Microsoft Corp has announced that it will join the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) Forum, a consortium of more than 90 firms working to develop standard wireless information and telephony services for digital mobile phones and other wireless devices. The company’s terse statement doesn’t mention the fact that the WAP Forum has been trying to recruit Microsoft and its partner, Qualcomm Inc, for at least the last six months. Microsoft and Qualcomm have been working on WirelessKnowledge, a proposal some construed as a rival to WAP. For a time it looked as if wireless application developers might be in the unenviable position of having to develop to two industry standards. No longer: We believe internet standards are key to the success of wireless data on browser-enabled phones, said Harel Kodesh, VP of the Productivity Appliances Division at Microsoft, with the zeal of a new convert.
