Cyrius Media Group
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Services
  • Solutions
  • Portfolio
  • Clients
  • Media
  • Contact
  • Overview
  • Cyrius News
  • In the Press
  • Articles
  • Blog
  • Press Kit

Now, the world really is a stage.

Satellites peer down upon us, as we peer into the screens onto which their images beam.

Every action we take online adds to the story the earth is writing.

The next chapter?

Do you have a project in mind?

Articles

Creative Director Stefan Sojka is one of Australia’s most published freelance writers and commentators on Web business and Internet culture.  He has been a regular monthly columnist for the award-winning NETT magazine for the past three years.  Previous roles included 7 years writing for internet.au magazine and the Australian Net Directory. He continues to contribute to a number of blogs and publications.

WAP

Monday, October 04, 1999

By Stefan Sojka

Name of Site: CellMania.com
URL: www.cellmania.com
Plug-Ins: No
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: medium, Good Quality
Internal Links: 30
Review: CellMania have integrated a store with a site directory, news/views area and added personalization to keep their customers coming back for more. A simple "top 5" chart in each category makes it easy to get amongst the best on offer, or just go right to the various features. Sites are rated, categorised well, and previewable in the emulator, but one annoying thing is that the code that runs the site keeps timing out so you have to keep refreshing the pages just because you went and made yourself a coffee. Besides that, this feature-packed site is well worth revisiting.
Verdict: For mobile maniacs. - SS
Rating: ****

Name of Site: Wap Forum
URL: www.wapforum.com
Plug-Ins: No
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Medium, Medium Quality
Internal Links: 15+
Review: For the rock bottom price of US$27,500, you can join the forum and help steer the future direction of Wireless Application Protocol. They set the standards, certify, test and look for ways to improve the functionality and usability of WML. The members' list shows that WAP is a serious contender as an option now, and in the future, as the world of switched-on free-range humans expands. If you can't afford the fee, at least check the news regularly, and be sure to follow the WAP Awards for what's hot in business, consumer and provider markets.
Verdict: Pow-wow of the big wigs. - SS
Rating: ***

Name of Site: E-World
URL: www.eworld.com.au
Plug-Ins: No
Navigability: Medium
Graphics: Heavy, Good Quality
Internal Links: 20+
Review: At the time of review, this was essentially a great big shop for all the gadget addicts out there. PDAs Mobiles, Computers, Printers etc. There is supposed to be a new WAP portal/zone at mobilenews.com.au launching, and hopefully by the time this goes to print you can check it out. E-World seems to be running a tight ship, business-wise, so "Mobile News" should carry the torch just as well.
Verdict: Great shop - SS
Rating: ****

Name of Site: Yahoo! Mobile
URL: mobile.yahoo.com/wireless/home
Plug-Ins: No
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Light, Medium Quality
Internal Links: 10
Review: Straight to the point and very helpful in the set-up stages, Yahoo want to get you up and running with their range of already established services, with the advantage of mobility. All the news, stock quotes, email, horoscopes, plus some great extras like "ToDo Plus", add usability and interest to your hand-held connection. A plethora of downloadable software solutions for palm devices, links to every enabled site out there and a detailed tour through the services offered, make Yahoo a winner once again.
Verdict: It helps to be an industry giant. - SS
Rating: *****

Name of Site: MobileWap.com
URL: www.mobilewap.com
Plug-Ins: No
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Medium, Good Quality
Internal Links: 30+
Review: Enhance your lifestyle now with top 40 ring tones, picture messaging, the latest sites and the latest gear. A range of low-priced downloadable extras are on tap here, as well as a large catergorized listing of sites, a top 10, and site reviews. They are leaving the tecchie stuff to others, as they concentrate on becoming a place where everyone comes for the cool stuff. WAP emulator allows previewing of listed sites, and ring tones are tested to make sure they will work, before you hand over your money.
Verdict: On the move. - SS
Rating: ****

