Recently introduced cheaper data plans are finally beginning to popularize the mobile internet in Britain. Over 17 million people - or 23 percent of UK mobile users - used the net on a mobile in December, the Mobile Data Association reports (via Mirror). Still, other functions remain more popular. More than six billion texts were sent (up from 5.3 billion in December 2006) and 57.6 million picture messages (up 55 percent); 290 million SMS messages were sent on New Year’s Eve. December was, of course, the month when many people got new handsets as a gift.