Enliven cell phones

Using the Web on most cell phones has tended to be a balky, awkward experience, reminiscent of what the Internet was like on computers in dial-up 1995. So a handful of startups are trying to make it much cooler.

By using new programming tools or rethinking existing ones, companies at this week's DEMO emerging technologies conference claim they can replicate familiar aspects of today's desktop computing on the phone's small screen.