How the Wireless Web is Different
Besides the obvious difference, the wireless Web differs from the regular World Wide Web primarily by the content that can be presented on mobile devices. The wireless Web isn't a separate entity. When you access the wireless Web you're accessing the regular Internet, just via a different route.
To deal with the limitations of cell phones and similar small-screen, low-power devices, wireless Web content is composed in (or converted to) the Wireless Markup Language (WML). Most wireless Web pages are produced separately from the regular Web site. Many major Web sites and portals provide Web pages written in WML to be accessible by mobile devices, in addition to the "same" pages in standard HTML for standard screens.
If you're using a PDA or smart phone, your wireless Web experience will be quite different from Web surfing on your PC. If you have an older PDA, you'll be browsing via a WAP interface, just like on a cell phone. Newer PDAs have larger screens, typically with a screen resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, compared to a minimum desktop PC resolution of 640 x 480. These newer PDAs and smart phones can run Web browsers that present a wireless Web experience much closer to what you have come to expect from a PC or notebook, only much smaller. This gives users of PDAs and smart phones easier access to a wider variety of Web content.
Insider insight: You may wonder what the difference is between a smart phone and a PDA with cellular voice services built in. The answer is: not a whole lot A smart phone is usually smaller, looks like a phone, perhaps even a "clamshell" flip-phone, and has a smaller screen and less computing power. A smart phone is a full-fledged PDA with cellular technology built in. It looks like a PDA and it has more memory and a bigger, often color screen. Both PDAs and smart phones are available in Palm OS or Windows (Pocket PC, Windows Mobile) versions and can usually use popular PDA software.
Regardless of the way you choose to access the wireless Web, the advantage is clear: freedom to access information where you need it and when you need it. This is the true power of the Internet beginning to be realized; we live in an information-based economy, and on-demand information in the palm of your hand is as empowering as it can get.
No more plugging in and dialing up. No more running home or to the office to check and send e-mail. You won't have to miss a beat; just log in from wherever you are and get what you need. With enhanced digital cellular networks and new Wi-Fi services appearing, the connection speed is going to keep increasing. Before long you'll be able to get most, if not all, of your Internet services via your wireless device, including streaming media.