There has been much speculation in the mobile world that the iPhone will kill WAP (Wireless Access Protocol) thanks to its PC-like web browsing experience. This topic was even discussed by a panel of experts at the 2008 OMMA Mobile.
The verdict? Hmmm, probably not. Right now.
There are a few reasons for this. Unlike the PC, the mobile environment is highly fragmented with no standardized operating system, so multiple formats will likely prevail. And while the iPhone has a killer browsing experience (and has boosted browsing among its users way above the norm, 84 compared to 11% according to M:Metrics), they still represent a small number of the phones out there.
Beyond that, however, it was noted by Tony Nethercutt from AdMob that people are choosing to use wap on their iPhones. They prefer the stripped-down WAP experience for on-the-go, small screen reading. The iPhone OSX-based browser also has trouble with newer web technologies like Java and flash. As a result, we are seeing the emergence of a “middle web,” hybrid sites that are optimized for the iPhone but have java script (creating, as he called it, “the iPhone on steroids”). Here’s an example from Travelocity.
Still there is no reason we won’t see more, better models in the future as new devices evolve. The phone isn’t the PC, in many ways. And neither are the mobile game players, cameras, etc that are becoming web-enabled. Will one technology work for them all? Perhaps, but it will likely evolve in time.
