While it would be woefully premature to call 1999 “the year of wireless data,” few would
disagree the industry has come a long way in the last year.
In 1998, several new devices were introduced that met
the form factor and price requirements needed for the consumer market. Additionally, carriers began developing and
selling complete solution packages as opposed to only airtime. But there is yet one piece of the puzzle needed before
true consumer acceptance of wireless data can be realized-mass-market applications.
The wireless data industry still
is pushing the technology to consumers, say analysts. There is no real pull or demand for it from consumers. The right
applications could change that.
As such, the wireless data industry is primping itself to better attract developers so
they might write the applications that will, in turn, lure the horizontal market customers.
“Applications will
help drive the market, and I think we are beginning to reach the developer community needed for that to happen,”
said Mark Desaultels, managing director of the Wireless Data Forum. “We believe it’s the community we need to
attract, and clearly, there’s a burgeoning community there.”
Efforts to recruit developers have reached an all-
time high. BellSouth Wireless Data L.P. recently held its first-ever solutions conference dedicated to entice more
developers to the fold. Sierra Wireless Inc. formed the WirelessReady Alliance program, consisting of carriers,
hardware manufacturers, software developers and system integrators promoting wireless data applications.
In May,
Zsigo Wireless Data Consultants Inc. plans to hold its WirelessDeveloper ’99 conference, formerly known as
CelluComm Expo. The show’s primary function is “to bring together the application developers who create the
wireless data solutions we all know are so badly needed in our industry,” according to the company.
The
Wireless Data Forum felt so strongly about this effort that it scheduled its member conference just prior to
WirelessDeveloper in the same place, Monterey, Calif.
Apparently, these efforts are beginning to pay off. The
Software Development Forum-a Silicon Valley-based organization with groups dedicated to Java, e-commerce and
Windows applications-recently formed a special interest group focusing on personal digital assistants and wireless
applications. The group is expected to hold a session during the WDF meeting.
Joe Jasin of Information,
Communications & Entertainment Group L.L.C. co-founded the PDA/Wireless SIG. He said he decided to form the
group based on recent developments in the wireless data industry, in particular the Palm series of PDAs and the
Unwired Planet Inc. UP.browser.
The first meeting, held in October, attracted some 30 attendees. The next one
attracted about 300, mainly because the Palm Pilot’s inventor was the featured speaker.
“Some 60 percent to
70 percent of our audience is in Palm development,” Jasin said.
The new line of devices introduced in recent
months have had a big impact on the effort to herd more developers to the industry. Another device many have touted
as an industry ice-breaker is the Inter@ctive 950 pager from Research in Motion Ltd.
Both BellSouth Wireless Data
and American Mobile Satellite Corp. use the device for their respective interactive paging services. BellSouth has
targeted vertical and horizontal markets with the unit, while AMSC’s Ardis network has attracted mostly utility and
transportation users.
“The RIM device heralded the beginning of some very exciting stuff,” said Bill
Frezza, a consultant with Wireless Computing Associates.
The device is one of the first made for the wireless data
industry that is consumer-friendly in form factor and price. Bell Lenahan, BSWD president and chief executive officer,
said this is important because mobile data devices must meet personal and business needs in order to gain consumer
acceptance.
At the opening session of the company’s solutions conference, Lenahan pointed out several trends he
thinks will benefit the wireless data space. First, workers are being asked to do more than before, so they need to be
more organized, efficient and mobile, Lenahan noted. Next, the lines are blurring between business life and personal
life. Finally, technology has evolved to meet demand with form factors shrinking and becoming more
interactive.
“The value of these interactive devices that have emerged complement laptop devices,”
Lenahan said, estimating interactive paging device sales will equal that of laptops in 2000.
New device
The heir-
apparent to the Inter@ctive 950 is the Palm VII, expected to be commercially available this summer. The new Palm
device features a built-in connection to BellSouth’s network, which can be activated by extending the antenna.
The
device uses the wireless connection to access several pre-assigned Internet portals, allowing users to obtain a variety of
Web-based information content from the device.
“We now have two different platforms to develop to-the 950
and the Palm VII,” he said. “There will be thousands and millions of users attracted to these two
devices.”
Concerns
However, analysts have expressed some concern the Palm VII has no e-mail
notification ability. Palm VII owners can use the device to check their e-mail, but only when the antenna is extended,
activating the wireless connection.
“This is not a good e-mail device,” admitted Palm Computing Inc.’s
Joe Sipher. “What it can be is a great messaging device,” for sending short information packets and
receiving non-time-critical notes.
But because analysts consider e-mail the only application worth talking about in
the wireless space, many have called the Palm VII a mere gadget.
The upcoming release of phones equipped with
Wireless Application Protocol technology is expected to interest developers as well. However, there is some trepidation
because of a possible standards war between Microsoft Corp. and WAP.
Such standards confusion could prove a
hurdle to many developers eyeing the data space. Jasin said today is an “exploratory and incubation” period
for developers when discussing wireless data. Because the industry moves so fast from one standard to another, it’s
difficult to make a commitment. This holds true for both device platforms as well as transmission technology, he
added.
“Who’s going to be the prominent carrier, the prominent operating system?” he asked.
“Developers are not all convinced Palm’s going to be it because of how intimidating Microsoft is.”
He
pointed to company’s like AvantGo Inc., which recently announced partnerships with The Windward Group and
Microsoft Silicon Valley Developer Center to offer free seminars to businesses interested in extending their
applications to mobile platforms. He said developers are especially interested in AvantGo’s solutions because the
company embraces two of the most popular platforms in mobile computing today-Palm Computing Inc.’s Palm OS and
Microsoft Corp.’s Windows CE.
The idea of making the vast power of the Internet available wirelessly generates a
lot of excitement, but there are problems that must be overcome.
Analysts attending BSWD’s solutions conference
pointed out Internet development exceeds wireless data network development. The Internet is now capable of
transmitting information at speeds wireless networks will never match. The wireless “pipe” is quite narrow
compared with that of wireline. Also, wireless carriers charge on a per-minute usage model.
As such, there must be
two Internet models-the desktop model and wireless model. While this is indeed a challenge, the potential is too great
to ignore. The Internet has becom
e more and more popular. The world has become full of “Internet
addicts,” and allowing them to access it wirelessly will allow them to better feed their habit.
Because of these
challenges, carriers and other companies have begun to offer complete solutions as opposed to airtime solutions only.
In order to sell airtime, they have developed the necessary partnerships on both ends of the network.
“If
there’s not an end-to-end solution, we don’t get paid,” said BSWD’s Lenahan. “Together, we have to ensure
flawless service.”
Jasin encouraged carriers to include developers more in that effort.
“Position
software as an equally integral part of the package as the hardware,” he said. “The carrier, software and
hardware pieces are equally as important.”
Carriers have responded with efforts to make it easier for
developers to write to their standards, streamlining much of the work beforehand so developers don’t need to spend a
lot of time understanding the carrier’s network.
Addressing developers at the solutions conference, Lenahan’s words
seem to indicate why.
“We challenge you to think outside the box and actively participate in this new wireless
world.”
