A new quantum leap has occurred in the development of WAP technology. The partnership between Motorola and Telenor Mobil has developed technical solutions which will provide full-scale WAP far more cheaply. Until now, you were very lucky to find a WAP phone under NOK 5,000 but, starting this week, you will be able to buy one for around NOK 1,000.
Several manufacturers
Telenor Mobil is now collaborating with several manufacturers of mobile phones, and there will probably be several cut-price models in the shops before Easter.
"Norway is already one of the cheapest countries in the world to ring from, and now Norwegians will also benefit from the world’s cheapest WAP phones. This is a revolution in mobile pricing," says acting Director of Information at Telenor Mobil, Jo Heldaas.
Full-scale WAP
The "People's WAP" has virtually all of the functions that can be found on the more expensive models. The only functions that could not be fitted on the cheaper model are "call waiting" while using WAP, and the ability to set bookmarks. Apart from this, it is a full-scale WAP phone.
Internet in your pocket
WAP is the acronym for "Wireless Application Protocol ". In short, this means a computer which downloads information from the Internet, using the mobile phone network. In most cases, the computer is an advanced mobile phone - a WAP phone.
If information from the Internet is to be transferred quickly, and be practical to process on a mobile phone, it must be adapted to the WAP format. This is a relatively simple task for the information provider and new WAP services are being added every day. The Telenor Mobil WAP portal, "djuice.com", provides today more than 200 links. This portal is open to all and the Internet site with the same name provides a comprehensive listing with even more links, in addition to user guides for all WAP phones.