Want Some Web With That Phone?

Entrepreneur, Sept, 2000 by Amanda C. Kooser

If you need the Net and a cell phone at all times, you need one of these.

The recent offering of Web-enabled phones is made up of some of the first truly mobile and wireless Internet appliances. Sure, small bandwidth and even smaller LCD screens limit the capabilities of these microbrowser phones. But when it comes to weather, directions, sports scores, stock quotes and even e-mail messages, these phones are hard to beat for portability. Just don't expect them to handle a database or allow you to touchtype. That sort of flexibility only comes in larger packages.

The cell-phone microbrowser can be traced to the groundwork of Phone.com. Its UP.Browser is the choice of most Web-enabled phone makers and a prototype for the wireless application protocol (WAP) microbrowsers, which will let small cell-phone displays access Web pages. Phone.com also licenses server software to wireless network operators like Sprint and AT&T.

More recently, Pixo (www.pixo.com) has released a rival microbrowser that is currently slated to appear in new Samsung phones. But Phone.com isn't standing still. Its collaboration with speech-recognition software company Conversa (www.conversa.com) means that, one day, you may be able to browse the Web from your cell phone using voice commands.

Meanwhile, big-name mobile-phone companies like Nokia, Motorola and Ericsson--almost all of which license the UP.Browser--are cross-licensing with such companies as Palm Inc. and Britain-based Psion Ltd., which is developing the Symbian platform. The phone companies hope to create a new generation of "smart" cell phones that are as adept at data manipulation as voice communications. One of the earliest examples will likely come from Nokia, which is developing a Symbian/Palm hybrid that will include pen-based PDA functions, wireless Web access and voice communications.

I'VE GOTA PLAN

The Big Three of Web-enabled cellular services are Sprint PCS (www.sprint.com), AT&T (www.att.com) and the recently formed Verizon (www.verizonwireless.com). Be aware that your geographic location could end up limiting your choices, but all three service most of the United States. Bigger bills are part and parcel of cellular Web access, and running over your allotted downloads can add up. A good starting place for assessing your options is Point.com, a site that lets you search and compare calling plans and phones for your area.

For example, Sprint PCS Wireless Web charges an extra $9.99 per month on top of regular voice service; wireless Web connections that run over your basic amount cost 25 cents per minute. AT&T offers basic service with the purchase of an AT&T wireless Internet-ready phone and any of its wireless service plans. Verizon, a new conglomerate of several companies, has wireless Web offerings that vary by location.

PHONE FEATURES

If you want, you can find yourself a phone with more bells and whistles than a one-man band. Most Internet phones come equipped with a nice bundle of extra features. Some of the basics are different incoming-call rings, last-number recall, one-push emergency dial, speed dialing and mute. These features can also be found on most standard cell phones.

One big (or little) consideration when buying one of these phones is the size of the phone's LCD screen. Cramming the Internet onto the surface of a cell phone is difficult enough, but the size of your microbrowser can affect how much information you can view at a time as well as ease of use. LCDs in our table range from 11 lines of display with the NeoPoint NP1000 to four lines with the Audiovox CDM-9000 and Samsung SCH-3500.

A sub-genre of the Web phone is the PDA-hybrid phone. The Kyocera pdQ Smartphone (formerly a Qualcomm product) has been around the longest. It integrates a fully functional Palm OS PDA with the cellular phone. There is obvious convenience value in having one device handle the chores of two. The pdQ Smartphone is certainly the most flexible phone in our list, but also the most expensive: $699 to $799 (street). Buying a Palm and a phone separately could cost you $200 to $300 less. At just under 10 ounces, the pdQ Smartphone is the heaviest phone on our list, too--not as pocket-friendly as the sub-5-ounce phones.

A cheaper alternative (by $500) to the pdQ Smartphone is the NeoPoint NP 1000. Dubbed a Personal Communications Assistant, it incorporates such PDA features as an icon graphical interface, a scheduler, to-do and contact lists, and PC synchronization through a docking station. Writing with the keypad is made easier by smart-text software that finishes words as they're input. And at just over 6 ounces, it's not too heavy

WEB WANDERING

Of course, the whole point of buying a Web-enabled phone is to surf the Web. We use the term "surf" loosely. There's only so much information that can fit on such small text screens at one time. And download speeds max out at 19.2Kbps--near the speed of early modems. Microbrowsers also can't handle regular HTML Web pages as we're familiar with them on our big, colorful desktop monitors. Wireless portal sites like AvantGo (www.avantgo.com) have to adjust them first, or the site has to be in WML (wireless markup language).