Companies won't develop applications until there are enough consumers to pay for them. But consumers won't subscribe to the service until there are more compelling applications. The WAP backlash, which has cut demand for WAP phones to little more than a trickle, has made the situation worse, driving many dotWAP start-ups to develop content for other wireless standards or simply go out of business. Without those guys in the garage starting up companies and developing applications, its not going to mean anything. That's why manufacturers and operators need to get more customers on board as soon as possible.
Customers bring much-needed revenues and funding to application developers.
So even with all its industry backing, WAP could still fall by the wayside. Already operators and developers are hedging their bets by churning out i-mode phones and programming in its protocol. NTT DoCoMo is partnering with KPN Telecom of the Netherlands, Hutchison Whampoa of Hong Kong and AOL in the U.S. to export i-mode to the rest of the world. Other future technologies like Bluetooth, GPRS, or General Packet Radio Service, and most of all, 3G, are now being heralded as the next new thing to consumers. And the hype will continue.