WAP is an open international standard for applications that use wireless communication. Its principal application is to enable access to the Internet from a mobile phone or PDA.
A WAP browser (e.g. Opera Mini) is to provide all of the basic services of a computer based web browser but simplified to operate within the restrictions of a mobile phone. WAP is now the protocol used for the majority of the world's mobile internet sites, known as WAP sites. The Japanese i-mode system is currently the only other major competing wireless data protocol.
Mobile internet sites, or WAP sites, are websites written in, or dynamically converted to, WML (Wireless Markup Language) and accessed via the WAP browser.
Before the introduction of WAP, service providers had extremely limited opportunities to offer interactive data services. Interactive data applications are required to support now commonplace activities such as:
* email by mobile phone * tracking of stock market prices * sports results * news headlines * music downloads
Long and short of it, a WAP site is a site which you can browse through your mobile phone.
What is a Web browser? Wikipedia defines it as: "A Web browser is a software application that enables a user to display and interact with text, images, and other information typically located on a Web page at a website on the World Wide Web or a local area network"
Mini technology
Opera Mini does the exact same thing except that it uses a remote server to pre-process Web pages before sending them to your phone. Web content is compressed to reduce the size of data transferred, enabling handling on simpler phones and creating fast browsing at low costs. I've been playing around with Opera Mini (Java ME-J2ME version).
Opera is the Norwegian company who make the browser of the same name for many platforms. All their browsers have a technology they call small screen rendering™ which reformats full desktop web pages for display on tiny phone screens. The reformatting works remarkably well - although reformatted pages aren't likely to be as easy to navigate as well designed mobile pages.
The Java ME part means that you don't need a smartphone to run Opera anymore. Most phones made in the last three years support some version of Java ME (which was called J2ME until Sun renamed it this year). Non-Smartphones generally don't have the processor power and RAM to do all the manipulation that is required to implement small-screen rendering. Opera Mini gets around this by doing the reformatting as a web service, the Opera server resizes images and optimizes the page for the phones screen size and then compresses the resulting mobile page into some sort of binary code which the Java ME app on the phone can easily render. The result is that pages load quickly even on old slow phones. This also means that Opera can easily start charging and shut the service off for anyone who doesn't want to pay the price. But for now at least it is completely free.
One its from Google, so it definitely has to be the best desktop calender plus much more( read loaded with unique features), second it has bundle of mobile features and hence a mention in my blog .
Obviously you need an Google account to access Google Calendar. You can view by day, week, or month; choose which days to display; import events from other programs like Yahoo calendar etc. Nothing unique!?
Here begins the feast;
1. Gmail now recognizes when messages mention events, so when you get emailed about an event, you can add it to Google Calendar with just a couple clicks. Look for the Google Calendar links on the right side of your Gmail window.
2. You can invite other people to any event on your calendar simply by adding their email addresses in the Guests section of the event. Guests can RSVP to your invitations by email, whether or not they use Google Calendar themselves
3. Event reminders : You can choose to be notified by email or pop up window. Listen to this Hutch and Spice subscribers can opt for text message reminders to their mobile phone free of cost.
4. Calendar sharing: You can share your calendar with your friends, a group or with everyone. You can even merge any public calendar or your friends calendar with yours. I merged "Indian holidays" calendar with mine so as to plan my vacations in advance (really useful).
Google Calender Mobile Google launched mobile version of Google calendar (Beta). It's elegantly simple both in ease of use and functionality. As expected the desktop and mobile version are in sync.
Mobile calendar's quick add feature which is also part of desktop version is very crisp. The bes part is hat Google understands natural phrases like;
" Lunch with Dad at 2 tomorrow" It will save the event for tomorrow at 2.00pm.
or "Lunch with dad next Monday at 1.00" will create
" Team meeting every Monday morning" will create a recurring event.
There is dearth of good Indian websites, hoping for a good wap site is a distant dream as of now. It seem, we will have to wait for a long time before we can devour on a good Indian websites. I personally think good content is what is stopping India from the real Internet revolution. Think about it, how websites of Indian origin do you really enjoy or login at least once a week.
How about Indian WAP sites?
I recently stumbled upon probably the only Indian Mobile search engine Zook.in,
As the site puts it: "Zook is a new mobile answer engine which helps you quickly get answers, and act on them, not just pages upon pages of links. It identifies the really clear answers upfront, or interactively narrows down to what you really meant to look for. On the move, wherever you are."
You can search local restaurants and movie listings. A very powerful search engines (at least thats what the company claims) which works on Zivasoft's registered platform Manas Platform™. It also has social networking touch to it, again based on in-house registered platform Peepal Network™ .