Name of Site: WAPsites
URL: www.wapsites.com.au
Plug-Ins: No
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Medium, Good Quality
Internal Links: 5
Review: A modest but rather informative local offering, providing links both local and international for the user and developer. A glossary for the uninitiated will assist you at your next brunch meeting, and a nice bonus is a "who's who" listing of Aussie players in the burgeoning industry. If you have the next big idea for sticky phone marketing or viral interactive mobile gaming, print this list out and start door-knocking.
Verdict: Thanks for the tips. - SS
Rating: ***

(reviewers pick)
Name of Site: WAP.com
URL: www.wap.com
Plug-Ins: No
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Medium, Good Quality
Internal Links: 30+
Review: After shelling out big bucks for the name, WAP.com has set about becoming the place to come for all things WAP, and they are having a fair crack at it. This is for the user, not the developer, so there are plenty of links, services, faqs, reviews, and all the cool stuff that can turn your phone from a two-way radio into a personal vortex to the universe. A great introduction, and ongoing companion, to the keen Wapper.
Verdict: They've got it all Wapped up. - SS
Rating: *****

Name of Site: Wap Browser
URL: www.gelon.net
Plug-Ins: No
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Medium, Good Quality
Internal Links: 6
Review: All the tools you need to get stuck into the WAP surfing and page-building game. A simple site, but plenty of great links to downloadable software tools to begin designing WAP pages, and their own "Wapalizer" - a phone emulator that lets you preview WAP sites. The link section is rapidly growing as sites begin to create WAP versions of their traditional HTML pages. A wide range of devices are catered for, and an active forum, as well as links to the major manufacturers for specs and latest info.
Verdict: Seeing is believing. - SS
Rating: ****

Name of Site: Mobile Commerce World
URL: www.mobilecommerceworld.com
Plug-Ins: No
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Light, Medium Quality
Internal Links: 30+
Review: Mobile networks have opened up whole new disciplines of marketing, commerce, business-modelling and information dissemination. Here we have a place where all the issues - from the exciting developments to the huge challenges faced - are given careful consideration by industry experts, opinion leaders, news gatherers and industry players. With over 400 million mobile phones and counting, there is a lot to talk, learn and speculate about. Membership is free and resources are plentiful, from books to conferences to the latest industry trends.
Verdict: Everything you touch-tone turns to gold. - SS
Rating: *****

Name of Site: eWAP.com.au
URL: www.ewap.com.au
Plug-Ins: Yes
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Medium, Good Quality
Internal Links: 15
Review: Each new development in the communications revolution creates a whole new set of opportunities. The phone created the need for a phone book, the Internet brought about search engines, and now WAP calls for directories of goods and services catering and tailored to the mobile market. eWAP has set about offering a free listing to anyone who takes the time to submit it, so that their directory, searchable via PDA and phone, can provide a sizeable return on any query. It's growing, but unless it grows real fast, it risks becoming just another one of the thousands of directories already filling the web.
Verdict: Local WAP directory. - SS
Rating: ***

Name of Site: Strategy.com
URL: www.strategy.com
Plug-Ins: No
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Medium, Good Quality
Internal Links: 10
Review: Hailing themselves as the "world's first personal intelligence network" the strategy here is to filter from a torrent of information only that which the end user really gives a damn about. They do this through all mediums including phones, pagers, email, PDA and fax, by gathering information from multiple sources and sorting it according to what you specify. Unfortunately it seems to be the same old news/weather/sports/finance formula when the Internet could be so much more than that.
Verdict: Feeding the masses, one by one. - SS
Rating: ****

