Technology In ActionChapter 8: Mobile Computing

www.offthemark.com c Mark Parisi

Mobile Computing Devices

• Pagers• Cellular phones• Portable media players• Personal digital

assistants• Tablet PCs• Laptop computers

Comparing Mobile DevicesMobile Devices: Price, Size, Weight, and Capabilities

Device Relative Price ApproximateSize

Approximate Weight

Standard Capabilities

Paging Device $ (includes cost for the pager and a monthly plan)

2" × 2" × 0.5" 0.2 lbs. Provides numeric and/or textmessaging in one or two directions

Cell Phone $$ (includes cost for the phone, a monthly plan, and Internet access)

5" × 2" × 0.5".  0.25 lbs Provides voice and e-mail connectivity

MP3 Player $$–$$$ 3" × 2" × 1" 0.25 lbs. Provides storage of digital music filesand other data

PDA $$–$$$ 5" × 3" × 1" 0.5 lbs. Provides PIM capabilities, access toapplication software, and accessto the Internet

Tablet PC $$$$$ 10" × 8" × 1" 3 lbs. Provides PIM capabilities, access toapplication software, access to theInternet, and special handwriting andspeech-recognition capabilities

Laptop $$$$–$$$$$ 10" × 13" × 2" 5 to 8 lbs. Provides all the capabilities of a desktopcomputer while also being portable

Cellular Phones

• Full-featured communication and information storage devices

• Features include:– Auto-redial– Call timers– Voice-mail– Voice-activated dialing– Internet access– Text messaging– Personal information management

Cell Phone Hardware

• Microprocessor (CPU):– Coordinates data between components– Runs the operating system

• Memory:– ROM stores the operating system– Internal memory chips store:

• Contact data • Ring tones• Images• Small application programs Microprocessor

Memory

Cell Phone Hardware

• Input devices:– Microphone– Keypad– Graffiti pad– Touch-screen– Digital camera

• Output devices:– Speaker– LCD display Microphone

Keypad

LCD display

Speaker

Cell Phone Features• Text messaging:

– Short Message Service (SMS):• Send messages up to 160

characters• Free SMS information

– Multimedia Message Service (MMS):

• Send text, sound, images, and video clips

For latest features,• www.telusmobility.com• http://promo.telusmobility.com/

smartphones/index.html?landing=rethink#gg=OverviewProductStateN8130P

AFAIK As far as I knowIDK I don’t knowB4N Bye for nowJAS Just a secBRB Be right backLOL Laughing out loudCUL See you laterQPSA ¿Qué pasa?FBM Fine by meT+ Think positiveF2T Free to talkTTYL Talk to you laterG2G Got to goWUWH Wish you were hereHRU How are you?YBS You’ll be sorry

Popular Text Messaging Abbreviations

Cell Phone Internet Connectivity

• Wireless Internet service provider• Maximum speeds of 200 to 300 Kbps• Micro-browser software

– EDGE and EVDO standards• Difficult to display Web pages on small

screen• Checking e-mail is a popular feature • Special “push” technology delivers e-mail

to a cell phone

Portable Media Players• MP3:

– Format for storing music• Portable media player (PMP):

– A small device that stores and plays music• Storage space determines the number of songs stored:

– Memory chips 64 MB to 256 MB– Hard drive up to 40 GB– Sampling rate also affects number of songs stored

Popular Portable Media Players and Their Characteristics

Media Capacity Built-In FlashMemory

Hard Disk Drive Capacity

Connectionto Computer

Other Features

Creative Labs Digital MP3 Player FX200

Up to 500 songs 256 MB to 1 GB None USB 2.0 port Built-in FM radio, voicerecorder, and five-bandequalizer

Oregon Scientific MP121

Up to 32 hours of music

512 MB to 1 GB None USB 2.0 port Waterproof to 3 feet, built-in pedometer, built-in FM radio, and equalizer

Apple iPod Nano Up to 1,000 songs or 25,000 images

1 GB to 4 GB None USB 2.0 port Weighs only 1.5 ounces,flash memory providesfor skip-free playback

Apple iPod Up to15,000 songs, 25,000 images, or 150 hours of video

None 30 GB to 60 GB USB 2.0 port Has calendar feature thatsyncs with Outlook; canserve as a small, portablehard drive

Creative Zen Vision

Up to 15,000 songs or 120 hours of movies

None 30 GB USB 2.0 port Integrated FM radio and voice recorder; syncswith Outlook

PMP Flash Memory• Used to add additional memory to

portable media players• Types of flash memory:

– Compact Flash:• 64 MB to 1 GB

– Multimedia (MMC) and SmartMedia:• 128 MB

– Secure Digital:• 512 MB

– Sony Memory Stick:• 128 MB

• Software enables transfer of audio and video files

PMP Ethical Issues• Is it illegal to download MP3 files?

– MP3.com:• Song files are on a public server• Permission is given by the artist or recording company to place the

files on the server• A fee is paid to download a file, eg iTunes

– Napster:• A file exchange site• Song files were borrowed from users’ computers (peer-to-peer

[P2P] sharing)• Sued for copyright infringement (wikipedia for details)

Podcasting

• Distributing nonmusic MP3 files over the Internet

• Podcasts can be information, books on tape audio plays, etc.

• People can listen when they wish• iPod synchronization transfers new content.

PDA Input and Output Devices

Input devices• Touch-screen with stylus• Keyboards:

– On-screen– Integrated– Folding

• Digital cameras

Output devices• LCD displays:

– Grayscale– Color

PDA Operating SystemsPalm OS

• Uses less memory than Windows Mobile

• Easy to use graphical interface

• Features include:– Calendar– To-do list– Contact information– Viewing Videos– Playing MP3 files

• Extra application software is available

Windows Mobile• Scaled-down version of

Windows• More expensive than Palm

OS• Features include:

– PDA version of Microsoft Word and Excel

– Viewing videos– Playing MP3 files– Synchronizes with Outlook

• Extra application software is available

PDA Memory and Storage• ROM stores the operating

system and the basic programs

• RAM stores additional applications and data

• Flash memory is used for additional storage

PDA File Transfer and Synchronization

• PDA files can be transferred to a desktop using:– Flash card readers– Cradles

• Synchronizing updates files on both the PDA and desktop

• Wireless transfers:– IrDA– Bluetooth

PDA Internet Connectivity• An Internet connection requires a wireless ISP• Web pages are accessed using Wireless Application

Protocol (WAP)

PDA Software and Accessories

• Standard software:– To-do list– Contacts manager– Calendar

• Additional software:– Microsoft Word and

Excel– Games– Tools– References

• Blueboard:– PDA display acts as a

drawing board– Connects to four other

PDAs

Converged Technologies

• Cell phones with PDA capability

• PDAs with cell phone capability

• Handspring Treo• Sony Ericsson P800

Notebook Hardware

• DVD/CD-RW drives• Hard drives• RAM• Hot-swappable bays:

– Remove a drive and replace it with another type

• Keyboard• Built-in mouse• LCD displays

Notebook Operating Systems

• Same operating systems as those found on desktops

• Power management:– Shuts down the hard drive– Turns off the monitor– Puts the computer into standby

mode

Notebook Ports• A full set of ports:

– Parallel– Monitor– USB– Modem– Ethernet– Audio jacks– FireWire– PCI type I/II card slots– DVI– IrDA

Critical Thinking

• What are some ethical issues around mobile cellular technology?

• Thoughts about cellphone as fashion?• How about protecting IP?• GPS services and personal information?