Iota claims to have cracked WAP

DELIVERING CONTENT fast and reliably to mobile phones is a nut which everybody would like to crack. But Iota Sphere claims to have done so with its Iota Messenger offering.

The idea is to take paid for content in any format - WML, cHTML, XHTML, or standard HTML - and present it in a readily understandable format on the recipient's handset.

The Messenger interface therefore looks like a cross between a text (SMS) mesasge reader and email browser. Although the system strips out any kind of graphics for simplicity and speed purposes, Iota says it is still feasible to embed text based adverts.

The principle is similar to 'on device portal' [ODP] technology offered by the likes of Abaxia. These trickle information down to a handset in the background and store it, thus making the data 'instantly retrievable'.

Iota Sphere's CEO, Bruce Eley, claims that ODP technology is not only wasteful because less than 10 per cent of downloaded content is actually consumed, it is also expensive for the consumer who pays to download all the unwanted information.

Another benefit from Messenger, Iota claims is that the pricing structure is transparent to the end user. Before downloading the latest football scores, for example, Iota Messenger can tell the user exactly how much the download will cost.

There are a couple of drawbacks to the Iota system, however. Firstly, the content provider needs to sit down and work out exactly what information will be provided and how to charge for specific data. This can take up to two weeks.

The second disadvantage is that once an existing content site has been 'Iota Messenger' enabled, is still isn't a true 'mobile' web site and so can't take advantage of the new .mobi domain name structure.

Given the extreme difficulty of finding any relevant information via the mobile web at present, Iota messenger is at least a step in the right direction. µ

L'INQ
Iota