I took a quick check whether it really stand for what it claims. I Read zook on my mobile phone by pointing my phone's web browser (mini opera) to http://zook.in/
I typed just PVR to check the intuitive search engines' capability. Following is the result that site displayed:
1: Movie: Cheeni Kum, PVR 2: Restaurant: Lebanese Point 3: Business: Special Tours Of India, Vikas Puri 4: Movie: Norbit, PVR Naraina 5: Movie? 6: Restaurant? 7: Business? 8: City: Bangalore? 9: Language: Hindi? 10: Show: Night?
Well it wasn't intuitive enough to know that my phone browser was calling the site from Mumbai. Even search for PVR Mumbai didnt show terrific result, as all the result where from Mulund.
Dont want to be too cynical but really got excited about the capability of home developed mobile search engine.
On the whole its probably the best Indian WAP site till date with many fun stuff to do like creating groups and mobile downloads (Charged). Do visit company's getting started page for a quick reference. Check out the site and let me know your opinion.
Cheers to the Team at Zook for their wonderful effort.
Palm, Inc. has announced the Palm Foleo, its first smartphone companion product. The Foleo mobile companion has a large screen and full-size keyboard with which to view and edit email and office documents residing on a smartphone. Edits made on Foleo automatically are reflected on its paired smartphone and vice versa. Foleo and its paired smartphone stay synchronized throughout the day or at the touch of a button. The device which is quite like a laptop should have no problem running with Palm or Windows OS.
The Foleo mobile companion turns on and off instantly and features fast navigation, a compact design, and a battery that apparently lasts up to 5 hours of use. Its applications include email, full-screen web browser, and editors or viewers for common business documents such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files. The Foleo stays synchronized via Bluetooth wireless technology and uses the smartphone's radio or the Foleo's built-in Wi-Fi radio for general Internet connectivity.
"Foleo is the most exciting product I have ever worked on," said Jeff Hawkins, founder of Palm, Inc. and the visionary behind the Foleo's concept and definition. "Smartphones will be the most prevalent personal computers on the planet, ultimately able to do everything that desktop computers can do. However, there are times when people need a large screen and full-size keyboard. As smartphones get smaller, this need increases. The Foleo completes the picture, creating a mobile-computing system that sets a new standard in simplicity."
The Foleo's synchronization architecture is open, and Palm expects to work with third-party developers to support as many smartphones as possible. Its Linux-based operating system and built-in Wi-Fi radio helps ease in creation of new applications that can be installed. The Foleo has a USB port, video-out port, headphone jack, and slots for SD and compact flash cards for memory expansion.
There is never a delay or boot-up time. A dedicated button provides access to email. All work is saved, so there is no need to close applications or take actions in order to save files. When the Foleo is turned on again, it resumes where the user left off. New users follow a simple process to pair a Foleo with their smartphone. From then on, email stays synchronized on both devices.
U.S. availability for the Palm Foleo mobile companion will begin this summer. The price of the Foleo mobile companion is expected to be approximately Rs. 20,172 ($499).
Nokia today announced two new handsets, the Nokia 6500 classic and Nokia 6500 slide. Along with third generation WCDMA technology and contemporary designs, these new devices are aimed at driving the benefits of third generation technology to the mid-range market.
"With the Nokia 6500 classic and Nokia 6500 slide, Nokia is combining these areas of expertise to deliver a compelling blend of design and technology at a mid-range price point," said Peter Ropke, Senior Vice President, Broad Appeal Business Unit, Nokia.
"While features like the aluminum "loop" structure of the Nokia 6500 classic or the Carl Zeiss optics found in the Nokia 6500 slide separate these devices from the pack, it is the balance of features and style that will make them irresistible to customers", said Ropke. Nokia 6500 classic
Crafted from 360 degrees of anodized aluminum, the Nokia 6500 classic is 9.5mm thin. According to Nokia, each Nokia 6500 classic is individually polished, ensuring that no two phones are exactly alike, while diamond polishing used on the beveled display aperture and cold stamped logo demonstrate the highest levels of craftsmanship.
Featuring dual band 3G technology and quad-band GSM for worldwide roaming, the Nokia 6500 classic also features a full 1 GB of internal memory. It is equipped with the Series 40 interface, includes a 2 megapixel camera with dual LED flash and an integrated music player. Furthermore, a unified micro-USB connector simplifies charging, audio and data connectivity by consolidating them into a single compact port. This allows for the Nokia 6500 classic to be easily used as a high-capacity flash drive or to be charged directly from a laptop computer - all with one cable.
