Wireless Web: A Manager's Guide [Paperback]

Frank Coyle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 4, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0201722178 | ISBN-13: 978-0201722178 | Edition: 1st

This is the complete manager's guide to leveraging the "Wireless Web" for competitive advantage. In plain English, Frank Coyle shows business decision-makers exactly what wireless technology can mean to their organizations. He introduces every key concept, technology, business opportunity, and challenge associated with today's advanced wireless data technologies -- and tomorrow's. The book reviews a wide range of wireless Web applications, from email to collaboration, finance to m-commerce; and introduces each key technology associated with wireless application development, including WAP, XML, and Java. Wireless Web discusses the diverse end-user devices available for delivering wireless solutions; and offers practical insight into the key challenges of application development, including screen size, power, and bandwidth. It also offers realistic guidance for integrating wireless technologies with existing business strategies and infrastructure. For all managers, developers, software engineers, and architects interested in building and delivering wireless Internet applications.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Business leaders, investors, analysts, and others who need to get a handle on the state of the art in terrestrial wireless data technology will be well served by Frank Coyle's Wireless Web: A Manager's Guide. The title is accurate--this is no manual for turbo-nerds or standards committee members--and Coyle serves his target market well. He's perhaps a little bit guilty of not reporting the shortcomings of technologies and their implementations, but he more than makes up for his slight boosterism (at one point, he mentions, apparently straight-facedly, washing machines that communicate with chips in clothes to determine if the clothes are light or dark) with lucid, reasoned prose. With that prose, he explains how technologies differ, how they stack up in the marketplace, and how they might be put to use to provide services that customers will pay for.

Coyle has embraced full management-book style, with lots of skimmable margin notes, bulleted lists, conceptual diagrams, and flow charts. That said, he's included plenty of technical information, particularly the kind that has to do with transmission speeds, range, reliability, and subscriber capacity. He's also done a great job of providing his readers with enough knowledge of key terms to make sense of industry news articles, and of explaining how related technologies--such as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and WML--fit together to form working applications. The history lessons he provides, which are stories of the factors that led to the acceptance or rejection of wireless technologies in various markets, are invaluable to businesspeople eager to learn from the experiences of others. --David Wall

Topics covered: Technologies, products, and services related to the delivery of digital data to users without the use of transmission wires, with emphasis on end-user devices like pagers, mobile phones, and wireless LAN equipment. Bluetooth, the IEEE wireless LAN standards, third-generation (3G) mobile phone technologies (including GSM, TDMA, and CDMA), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and its related specifications, and Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Java as used in wireless applications are all covered, as are (to a limited extent) the security questions wireless poses.

From the Back Cover

Concise and accessible, Wireless Web: A Manager's Guide, brings the big picture of wireless technology into sharp focus for today's business and technical managers. In plain language, the book details how the wireless boom affects every corner of the business environment, for customers, suppliers, and today's increasingly mobile workforce.

Moving beyond the buzzwords, this book illustrates the exciting new opportunities that "anytime, anyplace" connectivity will bring. The book begins with an overview of the wireless Web and its advantages, followed by an introduction to the devices, technologies, and emerging standards that are changing the scope of wireless communication. The final section highlights security, which is fundamental to the economic viability of the wireless web.

Wireless Web's highlights include a close look at

* Wireless applications for the business-to-consumer (b2c), business-to-business (b2b), and business-to-employee (b2e) markets
* How new developments in synchronization and voice are leading to the next generation wireless "killer app"
* How Bluetooth networking technology will increase productivity through cross-device communication
* How wireless local area networks (WLANs) are augmenting and replacing traditional Local Area Networks
* The technical and political forces behind the new third generation (3G) high speed networks
* How the WAP, XML, and J2ME standards are fueling the growth of the Wireless Web
* Wireless security frameworks including VPNs, PKI, and digital certificates

Complete with detailed illustrations and a handy glossary of wireless terminology, Wireless Web: A Manager's Guide documents how "no wires" technology is ushering in a world of exciting new possibilities. 0201722178B04062001

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 275 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; 1st edition (June 4, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201722178
• ISBN-13: 978-0201722178
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,855,290 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally - An Intelligent Book on Wireless and the Web!, November 14, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wireless Web: A Manager's Guide (Paperback)

About two years ago I had the pleasure of hearing Frank Coyle speak at an industry conference. Frank's talk at the conference was primarily on XML (Extensible Markup Language). During the talk I was very impressed with the breadth and depth of Frank's knowledge. He traced the development of XML from its origins in GML (Generalized Markup Language) from the 1970s to SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) to HTML and XHTML, touching on a variety of important issues along the way.

