Special Recognition Award to Trio of Mobile Internet Pioneers
Mobile Entertainment Forum bestows joint honours on inventors of WAP
6 June 2007 – Three individuals, whose collaborative efforts led to the creation of Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and the mobile internet, were jointly honoured at the Meffys international mobile entertainment awards last night in Monte Carlo.
This year’s joint winners – Alain Rossman, Chuck Parrish and Bruce Martin – received the Special Recognition Award, a coveted prize which celebrates the outstanding achievements of individuals in the mobile entertainment industry.
All three played a fundamental role in conceiving and making real the idea of the internet for mobile. Rossman, founder of Unwired Planet Inc., has been credited as the inventor of the original WAP patent which first described a micro-browser on the mobile phone; Parrish, founded and led the WAP Forum which unified the major handset manufacturers behind the effort; Martin was the chief technologist who led the development of the WAP protocol by the Forum.
Andrew Bud, global Vice Chair of the Mobile Entertainment Forum, said: “This year the board took the unprecedented decision to give the special recognition award to three individuals. This talented team are jointly responsible for the movement that has led to the internet experience being translated onto billions of handsets worldwide. Although the process began more than a decade ago, their vision is now truly coming to fruition, and the consumer mobile entertainment experience is much richer today thanks to this innovation.”
Previous winners of the coveted Special Recognition Award include: Vesa-Matti Paananen who won the inaugural prize in 2004 for his pioneering work on commercialising the ringtone; Taneli Armanto who received the accolade in 2005 for bringing the game 'Snake' to the mobile phone; and last year’s winner, Jim Brailean, who was recognised for his ground-breaking work to make mobile TV a reali
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