If you've ever been asked about Bluetooth, WAP, or Symbian and didn't have a good answer, this brief overview might fill a few holes. Bluetooth is a wireless standard that allows electronic devices within 30 feet of each other to communicate without wires. WAP is a protocol that allows wireless devices to efficiently access the Internet. Symbian is a privately held company that's developed an operating system for wireless devices, called EPOC.
By
Scratching your head about WAP, Bluetooth, EPOC, and other wireless protocols? We can blast through the basics in about 600 words. The goal here isn't to provide investment ideas, just to get a feel for what the standards are and what they promise.
Bluetooth
Named after a 10th-century Viking king who ruled Denmark and Norway, Bluetooth is an open-standard wireless protocol that allows devices to communicate over distances of about 30 feet. The standard, which is free to any manufacturer who wants it, uses short-wave radio links to transmit information between devices
For example, imagine sending data from a palm-held computer directly to a printer, without having to link up to a PC already on the printer's network. In fact, using Bluetooth, devices recognize each other automatically, without the user having to initiate contact.
Five companies with a focus on communications technology developed the standard: IBM (NYSE: IBM), Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERICY), Toshiba, and Intel (Nasdaq: INTC). By late 2000, more than 1,800 companies had joined the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, which promotes development of the technology and integration into electronic devices.
The Bluetooth technology is housed on a microchip, which puts chipmakers such as Intel, Lucent (NYSE: LU), and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) in a race to develop inexpensive Bluetooth-enabled chips quickly. It also raises questions, of course, about the prospects of companies like Belden (NYSE: BWC), which makes cable and wire products.
Check out the Official Bluetooth Website for more information.
WAP
WAP stands for wireless application protocol, a technology that allows wireless devices to access the Internet. Like Bluetooth, WAP is an open standard, which means anyone can use it. Why do we need a new standard? In other words, why is the technology for accessing the Internet different for wireless devices than it is for PCs, servers, and other devices we're used to?
Wireless devices are different from non-mobile devices in significant ways, including smaller formats and different power requirements. According to the WAP Forum -- a very useful site -- WAP uses existing Internet standards such as HTTP that have been tailored for the wireless environment.
See, existing standards utilize large amounts of text-based data, which wireless networks aren't equipped or formatted to handle. Also, the full-screen-sized graphics you're used to on you PC don't transfer well to wireless devices with tiny screens. This not only makes traditional Internet standards unwieldy, but slow for wireless. WAP sidesteps this problem by further compressing data. It's also designed for lower bandwidth of the wireless environment. The standard makes WAP-enabled devices easy to use, allowing, for example, one-hand navigation.
EPOC
Think Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows for wireless devices -- at least, that's what the privately held, London-based company wants you to think. Symbian developed the EPOC operating system, a sleek OS (operating system) that can run wireless phones, personal digital assistants, and a host of other wireless devices.
It's not a slam dunk that EPOC will rule the wireless world the way Windows rules the desktop. Microsoft's own wireless operating system, CE, is a tough competitor, though it doesn't seem to have the momentum or simplicity many see in EPOC.
Symbian used to be part of Psion, a London-based company that makes personal digital assistants. It was spun off several years ago to prevent conflicts of interest between hardware and software players. Psion still owns a big chunk of Symbian. Based on what looks like a bright future for Symbian, the company has a powerful group of investors, including Nokia, Ericsson, and Motorola (NYSE: MOT).
For more information check out the Symbian website.
Your Turn:
Related Links:
RSS Headlines
Fool UK
