Did you know that you can access the internet via WAP sites on your cell phone? What this means is that you can get a lot more functionality out of that mobile phone, not only taking pictures with your camera phone and bobbing your head to your popular MP3 cell phone, but also surfing the web almost like you would at home!
WAP Sites for Cell Phones
WAP-based internet is nothing new. In fact, mobile web access has been around for quite some time, but it has typically been too expensive for the average person to enjoy. Times have changed, and now WAP sites for cell phones are readily accessible, giving you the opportunity to look for the hottest cell phone ringtones, wallpapers, and themes.
Using WAP sites for cell phones, you can get the latest sports scores, weather reports, breaking news, entertainment, and all sorts of other goodness.
What is WAP?
WAP stands for Wireless Application Protocol and it is the international standard used with wireless devices, such as cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) to access the internet while on the road. WAP sites are designed to have as few images as possible so that you can get to the meat of the internet destination quickly, as well as avoid the high data transfer fees that mobile carriers charge.
The way they do this is that WAP sites are typically regular websites written up in a special language called WML or Wireless Markup Language. This is more efficient and loads up more quickly, but at the same time, WAP sites for cell phones typically have a much more "bare bones" appearance to them when compared to their full (computer-accessed) counterparts.
For more about WAP and what the whole mobile internet game is about, check out our featured article What is WAP Mobile Web.
Popular WAP Websites
When WAP mobile web first launched a long while back, there were only a small handful of websites that had WAP-compatible versions. This has since changed and the vast majority of major websites now have a WAP edition that is much more cell phone friendly. Here is a small sample to get you started:
- All About Symbian: People using devices with Symbian smartphone software will enjoy this destination that features all sorts of Symbian-related news, forums, and discussions.
- CBS Sportsline: From the NHL to MLB, NFL to Nascar, you can be sure to catch up on everything to do with professional sports using this WAP site. Up to the minute scores, stats, and analysis at your fingertips
- Dictionary.com: Need a quick definition? This is definitely the place to do it. It's even got translation solutions for multiple languages.
- Gmail Mobile: You've got gigabytes of web-based email and now you can access it on your cell phone.
