Mobile Computing Applications

Nour El Kadri

Based on Jani Kurhinen Notes

What are mobile applications?

• In talking about mobile applications we refer to client devices that are expected to be pocket-fitting devices.– Smart phones, palm-size or handheld computers...

• These types of services are targeted for devices of the macro-mobile environment.– Small size, limited bandwidth, low processing

power.

An alternative approach

• Essential part of current computing infrastructure.

• The needs of users vary from lightweight entertainment to heavyweight industrial systems– (or vice versa)

Why are mobile applications needed?

• People are moving even more than before– They must still be able to manage contacts and

events and access networked information.

• The web created new needs for availability of information.– Instant access to needed data. – Data must be available 24h a day.

Why are mobile applications needed?

• What is mobile computing? – Usually mobile computing is associated with

web access using the cell phone.– A connection from the field to an internal

network of a company is also easily considered as mobile computing.

Why are mobile applications needed?

• Mobile computing also includes any kind of data processing with some kind of an easily portable device whether or not it has a connection to a network or other devices.

Mobile vs. wireless

• What does wireless mean? – Wireless defines a way to connect two or more

devices to each other.

Mobile Wireless

Cell phone Infrared connection

Pager Bluetooth connection

Electronic calendar WiFi connection

How does mobility change the types of services?• Quality of service may vary during the

connection.– Bandwidth, delay, reliability.– Are there guarantees on QoS?

• Security issues must be considered.– Man-in-the-middle.– Lost/stolen client terminal.– Lost data.

• Context sensitivity.

Mobile content

• User rates of the Internet and mobile phones are high in the same countries.– It seems that these techniques spread all over

the world hand in hand.

• "Developing in HTML for Web is soon going to be as sexy as developing in Cobol for the IBM S/360" --Johan Hjelm 2000

Mobile content

• If a user doesn't get positive user experience, he/she will reflect this dissatisfaction on the whole system– Not just your service or the terminal, but also

everything in between.– Instead of designing for presentation, you

need to design for the whole user experience.• Not to make information look nice, but to make it

work well.

Mobile content

• Data connection made with mobile terminal differs from connection made with PC.– You are not just browsing in the web, but you

need (or want) something.

• Users are not interested to have web everywhere, they just want the data.

Development of the mobile services - Phases• In the first phase engineers tried to think

what could be fitted into 160 characters.– Phone numbers, addresses, horoscopes…

• The second phase was translating existing (web) services to mobile terminals.

• The third one is to create new services to mobile terminals.

Development of mobile computing

• The era started when movement of people became crucial. – The first phase was nomadic computing.

• It wasn't anymore enough to share data between co-workers at the office.

• The mobility of the people and data access were the key elements.

Development of mobile computing

• For nomadic computing the data access include – communication, – personal information management, – information access and – temporary storing of modified data.

• Note that the mobility of the computing devices are not necessary required, but mobility of the data and user profiles.

Development of mobile computing

• The second phase was true mobile computing. – Users require that they are able not just to be

mobile, but also perform data processing tasks while moving.

Development of mobile computing

• Originally the true mobile computing had two main reasons:– wireless access to networks (both

communication and information) and – management of rapidly changing personal

data.

• Today entertainment and leisure activities have important role.

Development of mobile computing

• The purpose of mobile devices was not to replace desktop workstations or server computers. – The purpose was to offer a new way to deal

with information.

The cost of mobility

• Mobile elements are resource poor when compared to static elements.– Mobile devices should be small.– The size of the mobile device leads to smaller

resources.

• Mobile elements are easier to be damaged, stolen or lost. – They are fragile, valuable and small.

The cost of mobility

• Mobile elements rely on batteries. – Energy for running mobile device must be

carried with the device.– Only finite time of battery power is available.

• Wireless networks are more expensive, slower and less reliable.

The cost of mobility

• A resource-poor mobile device can’t be the only data processing device. – Data must be synchronised with other

computing devices.

• Mobile computing systems are not yet standardised enough.– Every mobile platform offers its own

applications and service solutions.

Mobile terminals don’t suit every situation• If a new technology doesn’t bring along

any value it shouldn’t be used.

• Is the form of the data meaningful to be presented on a screen of a mobile terminal? – Large database tables of multimedia

presentations would not be best viewed with a tiny screen.

Mobile computing

• What if mobile computing could be more?

• Mobile device is usually regarded just a mobile device. – Everything that has something to do with a

wireless or mobile are classified to the same category.

– A vehicle-mounted terminal in a lift truck has only a little common with a smart phone.

Mobile computing

• Because of wide range of requirements it is impossible to offer one device for everyone. – Different kinds of devices are needed to fulfill

users’ needs.– Some need as small a phone with a calendar

as possible while others need water resistant tools that won’t break easily.

Mobile computing

• It is important to understand that there are multiple types of mobile environments. – Each environment has its own users and own

dedicated mobile devices.

• What kind of devices can be classified as a mobile computing device?

Primary purpose of useCommunication Data processing

Mob

ility

(si

ze)

Smart phone

Communicator

Handheld computer

Tablet computer

Ultra portable

Laptop