WAP or wireless
Application Protocol, adds a new dimension to the Internet i.e.
mobility. With a mobile phone or a laptop that supports WAP you can
book tickets, order food and check your bank account at any time. You
can play games while stuck in traffic, get the stock market news in
the elevator… complete mobility, the world wide web with you all the
time. It also includes services such as downloading entire phone books
and new, improved ways of controlling outgoing and incoming calls will
make mobile telephony even easier. To access WAP services you need a
WAP product. Besides the WAP compatibility, WAP products have a large
full graphic display and include a micro browser. The basic function
of WAP is for mobile phones to be able to communicate with a server
installed in the mobile phone network. It brings together the web and
telecommunications. Of course, as all new technologies, WAP also comes
with its questions and hesitations.
|
|
HISTORY AND BRIEF TECHNOLOGICAL OVERVIEW |
This technology is only
a couple of years old. Brought in by a company called "Unwired
Planet", a combination of the leading telecommunications companies.
HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS:
-
Make a request in
WML (Wireless Markup Language), a language derived from HTML
especially for wireless network characteristics.
-
This request is
passed to a WAP Gateway that then retrieves the information from
an Internet server either in standard HTML format or preferably
directly prepared for wireless terminals using WML.
- The requested information is then
sent from the WAP Gateway to the WAP client, using whatever mobile
network bearer service is available and most appropriate.
|
|
|
|
ADVANTAGES OF WAP |
Multi-party Communication
WAP technology makes it possible for several people to communicate on
the move using different devices. Instant and mobile voice, text,
image and position messaging capabilities make this media an extremely
powerful tool.
Checking your horoscope
Astrology WAP applications give you constant round-the-clock access to
an up-to-the-minute horoscope. Using your mobile phone, you can keep
yourself updated on what the stars have in store for you.
Personal pocket guide
Wherever you are in the world, your WAP-enabled mobile phone is your
personal guide to the city. Use it to plan your evening's
entertainment. Reserve seats at a restaurant, take in some local art,
book cinema tickets or find some place at a quiet drink.
Weather report
An updated world-wide detailed weather report is always available if
you have a WAP-enables mobile phone. You can have storm warnings
automatically directed to your phone wherever you are.
Global yellow pages
In your WAP-enabled mobile phone, you have every Yellow pages
directory in the world at your fingertips and millions of useful
telephone numbers. Anywhere, at any time, you can locate and avail of
local services such as taxi services, because you have the local
Yellow Pages in your pocket.
Mobile stock market
Your automatic WAP-based stock-broker tells you the prices of your
shares. You can carry out the entire transaction over the Web without
moving from the spot.
Always in touch
Keeping in touch with news at
home or abroad. Your WAP-enabled, mobile phone gives you access to all
categories of up-to-the-minute local or international news.
Wap entertainment
Entertain yourself at a traffic jam with WAP. Check out the
entertainment sites, online games etc.
IMPLICATIONS FOR E-BUSINESS
- Easy, and fast access to Internet.
- WML and WMLScript (new language,
which is based on HTML).
- Large choice in mobile phones
(most of them support WAP).
- Can be used to download abstract
data types ( videos etc.).
- Supports most wireless networks
(like: CDMA, GSM, PDC, PHS, TDMA etc.).
- Can be built on any operating
system.
- International standard.
|
|
|
|
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS |
Which content
is possible to access with WAP?
Almost anything available on the net; weather, news, stock market
information, product updates, software downloads and so on. There is
also a broad spectrum of other possible applications: e-mail,
information search and retrieval, e-Commerce, calendar and office
applications, maps and position-based services, voice messaging and
communication, call control, Intranet/Internet access, among others.
What type of devices will use WAP?
Handheld digital wireless devices such as mobile phones, pagers,
two-way radios, smart phones and communicators from low-end to
high-end.
Is WAP suitable for multimedia mobile
services?
A current area of interest within WAP Forum is evolution to support
multimedia mobile services. WAP is an open protocol that allows the
transport of many forms of multimedia content. However, some
multimedia services, especially those based on streaming media,
require further enhancements to WAP.
What are the properties of WAP?
WAP can only support DOS-like 2D graphics which are shown on the
screen of the WAP devices. The current downloading speed of WAP is
between 9.6kbps to 14.4kbps, depending on the telecommunication
network it is riding on.
What is a WAP gateway?
The WAP gateway/proxy connects the wireless world with
Internet/Intranet, providing a path from the WAP-enabled handsets in
the wireless world to applications on the Internet/Intranet. In
addition to being a bridge between the Internet world and the mobile
world, the WAP gateway/proxy offers service logic such as:
a) End-user authentication
b) Encoding of WML pages
c) WML script compiling
Can WAP connect me to any site that I want
to?
As long as the site has been "wapified", that is, the site has been
written in WML (wireless markup language) that is accessible by WAP
devices.
Is surfing the Internet on a WAP device
similar to surfing on a PC?
Pretty similar. The main difference is that WAP does not support
fanciful graphics as WAP is written in WML . WAP supports real time
text information and simple DOS-like graphics.
What is the difference between WAP and SMS?
With ordinary SMS one can send text messages to mobile phones, e.g.
receiving today's news or sports results. But SMS can only give the
mobile phone user a limited degree of interaction. One can compare SMS
with email: one can send and receive messages but it is not really
possible to take any action or easily navigate to other information.
WAP could be compared with an Internet browser: it supports hyperlinks
for easy navigation and forms that are easy to fill in with selected
data and receive a response. In conclusion, the difference between WAP
and SMS could be compared to the difference between an Internet
browser and Email.
What is the difference between WAP and SIM?
One can create custom-built applications with SIM Application Toolkit
(ATK) that runs on the SIM card in the mobile phone. A SIM card is the
Smart card that identifies the user and where the user's phonebook is
located. With SIM ATK one can set up new menus, show text in the
display, get access to the phonebook and send / receive SMS messages.
The difference between WAP and SIM ATK is that SIM ATK applications
are located in the phone on the SIM card, and to update an application
one has to exchange the SIM cards of all the users. WAP applications
on the other hand are fetched from a web-server and can be updated at
one central location. Smart cards will have a role to play in the
fuure in WAP security and user/operator personalization.
|
|
|
DISADVANTAGES OF WAP |
- Expensive.
- Did not have a packet-based
service for long time.
- Limited size of RAM and ROM.
- Limited power supply.
- Low bandwidth.
- Difficult to keep the phones
up-to-date with new WAP services.
Labels: mobile phone tips
| | | |
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home