When we first heard of the Symbian alliance of Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia, Matsushita and Psion we were hoping for great things. New super-small, super-light devices resembling mobile phones but with all the power and simplicity of the EPOC operating system behind them.

It came as something of a disappointment then to see that Ericsson’s first WAP-enable product to hit the streets is nothing more than a re-badged Psion Series 5mx with an infra red data modem and a bit of extra software. However, that disappointment was tempered by the fact that the MC218 provides the perfect companion for the mobile professional who requires e-mail, SMS, fax and Web browsing capability without having to lug a 9lb laptop around. And, of course, battery life is not even an issue, with a quoted month on two standard AA size batteries.

One of the key features of the MC218 is WAP functionality, making it particularly suitable for computing on the move. The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is the platform for the new generation of “media phones”, providing an open universal standard for bringing Internet content and advanced value added services to mobile phones and other wireless devices.

In appearance, the MC218 is obviously identical to the Series 5mx (other than a different badge), with its sleek silver grey clamshell case, half-VGA width back-lit touch-sensitive screen with stylus for navigation, and the excellent touch-type keyboard. The processor is the RISC-based 36MHz ARM710T, and 16MB RAM is included (up to 96MB of additional memory can also be installed in the industry-standard CompactFlash card slot). All this in a device weighing 354 grams.

The standard Psion software suite is included, providing a word processor, spreadsheet, database, agenda, and contacts, jotter, calculator, world information and alarm clock, digital sound recording and paint. Synchronisation with PC-based application is provided with EPOC Connect (based on PsiWin).

Most of these can be accessed via well laid out menus or a number of quick access buttons along the bottom of the screen. Ericsson has changed a couple of these to provide instant access to some of its own applications, including My Phone and Internet. My Phone provides access to a utility to manage your Ericsson phone via the infra red port, allowing you to maintain your phone numbers and settings, as well as make calls, from the MC218. To make life easy, the package includes the D127 IrDA modem module which simply clips onto the bottom of any 600, 700 or 800 series Ericsson phone, or the forthcoming A1018, T18 or T10. We used the MC218 with the excellent I888 WORLD phone, which is dual band and already has its own built in infra red data modem. The appropriate drivers are already loaded on the MC218.

Undoubtedly the most-used software will be the Message utility, offering a choice between e-mail, SMS and fax, and providing all the usual e-mail facilities. Messaging is ideally suited to the slow speeds of the current GSM phone network, unlike Web browsing, which is also possible from the MC218, although it is painfully slow when using the standard HTTP browser. The WAP-enabled Ericsson Mobile Internet browser is included on the CD-ROM and improves things somewhat, though there are currently not that many WAP-enabled sites out there, unfortunately.

Downsides to the MC218? Other than the fact that you have to rely on Psion’s PC synchronisation software and have the right type of Ericsson phone, there is little to criticise about it. The couple of changes to the quick access buttons, inclusion of the IrDA modem module, snazzy case, and additions to the software from Ericsson have certainly improved the basic Series 5mx on which it is based. The biggest advantage is that it is so easy to set-up and use, especially when compared with purchasing and configuring the various components individually.

Providing you have one of the limited number of phones supported, the MC218 offers an excellent mobile communications device. Roll on HSCSD and GPRS services to provide that extra bit of speed!

Verdict

Pretty much depends how you want to use it. As a straight PDA, the Psion Series 5 (on which this machine is based) lags behind the various CE-based machines that are available today. As a portable e-mail, SMS, fax and occasional Web-browsing device, however, the MC218 is outstanding when coupled with your Ericsson mobile phone.

Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)

Roughly speaking, the WAP standard defines two things: an application environment and an application protocol.

The application environment consists both a mark-up language, WML, that allows programmers to define the application's user interface in a device-independent way, and a programming language, WMLScript, that allows programmers to embed executable logic in their applications. In practice, these are realised in the micro-browser environment in a mobile terminal, which is conceptually very similar to a Web browser. Because the WAP applications can be downloaded on demand and discarded when no longer needed, the application environment also allows for dynamic extension of the terminal's user interface.

Although WAP will be equally applicable to many of today’s mobile computing devices, one of the major attractions is the ability to host it on one of the ultra-portable media phones. From the technical aspect, this implies that the device will have a limited display and restricted man-machine interface capabilities. Looking at the issue of usability, WAP applications and utilisation environments will be fundamentally different from those in the wire-based Internet. People on the move typically use mobile phones with one hand, and in such environment, the time for "surfing" and "browsing" is very limited. Instead, quick access to the information is the mode of use, and the Wireless Mark-up Language (WML), which is part of WAP, is specifically designed for this kind of use.

The enabling platform at the service provider is the WAP Server, such as that produced by Nokia and Ericsson. Ericsson delivered the world's first end-to-end WAP 1.1 compliant WAP system in June 1999, and has so far delivered more than 20 WAP systems to operators. The WAP server is a software solution that connects WAP-enabled mobile handsets to content and applications hosted by Web servers or, indeed, any other servers on the Internet or intranet. Connection is via Short Message Service (SMS) or Circuit Switched Data (SSD), and the WAP Server provides seamless working with HTTP servers, fetching native WML and WMLScripts content, or converting standard HTML to WML on the fly. The WAP Server can also push information to remote devices, providing the alerting and “infotainment” announcements mentioned earlier.

WAP, as it is launched today, runs over regular mobile systems, meaning that the data transfer speed is limited. It is a first step in a very significant development, however, and within the next couple of years, will develop with GPRS and real third generation (3G) technology.

With GPRS, users will have instant WAP access and more than five times faster connections than today, whilst 3G enables video chats and full Internet browsing on the move.�

It all starts with WAP.

Contact: Ericsson�� 0990 237 237�
(http://www.ericsson.co.uk)

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