The influential technology site useit.com said Wireless application protocol (WAP) had 'miserable usability' with small screens and slow bandwith. Others have noted that it is quicker to perform most tasks by placing a voice call than by using WAP.
Website publishers are being warned not to get their fingers burned. The 'usability' expert and analyst Jakob Nielsen says it is far more expensive to develop services for WAP than for conventional browsers and advises anyone developing a web strategy to 'skip the current generation of WAP'.
Mobile companies have been accused of 'over-hyping' the service. It-director.com said 'operators like BT Cellnet, in a series of ludicrous adverts, have completely over-positioned this new technology and raised user expectations far beyond a level attainable by anyone at the present time'.
Some companies have gambled heavily on the success of WAP. This month, for example, Carphone Warehouse and the health news website HealthMedia.net launched a joint venture to distribute free WAP phones to UK healthcare professionals (See HealthMedia.net users offered free internet phones).
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