Name of Site: My Wap World
URL: www.mywapworld.co.uk/newhome/index.htm
Plug-Ins: Yes
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Heavy, Good Quality
Internal Links: 30+
Review: Although under some major redevelopment at the time of review, the area that was still up and running shows the world how WAP can really be utilized for practical everyday purposes. Dining, going to a show, getting tanked at the local pub, meeting up with your buddies for a night on the town - this is what the mobile lifestyle is all about. Download free drink offers (redeemable at the local), get hitched for a date, go clubbing, buy CD's. With the help of the map, you can even pinpoint a suitable meeting spot. London based, but surely set to come to a city near you. The WAP lifestyle has arrived.
Verdict: We like to party. - SS
Rating: *****

Name of Site: Anywhere You Go
URL: www.anywhereyougo.com
Plug-Ins: No
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Medium, Good Quality
Internal Links: 100+
Review: Any business with an on-line presence has to begin considering the implications of mobile technology. Will everyone discard the desktop PC for pocket-sized personal portals? This web site is for developers, giving you a broad and comprehensive range of tools and information to get you up to speed on what it will take to join the stampede. Specialist group discussions, software downloads and a simple "5 steps to WAP Development" should get you on your way. High-end developers and novices alike will find what they are looking for in this technical gold mine.
Verdict: All the tools you need. - SS
Rating: *****

Name of Site: AusWap
URL: www.auswap.com.au
Plug-Ins: Yes
Navigability: Medium
Graphics: Medium, Good Quality
Internal Links: 20
Review: At the break-neck pace of development in the mobile Internet world, AusWap has jumped in early to establish itself as an informative, helpful and useful local presence for all WAP users. Add to that their skills as developers, hosts and all-round service providers, for anyone who wishes to deliver their goods and services to the mobile generation, and they might just be in with a chance. Plenty of help, but perhaps a little undercapitalised for the consumer market.
Verdict: Little AusWap battlers. - SS
Rating: ***

Name of Site: Internet.com's Wireless Internet Resource Channel
URL: www.internet.com/sections/wireless.html
Plug-Ins: No
Navigability: Medium
Graphics: Minimal
Internal Links: 1000s
Review: Internet.com has integrated a mass of 'channels' into one big portal that leads to everything imaginable in the mobile web world. Channels for every device, format, genre, and entire communities of users and industry members providing news reports, discussion, product reviews, sales, content, newsletter subscription - the only problem with this place is information overload. All you wanted to do was have a cool phone to impress your friends, and buy theatre tickets.
Verdict: More is more, more or less... - SS
Rating: ****

Name of Site: [wapmebaby]
URL: www.wapmebaby.com
Plug-Ins: Yes
Navigability: Easy
Graphics: Light, Good Quality
Internal Links: 6
Review: The new WAP division of Blue Sky Frog - who have been making a splash in the SMS pond - extend their commitment to making phones fun, useful and profitable. All you need to get started is here, including set-up instructions for your phone, a growing range of links (previewable on the web with a WAP emulator), your own free WAP page and some services including email, sports, entertainment and news.
Verdict: It's all about having fun. - SS
Rating: ****

Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink
Trackback Link
http://www.cyrius.com.au/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=4177&PostID=62358&A=Trackback
Trackbacks
Post has no trackbacks.
Comments
Post has no comments.
Post a Comment




Captcha Image

Previous Next

Recent Posts

  • Think inside the square
  • Details, details
  • The Road Less Clicked
  • Groundhog Day is a Good Day
  • 7 reasons to re-design your Website
  • Prepare Thyself
  • New Year Revolutions
  • A Website is not a thing
  • A day in the life of an SEO spam recipient
  • The 'Not-So-Brief' Brief

Tags

  • Archives (90)
  • Blog (3)
  • Business Advice (36)
  • Community (1)
  • Consulting (27)
  • Google (1)
  • Humour (6)
  • Interview (4)
  • Marketing (16)
  • Motivation (27)
  • Music (6)
  • PR & Press (11)
  • SEO (1)
  • Social Media (8)
  • Web Design (5)
  • Web Philosphy (26)
  • Website Reviews (93)
  • Writing (124)

