Sprint Nextel launches Openwave’s transcoding service : Made-for-mobile sites must be registered with carrier

Sprint Nextel Corp. is touting an updated Web browser designed to deliver “a PC-like experience” on mobile phones. But some users aren’t impressed.
The carrier announced plans to launch Openwave Systems Inc.’s OpenWeb, a browser that transcodes Internet content for the small screens and limited memories of mobile phones. Like other transcoding technologies, OpenWeb changes a Web page’s markup, size and layout, converting content to XHTML/MP-compliant pages “on the fly” without a user session, according to Openwave.
“Whether clicking through the Sprint portal or typing in a URL, both new and existing customers can use their Sprint phones to search virtually any Web site and it will appear quickly and in a format they’re used to seeing on their computer screens,” said Kevin Packingham, Sprint Nextel’s VP of wireless product management. “While other carriers are just beginning to talk about open ecosystem initiatives, Sprint is continuing its efforts to give customers an even better experience with the Internet that we have always allowed.”
Sprint Nextel said it will make OpenWeb available nationwide “in the coming weeks,” but the technology is already being deployed — and causing problems — according to Dennis Bournique of WapReview.com. The transcoder replaces the phone’s own User Agent with its own identifier, preventing Internet publishers from using device-detection technology and rerouting surfers to sites optimized for their handsets.
“The User Agent is the only way that mobile sites can identify the phone model and optimize their markup for different screen sizes, Javascript support, etc.,” Bournique wrote. “If a proxy or transcoder changes the User Agent sites can’t deliver an optimal (W)eb experience. . Without the User Agent there is no way for the provider to know which content is compatible with the phone.”
Vodafone U.K. experienced similar problems last fall when it deployed transcoding technology from Novarra Inc. Google Inc., which provides an online transcoding service for mobile users, allows publishers to request their pages be excluded from the service.
A Sprint Nextel representative acknowledged the issue and said the carrier is working to leave made-for-mobile sites unaltered through OpenWeb.
“As we complete our rollout of the mobile Web enhancement, some sites optimized for mobile nay not be recognized as such, so we are providing customers/developers the opportunity to request mobile-friendly sites be added to the exclusion list by going to the Sprint Application Developer Program Web site at http://developer.sprint.com and posting a request in the ‘Wireless Web and Messaging’ forum,” the spokeswoman wrote via e-mail. “As Sprint completes the rollout of the mobile Web enhancement over the coming weeks, it will ultimately recognize and bypass all mobile-friendly sites automatically.”