WAP
Wireless Application Protocol
A technology designed to allow efficient transmission of optimized Internet content to older cell phones. In practical terms, special scaled-down web sites designed specifically to be used on older non-smartphones.
WAP version 1 relied on the unique WML markup language and special protocols designed for ultra-efficient transmission of content to limited devices over slow wireless data connections.
WAP version 2 relied on a newer set of standards (chiefly, HTTP and XHTML) that had much more in common with Internet standards used on the "regular" web.
WAP is no longer in use, as most phones (even non-smartphones) now have fast enough connections and enough processing power to run complete web browsers capable of viewing full, regular web sites.
Last updated Jun 12, 2023 by Rich Brome
Editor in Chief Rich became fascinated with cell phones in 1999, creating mobile web sites for phones with tiny black-and-white displays and obsessing over new phone models. Realizing a need for better info about phones, he started Phone Scoop in 2001, and has been helming the site ever since. Rich has spent two decades researching and covering every detail of the phone industry, traveling the world to tour factories, interview CEOs, and get every last spec and photo Phone Scoop readers have come to expect. As an industry veteran, Rich is a respected voice on phone technology of the past, present, and future.
