The hardware (the "hand-held device", or HHD) and the software to run on it (the "browser") had to be chosen. Which ones were picked?
For the HHD, the options were:-
The "card with the embedded chip" is the term for credit-card sized devices with chips embedded in them. Such devices are commonplace these days (phonecards, credit cards etc) but using them would mean having to build one from scratch or reprogram one, and that would be far too difficult. So that option wasn’t picked.
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is a pre-existing method of linking mobile computing devices. It has disadvantages, but (unlike some proposed methods), it actually existed at the time. The third design principle ("now is better than then") therefore dictated that WAP was chosen over the "other custom device" option.
The question then becomes: what will the WAP HHD be? Now PDA’s (personal data assistants, or "palmtops") have many advantages (bigger screens, more colours, more keys) but will never be more than expensive toys for early-adopters. Mobile phones on the other hand are used by millions of people every day. The fourth design principle ("cheap is better than expensive") meant that WAP enabled mobile phones were chosen for the HHD’s.
Choosing WAP enabled mobile phones for the HHD meant that the browser decision became automatic: it would have to be a WML browser. You can get WML browsers for Wap mobile phones, PDA's and (unbelievably) desktop PC's (see appendix 4 for more details).
The WML browser market is not like the HTML browser market: there are many different versions, and none have reached market dominance. This situation will probably remain, because each mobile phone manufacturer will install its own browser on its phone.
The chosen browser & HHD was a WML browser on a WAP enabled mobile phone. This decision was to have implications, as will be seen….