WAP Forum Releases WAP 2.0 Specifications for Public Review

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Wireless Developer Network - Daily News

WAP Forum Releases WAP 2.0 Specifications for Public Review

URL(s): http://www.wapforum.org

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Aug. 1, 2001-- WAP 2.0 Integrates Latest Internet Standards and Content Technologies into Mobile Environment, Providing Platform for Richer Mobile Experience

The WAP Forum(TM), the industry association that develops and fosters the growth of the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), today announced the release of WAP 2.0 for public review. This next generation of the WAP specification helps content developers deliver a richer and more secure experience to mobile Internet service subscribers. WAP 2.0 is a significant evolutionary step in the worldwide standard and will allow application developers to create compelling mobile content using the same tools and techniques they are already familiar with using for other Internet applications. The new architecture of WAP 2.0 continues the convergence of WAP with the evolving Internet, merging the work of the WAP Forum, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and enabling more rapid development of new mobile Internet applications.

"The new specification is a significant milestone towards the WAP Forum's goal to bring a richer experience to users of mobile phones and other wireless devices," said WAP Forum CEO, Scott Goldman. "WAP 2.0 provides all companies in the wireless value chain with a bridge to the mobile Internet's true potential."

"WAP 2.0 is a significant evolutionary step towards the introduction of advanced mobile Internet services," said Becky Diercks, Director of Wireless Research for Cahners In-Stat. "The evolution of WML 2.0, WAP's markup language, to an XHTML architecture incorporating CSS allows the developer community to easily deliver applications that will capitalize on a broad set of supported features that will enhance the user experience. Cahners In-Stat Group expects the number of wireless Internet subscribers to grow from 30 million in 2000 to 742 million by the end of 2005. WAP 2.0 will help fuel this growth through next generation applications and devices."

END USERS

WAP 2.0 is designed to increase the usability of WAP applications, meeting market demands and taking advantage of the latest industry developments such as higher bandwidths, faster data speeds, greater processing power, and varied screen sizes. With advanced networks and additional services, users of WAP 2.0-enabled devices will experience mobile access to new Internet-based content, applications and services that will serve as a valuable extension to the PC. DEVELOPERS Supporting XHTML, WAP 2.0 reduces development costs, allowing developers to write applications for both PC and WAP clients, using a common subset of language elements and development tools. XHTML's modular architecture also enables developers to quickly and easily build applications that can adapt to changes in the hardware environment. WAP 2.0 also gives developers the ability to create applications utilizing enhanced style features. Through the use of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), developers can separate style attributes for one or more XML documents from the actual code, reducing the size of the markup code in browser memory.

DEVICE MANUFACTURERS

Device manufacturers have the opportunity to develop handsets that support applications that optimize the usability of WAP applications by capitalizing on new WAP 2.0 features, such as the ability to include color, multimedia messaging, large-file downloading, improved navigational functions, and user-friendly menus.

NETWORK OPERATORS

Network operators will benefit from the ability to provide new services that have increased appeal by exploiting the benefits of WAP 2.0. These new services have the potential to increase user traffic, leading to increased revenue and bringing operators the benefits of their investment in 2.5G and 3G networks.

WAP 2.0 ENJOYS INDUSTRY SUPPORT

"The GSM Association welcomes the availability of WAP 2.0 specifications and applauds the move towards an XHTML based mark-up language," said Rob Conway, CEO of the GSM Association. "The importance of the continued evolution of WAP cannot be understated -- WAP 2.0 will make it easier for developers to build compelling applications and to create a richer experience for users through the mobile Internet. The parallel development of the Association's M-Services Guidelines complements and is supportive of the release of WAP 2.0 standard, helping as it does to bridge the gap to key service elements of the new specification required by our operators in the short to medium term."

-- An extended testimonial list can be viewed at: http://www.wapforum.org/new/testimonials.pdf

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