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The objectives of WAP are to bring internet access and applications to users of mobile phones. Two obvious constraints are the size of the mobile handset display and the data speeds used by mobile networks and handsets.
To overcome the limitation of the small handset display, the mobile networks, internet
service providers and other organisation's wanting to support WAP functionality on mobile
phones have developed sites with very few graphics. These WML (Wireless Mark-up Protocol)
sites will not only be easily readable on a suitable WAP phone display but in limiting
the graphics content, will facilitate realistic download times, helping to overcome the
mobile data rate issue.WAP handsets are fitted with a micro-browser to enable dialogue via the Internet with the WML server. Virtually all modern handsets now support WAP.
It is fair to say that the early range of WAP sites and services failed to catch the public interest, not least because of the slow access speeds. The introduction of GPRS has significantly improved access speed to WAP services, for just a couple of pounds per month it is now possible to access topical information via your mobile phone in just a few seconds.
As we describe in our news section O2 has launched their WAP "i-mode" service in the UK.
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