Cha2,
<< Re PHCM ... The Unwired Planet (which is Phone.com under an earlier label ...) decided early on that the best way to get a seat at the table among the "big boys" was to give away their technology to a group - in return for the side benefits >>
Which was the primary differentiating factor between its browser and the Geoworks OS/microbrowser that GSMNA was considering when it made the decision on WAP (which involved some concessions from Nokia as well as UP if I recall) as opposed to the Geoworks approach.
GSMNA (the regional group of GSM Association) passed on its recommendations to GSM Association and ETSI (draft proposal format) and the rest is history. WAP is BIG!
Even though WAP is technology agnostic, at the time this decision was made, CDMA (unlike GSM) had no data capability, or perhaps I should say had never commercially implemented a data capability. The 2 day meeting (of GSMNA) I refer to, took place in Dallas and I believe it was in June of 1997.
BTW: I did not attend the meeting. I was across town. I did, however, get a rather complete rundown on it from one of its key participants, a week later.
<< Nokia is claiming (deju vu all over again) to have "invented" the technology which Unwired Planet in fact did >>
My recollection is that this is not entirely accurate, Chaz. UP & Nokia teamed up, and collaborated using bits and chunks of each others technology, as the story was related to me, and they later confounded the WAP forum (along with MOTO & ERICY).
Geoworks, is of course, back, for their piece of the pie, and I am told, has a reasonable shot at getting a chunk.
<< The success of PHCM really depends on the server related services they can sell - not a lock on IPR - the IPR was given away. Right or wrong, that was done >>
Some would say that there best shot at success is to act as a portal. I have meant to explore that a bit further (will soon) and am glad it was identified in the great Project Hunt report presented here.
<< Dr. J argues ... that WAP (Phone.com's technology which is the basis for the WAP forum) is not the best way to go for the wireless / internet nexus >>
Many in the GSM community feel the same way (at least as a medium term to long term solution.
It is interesting that Qualcomm was an early equity investor in UP. I am not sure that this was mentioned in the report but it may have been (Disclosure: the company I worked for at the time was also an equity investor in the same financing wave).
<< Will the latter day Betamax (perhaps the analogy) triumph? >>
Are you referring to cdma2000?
<< Qualcomm as reflects the brilliance of the leadership there, makes WAP available ... even though Dr. J is skeptical of how "necessary" it is.
Best he does. Dr. J is brilliant (and a great corporate leader, no question, but this is NOT an example of his "brilliance". The US cdma carriers who have little practical wireless data experience (well BAM has some CDPD experience) need WAP desperately and use it to deliver the minuscule data services they currently offer.
Let me give you a few examples:
* BAM (now Verizon) is using (or will use) the UP server to provision a phone Over The Air (OTA provisioning). This is the year 2000. By comparison when the first PCS network (Sprint Spectrum) launched in the United States using GSM in November 1995 (fully one year ahead of a cdma network) the phones were provisioned over the air.
* CDMA is catching up to GSM and they need WAP to catch up. Actually they have caught up and actually leapfrogged GSM, since they now deliver data services 50% faster than GSM here in the good old USA (a temporary and highly theoretical advantage since commercial GPRS infrastructure was delivered here before any cdma carrier ordered 1X for test purposes, but of course the standardization of IS-2000 by TIA only just occurred.
* I just reached over and used my WAP enabled Qualcomm QCP860 with its Mickey Mouse MMI (which is not much better or much worse than any other MMI commercially available regardless of technology) and connecting to the UP server using Verizon and got a stock quote on Qualcomm (nicely up) at the blazing speed of 14.4 kbps.
* I then reached over and used my old (non WAP enabled) GSM Omnipoint/Voicestream Bosch "Worldphone" to get a stock quote on GMST (even better) at the sluggish speed of 9.6 kbps using SMS. Dr. J would say, we don't need SMS, we have a better technology and someday we will deliver it. This service from Omnipoint has been available since they launched commercial in November 1996, and a comparable cdma data service from PCS Sprint or BAM was finally made available in August 1999 (using WAP).
Some of the good Doctor's brilliance lies in his magnificent use of FUD (and FUD is only effective when you practice it as skillfully as he does). IBM may have invented the art, but he has perfected it.
Well anyway, I am starting to rant as bad as Mq, so once again I will say that it is always a pleasure to dialogue with you (and occasionally rant a little).
I will rant less when QCOM is YTD green. <g>
- Eric - |
