Chapter One

Over View of Mobile Computing

 1. Mobile Technologies

• Mobile is a word taken from the Latin mobilis

• “to move ” “ able to move freely or easily” “able or willing to move
freely or easily between occupations, places of residence and social
classes”
Mobile Device
• Mobile, wireless or cellularphone – is a portable, handheld
communications device connected to a wireless network that allows
users to make voice calls, send text messages and run applications.
• A mobile phone (also known as a cellular phone, cell phone, and a
hand phone) is a device that can make and receive telephone calls
over a radio link while moving around a wide geographic area.
• It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile
phone operator, allowing access to the public telephone network.
• In addition to telephony, modern mobile phones also support a wide
variety of other services such as text messaging, MMS, email, Internet
access, short-range wireless communications (infrared, Bluetooth),
business applications, gaming and photography.
• Mobile phones that offer these and more general computing
capabilities are referred to as smartphones
why mobile?
• one handed use
• limited (input, processing, battery life)
• rich (sensors, usage)
• small!
• truly ubiquitous
WHO INVENTED THE CELL PHONE?
The person responsible for inventing
the cell phone is Doctor Martin
Cooper.
He invented the technology for the
cell phone when he was the
Director of Research and
Development at Motorola
HOW DID THE CELL PHONE BECOME A “CELL”
PHONE?
It started of with engineers, in the
late 40’s, proposing ideas to use
hexagonal cells for mobile phones in
vehicles.
The only problem was at this stage
technology to implement the ideas
did not exist.
QUICK FACTS ABOUT THE FIRST CELL PHONE
• The first DynaTec phone weighted about 5 pounds
• DynaTec phone took batteries
• The battery life would last for 20 minutes long
• Nicknamed the BRICK
• It cost 4,000 US dollars to own a cell phone
Mobile Technology
• is the technology used for cellular communication.
• Since the start of this millennium, a standard mobile device has gone
from being no more than a simple two-way pager to being a mobile
phone,
• GPS navigation device,
• an embedded web browser and instant messaging client,
• and a handheld game console and other activities.
• Many experts argue that the future of computer technology rests
in mobile computing with wireless networking.
• Mobile computing by way of tablet computers are becoming more
popular
Mobile technologies mainly Varies on:
1. Networking it supports
• 2G, 3G, 4G, & 5G
2. Operating System
• Symbian
• Android
• BADA
• Windows
• Firefox,
• ios, …
4. Memory Capacity
5. Multimedia support, etc
1.2 Taxonomy for Mobile Handsets
1. Programming Features:- characterize the programming capabilities
of a mobile handset. Studying these capabilities allows us to
determine the programmability of cell phone platforms and how
usable and accessible these are to developers.
• Memory:-This feature characterizes whether the mobile handset
has internal or external memory, as well as its size
• Operating System and Software Platforms:- In terms of the
Operating System, we have divided the mobile handsets into
proprietary and open source software.
2. Service Features :- Explore the hardware and multimedia
characteristics present on mobile handsets that might have an impact
on the type and the quality of the service or application.
• Type and Resolution of Screen
• Battery Life
• Music Player
• Camera
• GPS
• Location
3. Connectivity Features:- The connectivity features provide an
understanding of the types of connectivity with the outside world
offered by mobile handsets.
• Type of Network
• EMS
• MMS
• Bluetooth
• Mobile Web and Wi-Fi
4. Economic Features:- is a unique indicator to model the economic
features of mobile handsets: the price. This feature characterizes the
average price (in euros) of a mobile handset model.
Survey of Mobile Devices
• The first hand-held mobile phone was demonstrated by John F.
Mitchell and Dr Martin Cooper of Motorola in 1973, using a handset
weighing around 2.2 pounds (1 kg).
• In 1983, the DynaTAC 8000x was the first to be commercially
available.
• The first smartphone was developed by IBM and BellSouth, which
came out to the public in 1993.
• “Simon” had a touch screen that was capable of accessing email and
sending faxes.
• From 1990 to 2011, worldwide mobile phone subscriptions grew from
12.4 million to over 6 billion, penetrating about 87% of the global
population and reaching the bottom of the economic pyramid.
….Continued
• Mobile devices and apps are becoming ubiquitous to both personal
and professional lives, allowing for near anytime access to critical
information.
• It’s no wonder that adoption of Smartphone's and tablets, which offer
Internet connectivity and densely populated application ecosystems
for add-on features, is growing at a torrid pace.
• According to Gartner, “Of the 1.875 billion mobile phones to be sold
in 2013, 1 billion units was smartphones, compared with 675 million
units in 2012.”
Smartphone History
January 2007
• Steve Jobs, chief executive of Apple, unveils the iPhone, which he says
is "a revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years
ahead of any other mobile phone".
• Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer calls it "the most expensive
phone in the world".
April 2007
▪ Technology research company Gartner says that in the first three
months of 2007 Microsoft's Windows Mobile had an 18% share of the
smartphone market (then totalling 17m handsets).
…continue
November 2007
• Google announces it will offer the Android mobile operating system for
free.
• Anyone can use it and change it.
• By default it uses Google services for search, email and video.
• Microsoft's Ballmer says "We'll have to see what Google does. Right now
they have a press release, we have many, many millions of customers,
great software, many hardware devices, and they're welcome in our
world!“
October 2008
• Apple announces it sold 4.7m iPhones in the summer quarter, giving it
nearly 13% of the smartphone market.
November 2008
• First Android phone, the G1, launches. It has a slide-out keyboard and limited touchscreen
capability.
December 2008
• Microsoft decides to kill off Windows Mobile because it can't compete with the iPhone
and Android, and develop Windows Phone – a completely new mobile operating system.
Autumn 2009
• RIM has a 20% share of the smartphone market from July-September, says Gartner.
Second only to Nokia's Symbian, which has 44%.
January 2010
• Apple launches the iPad, a 10in tablet.
February 2010
• Android phones with full touchscreen interaction like the iPhone's appear.
April 2010
• Google's Android gained just under 10% of the market in the first three months of 2010,
says Gartner
September 2010
• Samsung launches Galaxy Tab, a 7in tablet.
January 2011
• Researchers Gartner and IDC announce that smartphones outsold PCs
worldwide in the last three months of 2010 – 100m as against 93m
April 2011
• Apple becomes the largest smartphone vendor by numbers and revenue,
selling 18.6m iPhones, just ahead of Samsung's 17.5m, in the year's first
quarter.
• Android becomes the best-selling smartphone platform, with a 36.6%
share, ahead of Symbian's 27%.
• Apple sues Samsung in the US over the appearance of the Galaxy Tab
tablet, and follows it up with a string of legal cases around the world
claiming infringement of patents and "trade dress".
July 2011
• Android takes 43% of the smartphone market in the second quarter of the
year, says Gartner.
November 2011
• Android had more than 50% of the smartphone market in the third
quarter of 2011, says Gartner.
January 2012
• Microsoft gets LG to pay undisclosed per-handset royalties. Microsoft
says it now has such agreements for 70% of Android handsets sold in
the US.
Application of Mobile Computing
• The question that always arises when a business is thinking of buying a
mobile computer is "Will it be worth it?“
The importance of Mobile Computers has been highlighted in many fields :
▪ Emergency Services
▪ In companies
▪ Stock Information Collation/Control
▪ Taxi/Truck Dispatch
▪ Electronic Mail/Paging
▪ Location and Map
▪ Smart city
▪ In health
▪ In Agriculture