Mobile Computing

Summary 

Mobile Computing can be defined as a form of human-computer interaction, which is "a discipline concerned with the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them" [1],that is aimed at mobilizing computers for three specific reasons: mobile software, hardware, and communication. Mobile computing can also be defined as "taking a computer and all necessary files and software out into the field." [2].

Computer History

Computers were originally developed between 1940-1945 and were often the size of large rooms. The amount of power necessary to allow these computers to run is the equivalent to several hundred modern day modems currently used in everyday computers. [3]. The purpose of computers was the need to design a device capable of completing complex calculations at exceedingly faster rates than that of a regular human being. The Atanasoff–Berry Computer (ABC) was among the first electronic digital binary computing devices. Conceived in 1937 by Iowa State College physics professor John Atanasoff, and built with the assistance of graduate student Clifford Berry. [4]. This computer, however, was non-programmable but was capable of parallel computation. Later computer ventures of the decade would yield programmable computers such as the U.S. Army's Ballistic Research Laboratory ENIAC of 1946, which was capable of decimal arithmetic but required rewiring in order to reprogram. As computers developed, the ability to store massive amounts of data became another upside to the usage of computers. However, due to the massive size and need for advanced expertise in how to operate the machines, the practicality of first generation computers became an issue. By the late 1950's, work was being done to reduce the size and ability of computers. The development of microprocessors and semiconductors made way for the future miniaturization of computers. Computers using vacuum tubes as their electronic elements were in use throughout the 1950s, but by the 1960s had been largely replaced by transistor-based machines, which were smaller, faster, cheaper to produce, required less power, and were more reliable. The first transistorized computer was demonstrated at the University of Manchester in 1953. [5]. [8]

The first personal computers, originally called the portable personal computer, came into existence in the 1970's. The IBM SCAMP project (Special Computer APL Machine Portable), was demonstrated in 1973. This prototype was based on the PALM processor (Put All Logic In Microcode) [6]. The IBM 5100, the first commercially available portable computer, appeared in September 1975, and was based on the SCAMP prototype. [6].

Laptops

The first laptops began to show up in the 1980's, initially released to NASA in 1982. The first laptop, the GRiD Compass 110, was marketed publicly until 1984 and cost $8,150. Development of portable computers like the laptop sped up significantly over the next two-decades, with laptops becoming increasingly more capable, with increases in memory, programming, software, portability, size, speed, and efficiency. Thanks to the compact design of laptops, their appeal in the business also increased. Business men could now carry data and information with them on important trips as the 21st century dawned. But the accessibility of laptops to the general public also increased. With new cost effective innovations in technology, the laptop and PC became readily available to the public.

Smartphones

A smartphone is a mobile phone built on a mobile operating system, with more advanced computing capability and connectivity than a feature phone.[13]. The first smartphone to ever be conceptualized was by IBM.In 1993 IBM manufactured the IBM Simon, which was part mobile phone, part PDA, part pager, and part fax machine. The actual term 'smartphone' was first used for Ericksson's GS88, this was the first device to be labelled as a smartphone.[15] In 2000 Ericksson developed the first smartphone to operate under a mobile operating system, which combined the functions of a PC to that of a mobile phone.[14] In 2002, RIM (Research in Motion) released the first blackberry, which was the first smartphone optimized for wireless email use.[15] In 2007 Apple revolutionized the use of smartphones when it introduced the iPhone, which was introduced as a mobile phone and an internet communicator. [16]  Currently most smartphones have comparable abilities to those of a computer.   

Devices

The innovations that came about through research into miniaturizing the computer led to breakthroughs in other mobile computing technologies:

• Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
• Smart Phones (BlackBerry, iPhone, PALM, HTC, Android, etc.)
• Carputer
• Tablet Computer
• Laptop 

Advantages

• Portability

Mobile devices allow for easy transportation of data that has become essential to new methods of communications. Smart phones, laptops, and PDA's have improved business productivity, as well as providing easier ways for regular citizens to communicate across vast distances.

• Memory

With the techniques and advantages learned from computer research, the memory capabilities on mobile devices have steadily increased since their introduction to the market, often times allow for massive storage capabilities. Devices such as the BlackBerry, a common Smartphone used by business people worldwide, can have storage capabilities of 2-5 GB, not including memory cards that can be inserted into the device to add even more storage space.