In parallel with the development of XML Frank outlined the development of programming languages, describing them as code- or data-centric and traced their influences and progress from procedural-oriented to their eventual support for objects and components. Frank then showed the relationship of markup languages to the world of components and how they all fit together.

Frank's talk wasn't a history lesson, but an in-depth examination of XML technology along with the how, what, where, and why it is important. It was a tour-de-force presentation that finally allowed me to see and appreciate the context and proper application of XML.

I am happy to report that most of Frank's XML presentation is included in his book, "Wireless Web - A Manager's Guide." Frank's ability to distill and explain is extended, in the book, to all things wireless and the convergence of wireless with the Web. Frank covers the majority of wireless technologies from the perspective of three evolving forms: the cell phone, the personal digital assistant (PDA), and the portable computer, within a larger context of the wireless advantages, including localization, personalization, and immediacy.

Separate chapters are devoted to wireless devices, Bluetooth, WLAN (wireless LAN), 1G, 2G, and 3G networks, WAP (wireless application protocol), XML, Java, and security issues.

Managers, programmers, and consultants who are looking to understand and implement wireless applications will find this book essential. It is the only book I have found that provides the in-depth coverage combined with the necessary touchstones to guide your journey. It is a smart book written by a sharp author who understands technology is best considered in context and converging influences. After reading this book you will not only understand the current wireless landscape, but also be in a position to make intelligent judgments on its future directions.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Readable general overview of wireless technologies, June 25, 2001

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Wireless Web: A Manager's Guide (Paperback)

Despite the continuing problems with everything from content to the protocols, there is still no question that the wireless transfer of data has a dynamic future. Incorporating wireless equipment into your operations is a significant decision and it is incumbent on all managers to learn the rudiments of what wireless technolog\y is and what it can do for you. If that is your goal then this is the place to start.
Designed for the non-technical person, the approach used in this book is right on that target. All of the general principles of what wireless is and what it is supposed to do are explained. The problem is of course that the gap between what it is supposed to do and what it can do has not been closed. These problems are mentioned, but not to as great an extent as they could have been. I subscribe to several trade magazines and it has been some time since there has been an issue that did not contain an article describing some problem with wireless.
Another concern is in the citing of statistics. While the source is cited when a data point is given, there is no mention of the range of estimates. As a new technology, the range of estimates for the monetary value of wireless is quite wide. Simply citing one of the more optimistic estimates does no justice to the extensive debate regarding the actual value of wireless in the future. As befits an overview, the authors include a large number of print and online references. While no such list can ever be complete, they are certainly the first step to a complete one.
Overall, I found the book to be satisfactorily simplistic in tone, neither too simple or too hard. As long as you read it with the knowledge that no one statistic concerning an emerging technology can be trusted, you will find it of value.

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally - An Intelligent Book on Wireless and the Web!, November 15, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wireless Web: A Manager's Guide (Paperback)

About two years ago I had the pleasure of hearing Frank Coyle speak at an industry conference. Frank's talk at the conference was primarily on XML (Extensible Markup Language). During the talk I was very impressed with the breadth and depth of Frank's knowledge. He traced the development of XML from its origins in GML (Generalized Markup Language) from the 1970s to SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) to HTML and XHTML, touching on a variety of important issues along the way.

In parallel with the development of XML Frank outlined the development of programming languages, describing them as code- or data-centric and traced their influences and progress from procedural-oriented to their eventual support for objects and components. Frank then showed the relationship of markup languages to the world of components and how they all fit together.

Frank's talk wasn't a history lesson, but an in-depth examination of XML technology along with the how, what, where, and why it is important. It was a tour-de-force presentation that finally allowed me to see and appreciate the context and proper application of XML.

I am happy to report that most of Frank's XML presentation is included in his book, "Wireless Web - A Manager's Guide." Frank's ability to distill and explain is extended, in the book, to all things wireless and the convergence of wireless with the Web. Frank covers the majority of wireless technologies from the perspective of three evolving forms: the cell phone, the personal digital assistant (PDA), and the portable computer, within a larger context of the wireless advantages, including localization, personalization, and immediacy.

Separate chapters are devoted to wireless devices, Bluetooth, WLAN (wireless LAN), 1G, 2G, and 3G networks, WAP (wireless application protocol), XML, Java, and security issues.

Managers, programmers, and consultants who are looking to understand and implement wireless applications will find this book essential. It is the only book I have found that provides the in-depth coverage combined with the necessary touchstones to guide your journey. It is a smart book written by a sharp author who understands technology is best considered in context and converging influences. After reading this book you will not only understand the current wireless landscape, but also be in a position to make intelligent judgments on its future directions.