With that in mind, two very different software companies are going after the same, potentially lucrative market--software that makes Web pages and other data instantly compatible with any handheld device.

Oracle this week will unveil Portal-to-Go, an application that translates Internet content into whatever format a user's wireless device requires. Meanwhile, Riverbed Technologies Inc.--which earlier this year began offering software utilities for handhelds--says its new ScoutWeb software can also universally translate Web pages to fit any handheld device.

Both companies say their products are necessary because wireless devices such as cell phones and personal digital assistants tend to have unique features--such as screen dimensions--and proprietary operating systems that make content prepared for one device incompatible with others.

Oracle officials say the technology is particularly well-suited for wireless telecommunications providers looking to broaden their service offerings.

Riverbed's ScoutWeb gives content providers and E-businesses server-based rule sets for each handheld device on the market. The rule adapts Web content so that it becomes compatible with a particular device's operating system and display capabilities. Riverbed says its product could prove valuable to companies seeking to give field workers greater access to data.

Analysts generally see these offerings as a bridge that could give way once wireless technology becomes more open. Says Dennis Gaughan, an analyst at AMR Research, "What this really indicates is that the handheld industry needs standards."