WAP is Dead, Long Live WAP

antimatt writes "Everyone knows WAP is dead. It was dead on arrival. Right? Wrong. WAP use, at least in the UK, is up 42% in the last year. Are we seeing postmortem twitching, or a phoenix rising from the wireless ashes?" While the first incarnation was pretty rough, WAP is slowly growing into what people had hoped the first version would be. Now if only it just lost the stigma attached to it.

One more user ..

[grazzy]

.. and it'll gain another 100%.

not dead until...

[5m477m4n]

I won't believe it until Netcraft confirms it.

The problem with WAP

[Anonymous Coward]

The problem with WAP is that it sucks. Proof is here: http://www.kiskeya.net/ramon/quotes/wapsucks.html [kiskeya.net]

The WAP standard is not closely followed by all phone/PDA browsers. You have the openwave browser working pretty well with it, and then you have the Nokia phones crashing the whole phone with some markup (even valid markup).

People should fix their browsers, it not just a matter of fixing WAP itself only.

The name...

[Mohammed Al-Sahaf]

WAP is the sound your WAP-enabled phone makes when you throw it in the trashcan!

Re:The real reason...

[garcia]

I have a T-mobile Sidekick/Hiptop and I have always thought of doing that while playing NTN but it's just not fast enough. You are better off guessing or waiting for them to tell you the answer (depending on the game type).

What wireless net access *is* good for (as explained by a friend) is finalizing drunken bar arguments over stupid shit like "what was the name of the juice that the Gummi Bears drank to make them bounce?" "Gummiberry Juice" is the correct answer in case you were wondering.

Sadly the bartender wouldn't name a shot after it.

WAP is alive!

[Garabito]

I think WAP is a very cool and convenient technology, it's the best thing since sliced bread and it lets me

more...

Re:One more user ..

[MrChuck]

Hey, I use it
along with BSD.

Guess I'm doomed.

(DOOMED!)

Re:WAP 1 vs. 2

[garglblaster]

WAP has such a negative stigma attached to it because that's what carriers marketed several years ago

So what does the acronym WAP actually stand for?

Answer: Wait And Pay.

The real reason it never took off...

[rainman_bc]

Free content on a cell phone you say? With a limited display size, where the hell do you put the banner ads to pay for the content?

And we all know the web really took off for the same reason VHS did: Pr0n...

No pop-ups? No banner ads? No free content...

Re:WAP 1 vs. 2

[Greger47]

No, WAP isn't an acronym. It's and onamatopoetic word derived from the sound your phone makes when you throw it at the wall out of frustration...

/greger

Oh yeah, its up alright.

[Anonymous Coward]

Last year, 31 people used WAP. This year, 44 people used WAP, therefore usage has grown 42%.

Re:New Technology Lifecycle

[Lispy]

That would make 2005 the year Linux will succeed. I will watch carefully.

Re:Wap is too limited

[NineNine]

"The real internet?" The WHOLE THING? Holy shit! That's an amazing phone. Mine only lets me surf the web and check my email. :(

Re:WAP 1 vs. 2

[Wesley Felter]

And I hear the limitations and faults in WAP 2 have been addressed in HTML 3.2...

Re:And that one stinks too!

[Breakfast Pants]

why doesn't slashdot pay everyone a million dollars? because its expensive.

Re:New Technology Lifecycle

[paul248]

Likewise, myst users don't care about WAP.

Yeah, but it would have sure been helpful if Atrus left you a webpage with the fireplace combination and directions for getting the green page.

Re:And stay dead!

[Guppy06]

"with the modern phones any decently put together site is viewable pretty well, as long as the creators weren't too narrow minded."

This page is best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer!