Enhanced offerings shoot for easy

No matter how many services the wireless industry can come up with, they won't amount to anything more than interesting window dressing unless vendors make the applications simple enough for neophyte users and experienced road warriors alike. That was the message from several service providers and vendors at last month's Wireless '99 show as the frenzy over data applications settled down just long enough for everyone to take in the ease-of-use issue.

Among the more than a dozen or so advanced service announcements at the show, several focused on location services. And though most generally accomplish the same objective-telling users either where they are or where to find certain locations-the nitty-gritty of such services differs greatly depending on the vendor and network. At the core of those differences is the browser and operating system.

Data in your hand Perhaps the most intriguing news to come out of New Orleans was the announcement by Unwired Planet that Nextel will license its UP.Link platform for use in its family of wireless Internet services. Using their existing handsets with the UP.Browser, Nextel subscribers will be able to access enhanced e-mail services such as stock quotes and airline information.

"The browser made the phone that used to be just a wireless modem into a stand-alone Internet appliance," said Ben Linder, vice president of marketing for Unwired Plant. "The goal was a wireless device that wouldn't intimidate people."

Initially, Nextel will offer customers text-based services that can be customized based on user preference. In one example at the show, users could either look up specific stock prices, create a portfolio or receive a notification when certain issues moved beyond pre-set limits.

For carriers deploying the service, Unwired Planet is providing source code to customize and brand applications. In addition, the company is emphasizing the ability to use existing handsets.

"One of the things that has held back wireless data is you have to buy a special this and a special that to make it work," said Linder. "This is an incentive for the carrier to put it in every phone they ship."

The Nextel contract, while justifying Unwired Planet's four years of previous work, also validates a number of other players.

Among the earliest in that market was Spyglass, which used Wireless '99 to debut its Prism 2.2 platform, which converts standard Internet content into formats to match hand-held devices. The objective is to give content providers a platform to which they can write applications only once. In addition, Spyglass has enabled Prism to format content in the WAP-preferred WML markup language.

"A lot of these applications are not going to be pure Internet applications," said Jack Armstrong, director of Internet solutions for Spyglass. "The applications are going to be unique and appeal to the timeliness factor for mobile users."

Going head-to-head with Spyglass is IBM, which is looking to provide the software and hardware infrastructure behind such services. The company unveiled its IBM Mobile Connect platform that lets service providers deploy a variety of messaging-based services to any end device, including kiosks and Palm Pilots.

"What we're really trying to do is extend the Web out to the everyday user," said Randall McComas, vice president of telecommunications for IBM's global telecom and media industries group.

Mobile Connect consists of software, hand-held devices, help desk services, maintenance and network connectivity and implementation consulting. The goal is to handle the automatic exchange of data between hand-held devices and corporate networks, according to McComas.

BellSouth Mobility DCS has been piloting Mobile Connect with its sales force. Using the system with its existing GSM phones, BellSouth Mobility's sales forms let sales reps communicate and take orders from anywhere.

Like much of the industry, IBM is not taking sides in the debate over hand-held device operating systems by supporting both. However, according to McComas, the Palm operating system should give the Microsoft-supported system a run for its money. "The whole paradigm is that you don't know you're running an [operating system]," he said.

Browser beating Acting as intermediaries to the whole browser fight, a number of content aggregators and service providers made their Wireless '99 show debut with services designed to get carriers out of the argument.

Datalink.net hit the show floor with an alliance with StockRumors.com. Together the two companies have developed an information service, RumorsXpress, which links wireless subscribers with information posted on StockRumors.com's Web site. Tony LaPine, chairman and CEO of Datalink.net, said the company is gearing its services for maximum customization through use of an Internet control panel.

"You have to give the user an Internet control panel to determine what information they want delivered," said LaPine. "It's a ridiculous proposition to surf the Web from your wireless handset."

GoAmerica, a wireless Internet service provider, made its first appearance at the show with a combined product that lets users access information wirelessly. The company demonstrated a browsing application not unlike others that provide stock quoters and notification services. GoAmerica sees enhanced services moving from very specific applications to mass market-with a twist. "Generally, you want to access the same type of information you can while you're at your desk, but it's very personal," said Aaron Dobrinsky, president and CEO of GoAmerica.

Also making its show debut was Online Anywhere, which unveiled its Oasis product that essentially acts as a proxy server for carriers deploying data-type services. Oasis also can be deployed in two manners: as an agent that detects the type of handset a user wants to receive information on and as a tool content developers can use to modify data to fit wireless devices. "We don't want to fight the browser war," said Mohan Vishwanath, CEO of Online Anywhere.

Part of the reason the company is staying out of the fray is its belief that both browsers may survive in some form, but for different applications. "When you're out on the road, you don't want to do Web browsing," said Elliot Dehan, vice president of sales and business development for Online Anywhere. "We do think some of the location applications will do very well, though."

Assuming that is true, a number of vendors from the show likely will be part of the mix. And though most took different approaches and have some unique technology, most vendors demonstrating products on the floor seemed to agree that a network-based approach makes the most sense. SignalSoft, for instance, using BellSouth Mobility's New Orleans network and PrimeCo handsets, demonstrated a relatively simple menu-based system called local.info that gave users the addresses and phone numbers of nearby restaurants, museums and shopping areas based on their current location. In addi tion, the system could immediately connect users to the chosen destination.

As the system is deployed, the number and type of services will be limited only by creativity, said Paul Wilcock, assistant vice president of marketing at GTE Telecommunications Services Inc., which also partnered with SignalSoft for the demonstration. "It really can go from safety to value added services," he said.

Also showing off its latest attempt at location-based technology was SigmaOne, which teamed up with Xypoint and SCC to demonstrate a network-based location service. SigmaOne, which is offering the package either as a turnkey unit or though a service bureau, is using accuracy as its marketing hook.

"We don't believe the current standard is good enough," said Mark Licht, president of SigmaOne. "We believe to really deliver a service you need to be closer to 99% accurate." To make up the difference, the company combines data from several phased array antennas.

All IN favor A number of big vendors took a more traditional view of the location services market, incorporating the intelligent network or elements of wireless intelligent network Phase 2 into their products. Tekelec used CTIA to announce an SS7/IP-based solution for intelligent networking. The Eagle IP7 packet switch offers SS7 and IP connectivity, enabling carriers to interwork IP and standard networks. The company added onto its existing Eagle platform because of IP's growing presence in the network, said Robert Tinsley, product manager for Tekelec.

The solution offers signal transfer point capability with a plug-in data communication module. The module provides a 100BaseT Ethernet IP interface, and users can configure multiple modules with up to 500 SS7 links. Eagle IP7 Gateway application software is included in the package.

Tekelec also introduced the Falcon product line at the show. Designed for SS7 database inquiries, the Falcon CNAM calling name delivery feature supports intelligent network, Advanced Intelligent Network and IS-41 applications.

Alcatel also focused much of its efforts on intelligent networking, announcing that U S West would use its intelligent network platform and several applications to deliver advanced services. The first to hit the market will be Alcatel's IS-41 Home Location Register and Authentication Center. U S West also said it would deploy Alcatel's service creation environment.

In Alcatel's view, basing future applications on the intelligent network puts more control in the operators' hands and gives users more flexibility.

"The IN story is common services for uncommon networks," said Stuart Rosenfield, senior director of product marketing and business development for Alcatel's intelligent networking group. "IN lets you customize it."

However, despite the hype from vendors, not everyone at the show was sold on the concept of mobile Web services. Dennis Strigl, president of Bell Atlantic Mobile, said that access speeds must improve before the services can become more than just a tool for road warriors with big expense budgets. "Right now, it's very simple applications," he said. "I'd say 128 kb/s is the key speed, and that's about two to three years out."

And more important, just because technology allows someone to use an application doesn't mean they'll pay for it, said Dick Lynch, chief technology officer of BAM. "You can do e-mail right now, but Web browsing is a completely different behavior."