MOBILE INTERNET OR WAP

MOBILE INTERNET OR WAP

Mobile internet gives subscribers to wireless carriers the ability to access web sites which are usually written to function on mobile devices. Any material that can be accessed on our all too familiar internet web pages should be available on a mobile device.

Mobile web is synonymous with Wireless Application Programming (WAP) and presently WAP2.0 is more emphasized than WAP1.0. WAP2.0 is based on xHTML or extensible markup language. For those familiar with the internet and pages written for the internet, a markup language consists of a set of specifications and constructs that tell a software application called a browser (like the one you’re presently using) how to arrange, present and render the images, text and multimedia elements that make up the components of that page.

One feature that is predominant for both mobile web users and page authors is the screen size of the device. The amount of display space a particular handset can offer varies from one handset to the other and from one handset manufacturer to the other. You need not worry though, guidelines for screen specific presentations exists for both manufacturers and authors.

Some I’ve gone through on the internet are that of the mobile marketing association, http://www.mmaglobal.com/mobileadvertising.pdf as well as that of the open mobile alliance, http://www.openmobilealliance.org/tech/affiliates/wap/wapindex.html.

Mobile internet has not reached up to its potential. It has had successes though in some Asian countries like Japan but which success will surely be copied progressively in other countries. With gprs enabled handsets slowly gaining ground in Nigeria, mobile internet has lots of prospects, especially if wireless carriers like Celtel, Glo, MTN and Starcomms, content providers, mobile application programmers and other players in the mobile ecosystem work together.

As for yourself, do you realize that after the medium is layed out, lots of opportunities exists for you to provide the content and take a part in this life-changing slowly evolving mobile ecosystem? You really never have thought of it have you? But content provision can give jobs to thousands of Nigerians who can see the wires insulated with gold.