WAP-trap
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I am experimenting with WAP (Wireless Access Protocol), or web browsing from my cellphone. Around the world, many countries are extending their wireless (mobile or “cell”) networks much faster than their wired networks. So, we expect people to begin searching for online (web) information thru their cellphones.
This means that purveyors of online information today should be thinking about how to phone-enable their data and information for the future. Well, I must say I don’t see a lot of evidence that this is happening. Portal sites such as CNN, and ABC news have no automatic detection of WAP browsers and I get the message “Your client is not allowed to acces the requested object.” What’s up? How to fix this?
It turns out that among all the online companies I’ve looked at, Google is probably the best. Google provides a WAP-enabled search page - it’s short and sweet, and it works. And the search results are not only browsable on the cellphone screen, but when I click a search result to go visit that site, Google filters the information for me and makes it (somewhat) browsable, even if the target web site has no understanding of what a cellphone browser wants or needs.
So start your WAP experience at google.com and go from there.
By the way, we’ve made some information available in WAP form at DLFOUND.ORG, just in case you thought we had forgotten about you too. And the CharityFocus “Quote-A-Day” is also available to you by cellphone, relayed by the Dalai Lama Foundation web server. So we’re trying not to be slackers either.
