IP: Another view WAP Backlash

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> Date: Wed, 26 Jul 2000 09:08:32 -0400
> From: "Alan A. Reiter" <reiter () wirelessinternet com>
>
> Hi Dave,
>
> I've been to Europe four times this year and have used WAP phones and 
> spoken and
> chaired wireless Internet conferences overseas.  It's not WAP per se 
> that's the
> problem, it's the implementation.  Criticizing WAP is like criticizing 
> HTML when
> you're viewing the Web on a five-inch black-and-white monitor with a 300 bps
> connection and using a telephone keypad rather than a keyboard.  Of course the
> experience is going to be awful!
>
> WAP is just a tool.  It's a way to code pages and send data over the air in an
> efficient manner.  People don't like the idea of having to re-code 
> sites.  Until
> software is smart enough to automatically transform HTML or XML into formats
> appropriate for various wireless devices, WAP is a good 
> alternative.  There's not
> much else out there.  (Compact HTML, used in Japan for i-mode, also requires
> re-coding of data.)
>
> The problems today for WAP are: circuit switched connections are slow -- 
> perhaps
> 15 seconds to connect -- and sometimes unreliable; connections are sometimes
> dropped; some WAP sites aren't coded correctly, which results in not being 
> able
> to connect or poor performance; there aren't enough useful, transactional 
> sites;
> WAP phones aren't sufficiently easy to use despite huge amounts of time 
> and money
> from the handset manufacturers.
>
> In addition, WAP is being marketed as wireless Internet -- just as Sprint 
> PCS in
> the U.S. is marketing Phone.com HDML (**not** WAP) as the "Wireless Web."
> Comparing today's WAP and HDML services to the Web is like comparing a 
> meal of,
> say, a black olive in a salad to a dinner buffet!  Beware of misleading 
> customers
> with advertising and marketing!
>
> The situation will will get better.  Programmers will learn to code 
> WAP.  Phones
> will become more ergonomic.  New devices, such as PDAs, will have more 
> wireless
> capabilities.  Transactional services -- banking and shopping, for example --
> will be ported to WAP from SMS.  Packet data -- GPRS (General Packet Radio
> Services) -- will be implemented this year and offer better performance,
> always-on functionality and packet pricing.
>
> Third Generation with faster speeds (but **not** the theoretical maximum 
> speeds
> always printed in the press) will start in Japan in mid-2001 and in Europe in
> 2002.  That will not, however, eliminate the need for efficient code for 
> wireless
> networks!  Wireless will cost you -- in time and money -- and efficient 
> code and
> navigation of applications will remain crucial, despite 3G.
>
> WAP certainly isn't perfect, and the experience of using WAP today is 
> poor.  But
> it will get better.  Wireless data is a tough business because so many 
> things --
> wireless networks, devices, applications, distribution, etc. -- to provide the
> right combination of price, performance and user expectations.  At least 
> there IS
> action!
>
>
> Alan
> ====
> Alan A. Reiter, President
> Wireless Internet & Mobile Computing
> **consulting, tutorials, conferences, publications**
> E-Mail: reiter () wirelessinternet com
> Phone: 301-951-0385  Fax: 630-982-1994
> http://www.wirelessinternet.com
>
>
> Dave Farber wrote:
>
> > > From: Bosley_J <Bosley_J () bls gov>
> > > To: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
> > >
> > >
> > > Hi Dave:
> > > I don't know how many IP'ers sub to Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, but if 
> any are
> > > interested in usability issues, it's a great service! He can be one 
> dilly of
> > > a curmudgeon, but you gotta listen to him!
> > > John Bosley
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: alertbox () nngroup com [mailto:alertbox () nngroup com]
> > > Sent: Sunday, July 9, 2000 10:37 PM
> > > To: Alertbox Announcement List
> > > Subject: Alertbox: WAP Backlash
> > >
> > >
> > > The Alertbox for July 9 is now online at:
> > >   http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000709.html
> > >
> > > Experience with WAP in Europe shows that it is hard to use. Because of the
> > > miserable usability of the small phones, services must be re-designed for
> > > each handset, increasing maintenance costs.
>
> --