Archive

  • May 2017 (1)
  • April 2017 (1)
  • March 2017 (1)
  • February 2017 (1)
  • October 2013 (1)
  • August 2013 (1)
  • January 2013 (1)
  • December 2012 (1)
  • September 2012 (1)
  • May 2012 (1)
  • April 2012 (2)
  • November 2011 (1)
  • July 2011 (1)
  • June 2011 (1)
  • April 2011 (1)
  • March 2011 (1)
  • February 2011 (1)
  • January 2011 (1)
  • December 2010 (1)
  • September 2010 (1)
  • August 2010 (1)
  • July 2010 (1)
  • June 2010 (1)
  • May 2010 (1)
  • April 2010 (1)
  • March 2010 (1)
  • February 2010 (1)
  • January 2010 (1)
  • December 2009 (1)
  • November 2009 (1)
  • October 2009 (1)
  • September 2009 (1)
  • August 2009 (1)
  • July 2009 (1)
  • June 2009 (1)
  • May 2009 (1)
  • April 2009 (1)
  • March 2009 (1)
  • February 2009 (1)
  • January 2009 (1)
  • December 2008 (1)
  • November 2008 (1)
  • October 2008 (1)
  • September 2008 (2)
  • August 2008 (1)
  • July 2008 (1)
  • June 2008 (1)
  • September 2004 (1)
  • May 2004 (2)
  • April 2004 (1)
  • March 2004 (1)
  • February 2004 (1)
  • January 2004 (1)
  • December 2003 (1)
  • November 2003 (1)
  • October 2003 (2)
  • September 2003 (1)
  • August 2003 (1)
  • July 2003 (1)
  • June 2003 (1)
  • May 2003 (1)
  • April 2003 (1)
  • March 2003 (1)
  • February 2003 (1)
  • January 2003 (1)
  • December 2002 (1)
  • November 2002 (1)
  • October 2002 (1)
  • September 2002 (1)
  • August 2002 (2)
  • July 2002 (1)
  • June 2002 (1)
  • May 2002 (1)
  • April 2002 (1)
  • March 2002 (1)
  • February 2002 (1)
  • January 2002 (1)
  • December 2001 (1)
  • November 2001 (1)
  • October 2001 (1)
  • September 2001 (1)
  • August 2001 (1)
  • July 2001 (1)
  • June 2001 (2)
  • May 2001 (1)
  • April 2001 (1)
  • March 2001 (1)
  • February 2001 (1)
  • January 2001 (1)
  • December 2000 (1)
  • November 2000 (1)
  • October 2000 (1)
  • September 2000 (1)
  • August 2000 (1)
  • July 2000 (1)
  • June 2000 (2)
  • May 2000 (1)
  • April 2000 (1)
  • March 2000 (1)
  • February 2000 (1)
  • January 2000 (1)
  • December 1999 (3)
  • November 1999 (1)
Membership

Web services

  • Overview
  • Consulting
  • Branding
  • Website Design
  • Web Development
  • Website Repair
  • InDesign
  • SEO
  • Online PR
  • Social Media

More services

  • Domain Names
  • Hosting
  • Custom Programming
  • Audio Production
  • Video Production
  • Photography
  • Multimedia
  • Copy Writing
  • Printing

Internet solutions

  • Overview
  • Business Catalyst
  • BigCommerce
  • WordPress
  • MailChimp
  • Joomla
  • Drupal
  • Volusion
  • More Solutions

Media & other info

  • Overview
  • Cyrius News
  • In the Press
  • Articles
  • Blog
  • Press Kit

Networking

  • Memberships
  • Visit our Facebook
  • View Our Videos
  • Latest Tweets
  •  

Cyrius Media Group Pty Ltd
PO Box 240
North Ryde BC Sydney
NSW 1670 AUSTRALIA

Email: info@cyrius.com.au
Phone: +612 9877 5544
Fax: +612 9877 6644

© Copyright Cyrius Media Group Pty Ltd  | Privacy Sitemap | Home About Us Contact | Cyrius Website Design Sydney