. Internet cafes are still popular but more people in these countries are turning to mobile technology, as fixed networks are not very well developed, the research shows.
Internet is also changing the way in which Eastern Europeans access media. More than three quarters of internet users in Ukraine, Hungary and Poland read online newspapers. Still, the internet is not affecting negatively the sales of print media. Circulation of several major newspapers has increased. The research also shows CEE is an attractive market for net trade. The internet is spreading fast, while in the rest of Europe the number of users is beginning to stabilise, Dnevnik newspaper reported.