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RSS feedsI've always embraced mobile technology - after all, who wants to be tied down by clumsy wires when you could be accessing information wherever and whenever you want?
The Holy Grail for mobile users is, then, without a doubt, a fast, always-on link to the internet, and this is exactly what the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) promises - in theory at least.
I've just been trying it out and, while it delivers in some respects, it's falling flat on others.
In theory, a GPRS mobile phone can share precious network resources with other users, remain connected to services without having to dial up, and, unlike existing pricing structures, you'll only be charged for data transferred, not time online.
I remember hearing speeds of over 20Kbits/sec per "timeslot" promised for GPRS, which, with several slots lumped together, could achieve around 100Kbits/sec.
Now it looks like each GPRS timeslot will attain little more than 13Kbits/sec, and that's downhill with the wind behind it.
Most GPRS handsets will also probably only be able to handle no more than four timeslots coming in and one going out, technically known as "multislot class 8".
Testing time
Okay, so the data speeds are not as blinding as I had hoped, but what about usability? GPRS is going to be marketed as the best way to access Wap, so I compared it to conventional GSM data services by timing how long Ericsson's R520m handset took to connect to, and display, the Genie Wap home page, then access its main weather page using each mobile technology.
For testing I used Vodafone's new GPRS service and compared it to Orange's existing circuit-switched data at 14.4Kbits/sec.
Orange also offers data at 28.8Kbits/sec, but there's no point accessing Wap at this speed as its Wap gateway has a ceiling of 14.4Kbits/sec for circuit-switched data.
Under Orange, the Genie home page arrived in 15 seconds compared to 11 seconds on Vodafone GPRS, including connection. It took me virtually one minute to connect to and display the Genie weather page under Orange, which would cost between 2p and 10p depending on the tariff and day of the week.
Doing the same task under GPRS was slightly faster and required 2586bytes to be received and 573bytes to be sent, which on typical price plans would cost about 6p (2p/Kb).
So accessing Wap over GPRS costs approximately the same as conventional GSM data and was fractionally faster. The crucial thing, however, was that getting this information over GPRS would have cost the same regardless of how long I'd taken, whereas under circuit-switched data you're charged by the minute.
Permanent internet connection?
In this respect GPRS really does work, and transforms Wap into a leisurely pursuit. But what I really want to do is permanently connect my notebook or PDA to the internet while I'm on the move. Sadly, it turns out that this may not be possible for some time yet.
GPRS requires a special address to log into, called an Access Point Name (APN). However, it turns out that the APNs offered to consumers by the first raft of GPRS services can only be used to access Wap through a mobile phone. What I need is an APN for full internet access.
Today, the networks can happily set up custom APNs for accessing private corporate networks over GPRS, which in turn could route you to the internet; but that's no good for single consumers like myself.
I spoke to Vodafone, which said it would provide an APN for consumer internet access some time soon, while Orange claims it will launch its GPRS service with this facility from day one. But when will this be?
Remember that GPRS was originally promised for this time last year and it's only now just beginning to roll out to the broad public. Alternatively, maybe the big ISPs will be the first to offer APNs for consumer GPRS internet access.
To be frank, I really don't care who does it, so long as someone does it soon for non-corporates. While GPRS undeniably makes Wap a much more pleasant experience, I'm still not turned on by reading weather reports on my mobile's screen.
GPRS represents the first step to third-generation mobile communications and, for me, that's having a PDA or notebook permanently connected to proper rich content. I just hope consumers are not excluded from this potentially groundbreaking development for long.
See also:
All Mobile Technology
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