- A Brief History of WAP
- WAP Criticism: A Popular Spectator Sport
- New in WAP 2
- WML 2: XHTML Extended
- Tools
- Conclusion
WAP Criticism: A Popular Spectator Sport
Although WAP has been accepted as a de facto industry standard, it does have its detractors. Following the massive hype surrounding the "wireless Web" in late 1999 and 2000, many early adopters of WAP and similar but proprietary services were "underwhelmed" by the experience. A typical mobile handset displays a few lines of text and rudimentary black-and-white graphics, and has connection and response times reminiscent of a mid-1990s dial-up Internet account. Much of this criticism is misdirected because the handset and cellular network severely limit the user's experience, no matter what the underlying protocol is. However, WAP developers have also had a few things to say about WAP! It is these criticisms that we will explore in more detail in this article. Some of the more common complaints are listed here:
WAP does not use standard Internet protocols.
WAP does not use a standard display markup language (such as HTML) or support style sheets.
There is a security hole at the WAP gatewaythe so-called "white spot."
WAP does not mandate support for cookies.