Development in Mobile Technologies

Mobile Technology is a collective term used to describe the various types of cellular communication technology.

Since the beginning of this millenium, a standard mobile device has gone from being no more than a simple two-way pager to being:  a cellular phone  GPS navigation system  a web browser  an instant messenger client  a hand-held video game

Many experts argue that the future of computer technology rests in mobile/wireless computing.

 By the end of 2002, there were 1 billion mobile subscriptions in the world  By the end of 2008, there were an estimated 4.1 billion mobile subscriptions  i.e, 6 out of every 10 people own a mobile phone  In comparison, in 2005, there were 1 billion people connected to the Internet, and only 2 out of 10 people owned a PC.

 Some observers are speculating that many people in the not so distant future will start to see the mobile phone as an alternative to a PC.  ‘One day, people will have cell phones, and they are not all going to have PCs …’ Jeff Hawkins Inventor of Palm Pilot

Some still disagree though... ‘Hundreds of millions of people are not going to replace the full screen, mouse and keyboard experience with staring at a little screen’ Sean Maloney Intel executive vice-president

 1G Mobile Phones ◦ 1970s ◦ analogue system transmission ◦ 20 million users by 1990  2G Mobile Phones ◦ used GSM technology  better voice quality (digital) ◦ messaging and voice mail ◦ introduction of GPRS  packet-switched capabilities

 3G Mobile Phones ◦ use of audio, graphics and video applications ◦ watch streaming video ◦ video telephony ◦ Internet access

...offer more advanced computing ability and connectivity ...allow the user to install and run much more advanced applications based on a specific platform ...run complete operating systems software ...provide a platform for application developers

 Only a small percentage of mobile phone users own a smartphone, however sales are growing and the potential market for smartphones is definitely on the increase.

Growth in demand for advanced mobile devices boasting ◦ powerful processors, ◦ abundant memory, ◦ larger screens, and ◦ open operating systems has outpaced the rest of the mobile phone market for several years.

 According to a study by ComScore, in 2010, over 45.5 million people in the United States owned smartphones and it is the fastest growing segment of the mobile phone market, which comprised of 234 million subscribers in the United States.  i.e, nearly 20% of US mobile subscribers own a smartphone

 Some devices are aimed at business users and are marketed primarily as business communications devices.  To aid communication they include a physical qwerty keyboard and a large screen.

Other features include:  send and receive  web access  handwriting recognition  edit/view Office documents  video/voice recording & playback  GPS  Instant messaging services

 Bluetooth 3.0  Mobile User Interfaces  Location Awareness  Near Field Communication (NFC)  n & Cellular Broadband  Display Technologies

1. Bluetooth 3.0  It's expected that the 3.0 spec will include faster speeds, reportedly transferring files at 480 megabits per second in close proximity and 100 megabits per second at 10 meters.  Can be used on new peripherals, sensors, and applications, such as health monitoring

2. Mobile User Interfaces  A new platform for everything from consumer mobile apps to B2E (business-to-employee) and B2C (business-to-customer)  Better interfaces for browsing the web, thus making it accessible to more people.  Security still a BIG concern

3. Location Awareness  Powered by GPS as well as Wi-Fi and triangulation  Allows users to see how far away their contacts are, introducing a whole new dimension to mobile communication.  Privacy issues?

4. Near Field Communication (NFC)  Provides a way for consumers to use their mobile phones for making payments  The ability to transfer photos from phone to digital photo frames, will also remain elusive to more developed markets

n & Cellular Broadband  Not ratified as an official standard yet.  Substantially higher data rates, and at greater distances.

6. Display Technologies  Active pixel displays, passive displays and pico projectors.  Instant presentations in informal settings could become more common when there isn't large, cumbersome equipment to set up.