By: Martha L. Stone A Personal Look At America's Wireless Services
I live by the mantra, 'She who dies with the most toys, wins.'
So recently, I bought a shiny new WAP (wireless access protocol) phone.
Compared with the rest of the world, it's positively antiquated, but by
U.S. standards, it's pretty cool.
The WAP phone connects me to the light versions of eBay,
barnesandnoble.com, MapQuest, Travelocity, and ABCNews.com through the
newly launched AT&T network. I can also access several news sites that
are pushing WAP content, such as USAToday.com, MSNBC.com, ZDNet.com,
Cnet.com, and WSJ.com.
The content is very light, but it is handy. I can buy books and
music on my cell phone. I can bid on stuff on eBay. I can feed my news
junkie veins with all kinds of top-line headlines and briefs - when
I'm stuck in traffic, when I'm sitting in the airport or on a train,
when I'm waiting for an appointment.
But the difference between the flimsy content now and what it will be a
year from now is staggering. Just look to Japan and Europe and you'll
see a world of difference in the uses of WAP. You can buy soda pop by
beaming your phone's infrared device at the machine. You can pay for
parking. You can pay your bills and make transactions with your bank
account. It will be the ultimate personal portal.
And in the upcoming years, Bluetooth technology will enable us
to be alerted if buddies happen to be in the same geographical area, so
we can message them and then meet. The serendipity factor for phones
will be what instant messaging is to the Web.
The geographic capabilities will open new doors for localized and
personalized e-commerce: the digital signals given off by your phone
will communicate with the digital satellites governing your geographic
region. You will be recognized for the location you are in so that you
can receive locally targeted news, mapping, weather, special offers from
restaurants and stores, and messages from friends.
The personal portal approach, and the geographic targeting combined make
a powerful marketing tool for advertisers and retailers.
The drawbacks? The tiny screen, which displays only six to eight lines
at a time, is not the medium on which to read War and Peace, or
any involved news story, for that matter. There's no keyboard yet (but
they are being used now in Scandinavia), so it's not convenient to write
e-mails. And the system is slow, even though there aren't that many
users right now.
The prospect for an integrated system like that of Europe is dismal.
Sprint, AT&T, and CellularOne, for example, all work on separate
networks using different technologies that don't talk to one another.
That means we have to be patient and wait for UMTS (universal mobile
telephone system), a much faster and globally integrated wireless
technology that will likely hit the U.S. in a few years.
We're also anxiously awaiting SMS. The short messaging system will
enable your youngster, teenager, or even you to send little messages to
loved ones in real time, or better yet, your favorite graphics or a
picture of yourself. Teens in Japan and Europe have made SMS a craze of
epidemic proportions.
U.S. wireless providers say they expect to have SMS capabilities by the
end of the year, just in time for Christmas. My 10-year-old daughter has
already placed her order.
Like mother, like daughter.
Related stories:
NEWS SITES GET READY FOR WAP
U.S. CELL PHONE TECHNOLOGY LAGS JAPAN, EUROPE
Steve Outing: How Will The Jetsons Get Their News?
Steve Outing: What Will Wireless Ads Look Like? (05/31/00)
Steve Outing: Wireless Content Publishing: A Second Chance At
Greatness? (05/17/00)
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