The Nokia 6500 classic is expected to be available during the 3rd quarter of 2007.
Nokia 6500 slide
The Nokia 6500 features a 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and the addition of autofocus, a dual LED flash and 8x digital zoom. It also uses 3G technology. The TV-out jack will allow users to be instantly viewed on any television with standard RCA inputs. The TV-out feature can also be used for video calling.
It's equipped with a hard coating that helps to prevent scuffs, scratches, and even fingerprints.
The Nokia 6500 slide is expected to be available during the 3rd quarter of 2007.
Nokia's N95 superphone is complicated loaded with superior hardware and software that commands respect. It is most definitely the best non-QWERTY smart phone and the best multimedia phone ever developed to date. Aside from call quality and regular feature, why Nokia's N95 Rocks: 1. Camera:
it's a 5mp camera with a Carl Zeiss 2.8/5.6 autofocusing lens in a phone. Carl Zeiss by the way are the world leaders in Optical camera lens makers, epitome of camera lens. There are great controls for ISO, white balance, sharpness, contrast, and flash. And video comes in at 640 by 480 at 30fps.
2. GPS: It’s loaded with advance web browsing and GPS capabilities that really makes you ponder “Its what computers have become”
Build in GPS system Nokia WEB browser with mini Map Location based mobile search JPhew!!! Think nokia has taken its adage bit too seriously… Connecting people.
3. Media Playback:
The mp3/video player is fairly straight forward, and that's why I like it. The speakers are unreasonably loud, in a good way, for a device of this size and there's an EQ as well as visualizations. File support includes MP3/WMA/M4A, MPEG-4, H.264/AVC, H.263/3GPP, RealVideo 8/9/10. In short, you can play any file format you can possibly imagine except of course I tunes. The media playback buttons aren't the easiest to press, but they add to the simplicity and dedication this device has to AV.
Cant afford Xbox, PS3 or simply wanna take your gaming console wherever you go. Whatever your reason, here is your answer… PlayStation Portable (PSP). PSP is a handheld gaming system launched by Sony.
PSP is almost as powerful as PS2 with three-dimensional-CG games incorporating high-quality, full-motion video similar to PlayStation 2 can be played anytime, anywhere.
PSP comes in a black color, with a 16:9 widescreenTFT LCD that displays full color (16.77 million colors) on a 480 x 272 pixel high-resolution screen, centered in a sleek ergonomic design with a high-quality finish that fits comfortably in the hands.
It also comes complete with the basic functions of a portable music player such as built-in stereo speakers, exterior headphone connector, brightness control and sound mode selection.
PSP also comes equipped with diverse input/output connectors such as USB 2.0, and 802.11b (Wi-Fi) wireless LAN, providing connectivity to various devices in the home and to the wireless network outside. The world of gaming is further enhanced by enabling users to enjoy online gaming, or by connecting multiple PSPs to each other, directly via the wireless network. In addition, software and data can be downloaded through a USB or wireless network onto Memory Stick PRO Duo.
All of these features can be enjoyed on one single system. Sounds Good!!
A must have for every serious gamer, Microsoft's first serious games-only solution X Box 360. In fact it’s a must for everybody who still has a child inside. Remember the Nokia ad which showed Bill Gates engrossed ). Gaming hasJplaying a game on his phone (must be playing snake then come a long way since then. Through X Box Live you can download games online, write, review blogs or play game with your friends in the US. And of course if you wanna take a break from your gaming session, your X box turns into a media device where you can play audio CDs or watch VCDs/DVDS.
A brand that was created to end Microsoft’s monopoly nearly two decades ago, had positioned itself as the most innovative company in the world. And have they done it with style? You bet they have. We know it as Apple. Every product from its stable seems to have the perfect recipe for success, be it the Mac Notebooks. Apple I pod or the latest offering I phone.
Mac book stands for all of the above and more. It’s stylish, powerful, aesthetic and loaded with features which are refreshing change from mundane and sluggish user interface of Windows OS.
And for the conservative lot, not only can the new Intel-powered Macs use Microsoft Office*, it can even run Windows XP/Vista** - making it the only computer you'll ever need. Oh, but there is one thing that doesn't work on a Mac - viruses, 114,000 of them.
At a price tag starting at Rs. 60,000/- it’s not a lot to pay for something that enriches your life.
Technical Spec: 13.3-inch widescreen display 1280 x 800 resolution 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo1 512MB memory (2x256MB SODIMMs) 80GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive2 SuperDrive (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
