Unwired Planet Serves up HDTP

New Protocol Offers Better Web Performance for Wireless Devices

Current Internet protocols were designed with wired networks in mind. This characterization also applies to the Web’s most important protocol, the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), along with the associated HyperText Markup Language (HTML). As you’ll recall, the former is used to request and deliver pages of information to a browser, while the latter is used to define the format and structure of a Web document.

Redwood Shores, California-based Unwired Planet offers two alternatives to these established standards: the Handheld Device Transport Protocol (HDTP) and the Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML). The company claims that both are better suited for use with wireless networks, especially ones delivering information to smaller handheld devices such as Smart Cellular Phones.

HDTP is capable of operating with wireless standards including TDMA, CDMA, GSM, and SMS. The latter system, also known as Short Messaging Services, are of particular interest to the company since they are generally limited to proprietary information delivery applications. Unwired Planet claims that by offering access to specially formatted Web pages, using its HDML specification, these simpler handheld devices can be opened to a wider range of Web-based content.

“The company is offering both specifications as “open” systems, freely downloadable from the company’s Web site”

The company is offering both specifications as “open” systems, freely downloadable from the company’s Web site at www.uplanet.com. The HDML specification has been available since July 1996. The HDTP protocol, currently available in pre-release version, will be widely available this summer.