The type of application of wireless technology called smart access , allows consumers through the use of a new generation of very small devices to tap directly the Internet, without the cumbersome dial-up process. In these cases, the process begins with the push of a button or selection of a menu option, which prompts the handset to send a signal to the wireless system s nearest antenna. The signal then moves to the wireless phone company s switching facility. But instead of being transferred into the wired network, the signal gets an Internet Protocol address and moves over a carrier s data network, into the Web. The network recognizes that the signal is a wireless call asking for information tailored to these kinds of devices.
Smart devices work in bursts to grab the information users want off the Net.
Very interesting for the consumer is the fact that, as with the traditional wireless phone calls, the received signal may move from one antenna to another allowing the consumer to maintain a strong Internet connection while traveling. The smart devices are equipped with a miniature Web browser. When the user selects one of these items, the microbrowser pulls the data from a site that has been designed for presentation on the small screen of a wireless phone. Users can enter any Web address they like, but the results may vary if the site is not optimized for wireless viewing. Indeed, phones, pagers and other handheld devices are not ready yet for a full-scale Web browsing, because of display, memory and bandwitch limitations.