Telephone-Based Access to the Internet

The rapid growth of Web services has led to a situation where companies and individuals rely more and more on material that is available on the Internet and intranets. Internet access is no longer limited to personal computers and powerful workstations in the office, but is reaching into the home, as well as on the road. A new class of electronics devices with Internet access capability called 'Information Appliances' was recently born. This Internet access capability is embedded in devices such as televisions, set top boxes, home game machines, telephone-based terminals, PDAs, car navigation systems and cellular phones. As mobile phones become available for everyone as commodities, successful telephone based access to internet is becoming more and more important to improve individual productivity. However, hardware restriction, narrow bandwidth restriction and accessibility requirements are serious obstacle to the success of telephone based access to the Internet.

Wu, Xue. Universal Usability (2001). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Bandwidth