WAP -- Wireless Application Protocol

Commercial and business implications for designers

By Dr. Steve O'Neil, N'Fusion, Inc.

One of my favorite corporate performers, Larry Ellison, Chairman and CEO of Oracle, noted in kicking off their Portal-To-Go suite, that while 140 million people worldwide access the Internet, more than 400 million use cell phones. Well, folks, this is probably just the beginning of the story. Initial wireless services already include such goodies as flight confirmations, package tracking, stock quotes, navigation assistance, and shopping functions. See what's on the table to date at http://www.oramobile.com. For now, signup is free and partnerships are invited. You'll need shockwave-flash installed on your computer to view the demos. For more information on the OracleMobile service, see their FAQs at http://www4.oraclemobile.com/htdocs/pl_faqsb.htm.

What are the commercial and business implications for designers? To start with, wireless zealots envision mobile appliances of the near future having the capability of notifying users of shopping and discount opportunities as they walk through a neighborhood or shopping mall, helping people find an Italian (or Mexican, or whatever) restaurant within five minutes' walking distance, or make vending machine purchases that will be charged to your phone bill. Some of these applications have already been developed in Scandinavia.

Gelon.net's collection of WAP resources includes a description of the Ericsson R380, a small-sized dual band mobile phone with in-built PDA functionality.

Currently, the leaders in the wireless world are the Europeans and the Japanese, with Japan alone activating approximately 5 million web-en abled wireless phones within the past year. Within the next two years, this number is expected to exceed 20 million. For those of you who are designing products with an eye to the future, however, the time to check out WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) is now.

Start at the Mobile Wireless Internet Forum at http://www.mwif.org. Organized in January, 2000, the Forum boasts memberships from Alcatel, IBM, H-P, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Microsoft, Motorola, 3Com, and a host of other cutting edge wireless companies. Their mission is to agree on a set of standards for IP Wireless networks with a global focus. The board consists of company members from North America, Europe, and Japan. Check out their FAQs for more information.

Another source of commentary and prognostication is The WAP Group at http://www.thewapgroup.com. The Group, which claims to be the largest wireless industry group currently active, serves as a medium of information exchange among industry management, consultants, and development personnel. Some participants in recent weeks have included high-level activists from The BBC, Arthur Anderson, Amazon.com, and PocketTheNet. The Group's stated mission is "to bridge the [information] gap [between developers and the marketplace] by empowering its members to find the right people to provide information." Some of the discussions I have reviewed cover such areas as development partnerships, security issues, performance statistics and metrics, and personal networking.

Various companies display their WAP products and services on this site, which aims to disseminate knowledge about WAP in an industrial context.

Moving on to some "hands on" experiences, surf over to Gelon at http://www.gelon.netwhere you will find links to WAP-enabled websites, links to the "Developers' Zone," and a WAP emulator to let you see how WAP sites translate onto wireless devices. There is also a discussion forum and FAQs. Resource Software Engineering at http://www.industrywap.comis a website that aims to disseminate knowledge about WAP in an industrial context. It provides two demos: one example demonstrates the control of an external unit (a train in their laboratory). The second example demonstrates how temperature data can be presented on a WAP telephone. (Data from a temperature sensor is recorded in a database approximately every half-hour). To find other wireless examples and resources, go to WAPAW.COM which bills itself as the leading syndicated wireless search engine and directory for use with WAP enabled devices such as mobile phones, PDAs and other handheld devices. Find it at http://wapaw.com/. There are also capabilities to list your own site if you want to start experimenting now.

Wapdrive, at http://www.wapdrive.com/, is a recently launched site designed to help users search for WAP-enabled websites as well as provide resources for webmasters to build WAP web pages. You can get a free download here of the offline software package "WAP Builder," as well as link to "WML Guide," a guide to the WML language. Here you get all the information necessary to write your own pages, including xml header tags, using cards (and what they are), page layout, accepting user input, inserting hyperlinks and pictures, and other useful tips.

For your parting shot at the world according to WAP, visit 2 Thumbs WAP.com at http://www.wapwardlymobile.com. Here you can access not only some very corny WAP jokes, but also developers' tools, daily news, and downloads (including WML browsers, WML editors, SDKs, and graphics converters). There are also community chat and message boards, as well as a free newsletter.

Steve O'Neil, Ph.D. is President of N'Fusion, Inc., an editorial and Internet consultancy which aids technology companies in integrating their business and online strategies, improving advertising and branding accountability, and building end-to-end e-commerce solutions. The company is headquartered in the Tampa Bay, FL, area with offices and affiliates throughout the US, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. Steve can be reached at stephenjo@earthlink.net or 727-742-9169.