After the initial excitement that surrounded the WAP and the possibilities of the new system, the voices begin to emerge criticism. Jakob Nielsen, a renowned specialist in issues related to Internet and mobile telephony, describes this system in an opinion piece as being the "wrong approach to portability.
Will the WAP a "temporary aberration that offers quality service standards inadequate," as described by most participants in the NetMedia2000 conference held in London a few months ago? What are the main criticisms made by Nielsen to the European system?
Communication Problems
One of the main limitations of WAP, assumed from the beginning, is the de facto be a "micro-browser that can only read information written in computer language, WML. This means that to access information, operators and companies have to develop your own content for WAP or adapt existing ones. But the criticism harvested include another set of difficulties that users of the system are present, such as mobile services do not work and problems. Another serious limitation is the slow speeds and the need to make a new call if the phone has to connect. All this implies that many times, it is easier to access the information we need through a normal telephone call, that through the WAP. As already has a mobile phone in their hands ...
Question Format
Flipping through a mobile phone, you can conclude two things, first is the small size of the screen, which severely limits the system's capabilities. The second is that there is input data to use a small keyboard, which is also numerical, requiring a gym digital (finger) to achieve write a sentence.
But in addition, there is no standard format for mobile phones. They all vary in screen size and form as they are designed. This means that content, to make themselves available on a large scale, must have several versions to be compatible with the various restrictions and specific use of each model. Each WAP service therefore has to be adapted to each appliance to function even if the support is incomplete. What conclusion can be drawn from this process? It will be more difficult and expensive to launch services within WAP, that using a normal browser. The great advantage of the Internet has always been its accessibility, regardless of the medium used for display.
The Attitude of the Operators
In many cases, the operators themselves to limit the content that can be accessed, so a profitable system costs. How do they do? In raising WAP closed systems, where little is allowed access to "sites" that have agreements with telephone operators. Nielsen sees this situation as a "violation of the antitrust laws (antitrust)," in which companies operate in a monopoly and harmful to consumers and European operators accused of "being ready to destroy 90% of the potential for mobile Internet, so to be able to charge monopoly rights over the remaining 10% "plus will limit the freedom of expression.
WAP: what future?
Nielsen described as the attitude towards WAP is changing in Europe. The initial excitement was lost, as the limitations became more obvious and undisguised. Themselves "web designers" now prefer the term "Mobile Internet", not to be connoted with a possible system failure. The emphasis now ceased to be the WAP to become alternatives that offer larger screens and faster and permanent ligations.
Nielsen stresses the I-mode system, currently used in Japan by NTT DoCoMo operator, that despite using the same technology has been introduced in the market with great success. The reason for success? It is cheaper and simpler, offering permanent access and a policy of opening up the system commercially. This led to the existence of around 600 thousand new users each month and about 13 thousand "sites" that allow access to all kinds of services, then were collected through the telephone bill. The success of this system could be allowed to come to compete with the WAP in Europe, taking the operator Japan already begun to establish partnerships with Microsoft and Sun also have bought stakes in mobile operator KPN holandes. The end of WAP is close? The future will tell .....
