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How WAP WorksThe basis of WAP technology is WML (Wireless Markup Language). This is quite similar to HTML and, like HTML, is a subset of SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language). It's also very closely related to XML (eXtensible Markup Language). Content for a WAP phone is delivered as compiled WML from a gateway server (seen as a proxy server by the phone). The gateway server gets the content from a regular HTTP server, either as uncompiled WML or as ordinary HTML Web pages. If regular HTML is received, an application at the gateway has to reformat it as WML. The transformation isn't brilliant and inevitably there are too many words, so almost everybody trying to crack the WAP market is busy right now creating dedicated WML pages optimised for small screens. Apart from telephone network costs, there are other significant costs involved in serving users. A Nokia WAP server costs around $15,000 (November 1999 price) which may seem relatively inexpensive until you realise it can only cope with three concurrent users. Graphics can be difficult too. They need to be in the Wireless BitMap Protocol (WBMP) and are currently tricky to create, though it's likely that graphics software vendors will soon come to the rescue. Graphics are invariably mono for the mono screens. Fancy programming possibilities pretty much exclude Java and concentrate on WMLScrip, which is similar but not the same as JavaScript. In practice, a WAP phone is curious to use. Due to the limited screen space of the handset, the information is heavily dumbed down. Navigation can be confusing because of the small screen size and lack of browser functions (inability to return to the last page or skip forward to the next page). Images do work well on the phone although few are used because the bandwidth isn't available to download eyecandy. Images also restrict the page content and increase the time the user is online, increasing the cost of usage. WAP Is Not The Only WayAlthough WAP is endorsed by 95% of the players in the mobile market (including the network providers) and is the solution of choice in the medium term, there are a few complications. Geoworks has thrown a small spanner in the WAP works. It has patents in key areas of WAP and WML which appear to be valid. It's looking for $20,000 in licensing income from companies in the WAP field turning over a million dollars. This is a bit of a problem for WAP, because it means it's no longer an open standard in the usual sense of the expression. The WAP Forum has been criticized for finishing up with an open standard that includes private patents. Oddly, the patents only apply in the US and Japan, leaving Europe free to embrace WAP without this complication. WAP has its doubters too. Some people saw the HDML standard for mobiles go through its early stages back in 1996 and subsequently almost disappear. It's still used by Phone.com for some AT&T services, but more as a legacy than a taste of the future. More serious competition comes from other software companies. Oracle's Portal to Go system works on pretty much any mobile, whether analogue or digital. All that's required is for the Web site server to send suitable data to the Portal to Go gateway. It's a proprietary system with mechanisms similar to WAP and suitable for WAP phones. A number of telecoms companies are already using Portal to Go. Telia of Sweden and BT in the UK are involved. Other players with an interest in Portal to Go include Sun Microsystems, Motorola and Symbian. AvantGo also has an alternative gateway system, using MAL (Mobile Application Link) - another open source protocol. This technology isn't dedicated to accessing the Web using mobiles, but is capable of doing so. In the long term it's unlikely to seriously challenge WAP because it's significantly more complicated. Perhaps the biggest threat to WAP comes from within itself, or rather the power of the companies that adopt it. Research company Forrester has warned that a lot of WAP Internet access will be walled. Many telcos - who will also be the gateway operators - won't allow users to leave the WAP areas belonging to themselves and their content associates. There's a risk that WAP services will be too heavily controlled by their suppliers and won't match what consumers want - products pushed rather than pulled by demand. Fortunately, Forrester also believes that market forces will put the power back in the hands of the consumer within a few years. Keep The Techies HappyAnd finally, for the satisfaction of techies throughout the world, here is a short burst of WML - probably the first you've seen published on the Web. It's the weather forecast from North German radio station NDR4. <?xml version="1.0"?> Heute Abend ist es in Ostdeutschland locker bewölkt. Von der Nordsee und Holland her ziehen dichte Wolken auf, die in Niedersachsen und in Schleswig-Holstein etwas Regen bringen. Nachts auch in Mecklenburg und Westbrandenburg Regen, zum Teil mit Schnee. Tiefstwerte zwischen 5 Grad an der Ems und minus 1 Grad an der Oder </p> Sam Taylor is currently developing WAP content for a range of consumer sites run by Carlton Online. |
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