AT&T Corp’s AT&T Wireless division will bring to market its unique version of an Internet device with PocketNet Phone, a cellular phone that gives users access to the Internet and electronic mail. Developed by Unwired Planet Inc, the phone is based on a specialized browser that sends and retrieves text-based information only, so no graphics yet. Unwired Planet (www.uplanet.com) is the Internet start-up to which Oracle Network Computer veteran Andy Laurson fled, staying cagey about its doings until now. The UP.Link software consists of Hand-held Device Mark-up Language, the UP.Browse client and the UP.Link Server middleware. The browser uses a menu-based interface that is manipulated by the cellular phone’s keypad. Existing Web sites do not have to be modified to run on the browser. Information requests are routed via UP.Link through AT&T’s wireless Internet Protocol network – Cellular Digital Packet Data or CDPD – and the wireline Internet to a Web server, where they are processed. The browser shows the results of the query, not the steps in between. The company says that PocketNet phones will be available next quarter for roughly $500, with exact pricing to be announced nearer the time. The AT&T-branded phones will be manufactured by Cirrus Logic Inc’s PCSI subsidiary, and Mitsubishi Electric Corp will also offer a version of PocketNet based on its MobileAccess Phone. AT&T will host a gateway server to the wireless IP networks.
