May 1999

WAP: More Than Just Onomatopoeia

I have great hopes for wireless. It represents mobility, personal choice, and the ultimate solution (as well as potentially the most competitive solution) to the last mile. However, like dial-up Internet access, wireless has been constrained thus far by outside factors, including the need for portability. This is somewhat ironic, since portability is one of the factors behind the initial popularity of wireless devices, but the need to provide a small, mobile device has proved a significant constraint to the introduction of advanced features. Predictably, users want everything and they want it now, but most importantly, they want it to be handheld.

So, advanced functionality in wireless devices has been constrained by the form factor of the devices themselves and by a lack of network standards. Users are understandably hesitant to purchase a product that is new and exciting today, but that might be little more than an expensive gadget six months from now.

The future is looking brighter though. Competition and cooperation between the various wireless handset manufacturers is resulting in some promising initiatives and some exciting products designed to take advantage of these initiatives ASAP - or perhaps this should be AWAP (as WAP as possible). WAP (wireless application protocol) is beginning to move off of the white boards and onto the handsets, which means that users can purchase a wireless device - I'm hesitant to simply call them phones any longer - and a set of services without locking themselves into one carrier's network. WAP also allows advanced features, perhaps the most important of which is Internet browsing.

WAP compliance on specific devices will be noted by the use of the WWW:MMM (mobile media mode) symbol. This symbol guarantees users that the marked device can handle Web-based text content such as stock quotes, news, and flight timetables.

Motorola (www.motorola.com), for instance, recently announced that it will make all of its digital phones WAP compliant as soon as the interoperability standards for the protocol are agreed upon. Among other things, this means that it will be possible for users of Motorola digital phones to browse the Internet - Motorola predicts this will be the case by 2000.

Nokia (www.nokia.com) has made a similar announcement. The Nokia 7710 was introduced at the GSM World Conference in France and is designed to allow easy Internet access, including such features as a large graphics display and predictive text input.

Ericsson (www.ericsson.com) has also announced a new device designed for Internet access: the MC 218. The MC 218 works in combination with any Ericsson GSM mobile phone, creating a complete communication solution for any user of an Ericsson GSM phone. The MC 218 supports e-mail, fax, SMS, and Internet access, and includes an infrared modem for wireless connection.

The MC 218 is also interesting because it is the first EPOC-based Ericsson device to be launched since the formation of Symbian in June 1998. EPOC is a real-time operating system designed especially for use in wireless devices - and it is designed to be faster, easier to use, and more power efficient than other wireless operating systems.

The advent of these standards-based wireless devices represents two important steps in the development of the ultimate communication device: 1) Internet capability, and 2) network interoperability. Users should welcome any device that offers users increased functionality plus the ability to maintain this functionality across diverse networks. The announcement of three such devices by three of the biggest vendors in the wireless marketplace is a fine sign for what the near future may hold.

--Chris Donner, CTI Associate Editor