The evolution of mobile devices June 2004 Chris Green Technology Editor Computing

1 In the beginning…...

2 And when we were on the road…..

3 We also carried computers in our pockets…….

4 Original applications for mobile devices è Word processing è Spreadsheet data entry è PowerPoint presentations! è Voice phone calls è Filofax replacement (diary, address book, memo pad, useful information)

5 1990s changes to mobile technology è Emergence of digital GSM mobile phone technology è First practical use of mobile phones for wireless data (albeit at 9,600kbps) è Emergence of Windows 95 - the beginning of more practical Windows computing on laptops è Mobile gaming (Nintendo Gameboy, games on mobile phones such as Worm - simple but effective) è Introduction of SMS into the UK by One2One and Orange

6 1990s changes to mobile devices è Cheaper colour screen technology for laptops è Widespread use of surface-mount PCB technology for all devices results in reduction in size and weight of laptops, phones, PDAs and gaming devices è Integrated chipsets reduce the amount of individual chips within a device, reducing size, weight, cost and power consumption è Improvements in battery technology, with the move away from Ni-Cad to Ni-MH, then later to Li-Ion BUT BATTERY TECHNOLOGY CONTINUES TO LAG BEHIND!!!

7 Laptops never really change è Basic concept of a laptop has not changed since their inception è Chipset technologies such as Intel’s Centrino have helped reduce power consumption, weight and heat generation è Battery technology has kept pace, but has not yet delivered any additional run-time è An average laptop in 1990 has a battery life from new of 2h25m è An average laptop in 2004 has a battery life from new of 2h32m

8 But phones and PDAs have! è Phones and PDAs adopt colour screens, though mono continues to play a role. è Significant gains in battery life through move to Li-Ion and through more conservative power use è Shrinking size from simplification of circuitry è Significant increases in battery technology è PDA devices begin to merge, creating the smart phone è Smartphones feature the ‘best’ bits of both platforms, all integrated to share information and voice/data capability

9 Changing applications for mobile devices è Wireless networking and Internet access è è Web browsing è Shared calendar and group scheduling è High-performance PC gaming è Desktop publishing è Audio/Video editing è DVDs è Fading divide between desktop and laptop PCs

10 Changing applications for mobile devices è Replication of desktop , calendar and group scheduling clients è Direct Internet connection for remote access è Wireless networking for basic file sharing and Internet access è Gaming è Audio/Video playback (streaming, MP3s etc) è GPS positioning and route planning è Fashion accessory

11 Changing applications for mobile devices è Voice calls è Video calls (3G) è Text messaging è Picture messaging and use of phone as a digital camera (phone cameras now at 1MP and rising) è Voice memo recording è MP3 playback è FM Radio è è WAP and Web access è Short-range wireless networking è Streaming video and audio

12 Mobile wireless è Emergence of GPRS over GSM for data transfer equal to a bad dial-up landline modem connection è Emergence of b from access-points for 11Mbit networking and Internet access for laptops and PDAs è Infrared and Bluetooth for short-range networking and cable-replacement è 3G and GPRS data services for laptops via dedicated PCMCIA access cards

13 Future trends è Growth in 3G service take-up and video calling as handsets and user interfaces imrove è Demand for online-capable digital music players è Streaming TV to mobile devices for on-demand news and entertainment è Continuing growth of SMS, and huge demand for mobile 2-way

14 Future trends è Eventual decline of traditional PDA as demand for mobile internet and wireless networking increases è Larger screens to accommodate spreadsheets, PowerPoint, fixed-font etc è Decline of stylus as primary input mechanism è PDA to grow as a reader platform for eBooks and online/offline content è Growth of mini-hard drives in PDAs over flash memory to store audio and video content

15 Future trends è Growth of laptop/tablet PC devices at the high-end è Demand for mid-point device between laptop/tablet and PDA/smartphone è Mid-point device to feature 6-8inch screen, mini- keyboard, WLAN and Cellular, and full version of Windows/Linux/MacOS etc on 1-inch hard drive

16 The End