Comparison of WAP and iMode

Comparing WAP and iMode, for the moment, is something that only Japanese users have the luxury of doing in reality, as their country is the only place with both services available. The 4 million WAP and 14 million iMode users there are in a perfect position to see both the strengths and weaknesses of the competing technologies. It must be stated, however, that a comparison of the two services is not a straightforward one, as WAP is a protocol used by hundreds, if not thousands, of companies, while iMode is an entire infrastructure operated by one company.

Network

Neither WAP nor iMode rely on one particular underlying network type, but it happens that WAP in Europe has been deployed on a circuit-switched network and iMode in Japan on a packet-switched one. This has clearly shown up the deficiencies of the former technology with regard to instantaneous data transfer. WAP users will have to endure waiting during connection set-up and being charged for time spent on-line until their network operators upgrade to a packet-switched network. iMode users, in the mean time, can enjoy almost-instant downloads and the response times needed for online gaming with their "always-on" network.

Markup Languages

WAP and iMode's approach to marking up content is fundamentally different, in that WML is a new language based on a newcomer to the WWW scene, XML, while cHTML is simply an extended subset of the existing Web standard, HTML. This difference means that iMode can immediately make use of the skills of current WWW developers, but those interested in producing content for WAP browsers must learn WML from scratch. As the WWW community migrates away from HTML and towards XML in the next few hears, however, iMode may find that it's short-term stop-gap approach loses out to WAP's longer-term measured approach.

Marketing

Because NTT DoCoMo controls most aspects of iMode, from hardware and software to official content, it has been able to present consumers with a polished, fashionable and cohesive service. As many of its users had little Internet experience prior to signing up for iMode they are prepared to accept the inherent limitations of viewing the Internet through the small screen on a mobile phone.

WAP's European launch by the multitude of network operators who saw it as a valuable means of extracting cash from a mobile market reaching saturation point, was preceded by months of hype around the technology's potential to bring the WWW to people's mobiles. When it came to actually using the service, however, many customers, who were more accustomed to Internet use than their Japanese counterparts, found that the WAP experience did not live up to expectations and was expensive.

One might use the example of the UK to determine where blame should be placed. There, much of the blame for the lacklustre performance of WAP has been put on BT Cellnet, whose marketing slogan was "Surf the Net - the BT Cellnet". This, of course, immediately likens the wireless Web with the regular World Wide Web, creating an image in customers' minds of the Web on a phone. That image has not become a reality so far.

To date only ten per cent of BT Cellnet's predicted WAP sales have been met. It has undoubtedly received bad word-of-mouth and is suffering. Inevitably the assumption follows that since WAP has disappointed many customers there will be hostility towards it in the future. Presumably, this means that the next stage in WAP's life will need a more belligerent marketing technique to reach these customers again.

This, while being a valid prediction, is an alarmist one also. After all, when it comes to selling a product like this, it's about showing customers how deep the Web experience will be. Therefore, regardless of previous failures, if the content is provided, the technology will be sold. Hitherto, for WAP users, the content has not been provided.

If WAP providers had concentrated on emphasising the application available over WAP, rather than the WWW aspect, they could have perhaps matched the amazing growth of iMode in Japan. It will be interesting to see how iMode is marketed in Europe when it is finally launched there.

Transactions

So far the issue of credit card use on the Internet has been a barrier between businesses and Internet users. iMode provides a new solution with its per-packet billing. When someone makes a purchase using iMode the cost is added to their phone bill with no need for credit card details. The old Internet trust issue is gone with iMode and there will be vast amounts of money to be made by Internet vendors when people begin purchasing this way. Again, those who provide the links to these Web based shops through portals have the power to send customers to the sites of their choosing and can expect royalties for doing so.

WAP users, for the moment at least, will only be able to make online purchases by supplying credit card details. This will inevitably lead to WAP failing to capture a potentially lucrative customer base comprised of teenagers and students with disposable income, but who do not yet own a credit card. Credit card payment over a WAP device, where a number must be keyed in, is also inherently less consumer friendly than the iMode system which allows payments to take place transparently and automatically.

Content Development

Up to now, WAP has been awkward for developers, compared with iMode. Special development kits are needed with the result that it takes a lot longer to build a site. cHTML, on the other hand, doesn't require developers to adjust so much and sites can be converted and built much more quickly. Developers will naturally gravitate towards the easier option. However, as WML is based on XML and XML is due to supersede HTML as the lingua franca of the Web, this situation may reverse. Developers may be less willing to use cHTML, which they will come to see as being based on an old and obsolete standard, HTML.