• Wireless internet

Mobile technology allows for the usage of the internet without the need to be directly hooked into a cable modem. Wireless internet, often referred to as Wi-Fi, makes internet browsing to be accessed at almost any time.  

Limitations

•   Insufficient bandwidth

          Internet access to Mobile Devices tends to be slower than with a cable connection directly hooked into a typical, modern-day computer. Wireless internet hot-spots can be as effective as cable hook-ups if the signal or modem producing the signal are and remain strong but Wi-Fi is most effective on laptops and has only increasingly become enabled on smartphones. Smartphones, instead, use networks such as GPRS, EDGE, and 3G to improve bandwith but typically require close proximity to a cell phone tower.  

• Power consumption

          When a power outlet or portable generator is not available, mobile computers must rely entirely on battery power. Combined with the compact size of many mobile devices, this often means unusually expensive batteries must be used to obtain the necessary battery life. [7].

• Privacy and Security Concerns

          When working mobile, one is dependent on public networks, requiring careful use of Virtual Private Network (VPN). Security is a major concern while concerning the mobile computing standards on the fleet. One can easily attack the VPN through a huge number of networks interconnected through the line. [9].

Applications of Mobile Computing

• Emergency Services 

         Ability to receive information on the move is vital where the emergency services are involved. Information regarding the address, type and other details of an incident can be dispatched quickly, via a Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) system using mobile computers, to one or several appropriate mobile units, which are in the vicinity of the incident [9]  

• In Courts 

         Defense counsels can take mobile computers in court. When the opposing counsel references a case which they are not familiar, they can use the computer to get direct, real-time access to on-line legal database services, where they can gather information on the case and related precedents. [9]

• Credit Card Verification  

          At Point of Sale (POS) terminals in shops and supermarkets, when customers use credit cards for transactions, the intercommunication is required between the bank central computer and the POS terminal, in order to effect verification  of the card usage, can take place quickly and securely over cellular channels using a mobile computer unit. [9]

Mobile Commerce

Mobile commerce, often referred to as M-Commerce, has been defined as the "use of handheld wireless devices to communicate, interact, and transact via high-speed connection to the Internet." Although Mobile commerce is an important opportunity, only 7% percent from 90% of Americans, for example, who own a Mobile phone have used their phone for Mobile commerce transaction, according to the business studies in 2009. That means that Mobile Commerce has not been translated yet into a significant number of real-world applications. [10]. In contrast to the United States, Africa has seized the opportunity of mobile commerce. In 2007, President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, said: "In 10 short years, what was once an object of luxury and privilege, the mobile phone, has become a basic necessity in Africa." [11]. Alternate payment methods using mobile computing are widely used in Africa. Mobile money is a cellphone based payment system which can be used to pay for a wide range of goods and services. Mobile money is projected to become a $617-billion industry by 2016, according to researchers Gartner, who predict mobile transactions will reach $171-billion this year. Already, 80% of the world's mobile money transactions are happening in East Africa, driven by Kenya, the epicentre of mobile innovation. [12].

Social Issues

The key feature in the practice of mobile communication is connectivity rather than mobilityThis is because, increasing mobile communication takes place from stable locations, such as the home, work, or school.[18] Mobile computing brought about the evolution of the art of multitasking. Multitasking refers to the ability to respond to the many pressing demands in a certain amount of time.[17] With mobile communication now being defined by its capacity for ubiquitous and permanent connectivity rather than by its potential mobility, the ethos of multitasking have began to emerge. Mobile computing has conveyed a mythical activity in which people believe they can perform two or more tasks simultaneously. The interruptions of smartphones, tablets, etc takes workers twenty-five minutes to recover to their initial tasks, this has led the U.S's economy losing $650 billion a year in productivity.[17] [18]The impact of mobile computing has had a converse effect than it was first regarded, the apparent ability to do more work has in its place led to loss in the ability to focus on the primary task. 

Implications for Media Ecology

Mobile computing, if broken down to a computer science perspective, is the focus on the "interaction between one or more humans and one or more computational machines" [1]. This is to say, how do humans utilize and interact with the new computer technology that surrounds them. The invention of work station computers has allowed for the supplementation of more technically advanced information processing by way of a more efficient system (machines) than would be previously possible by way of typical human intellect. Communication was altered substantially with the invention of personal computers, PDA's, and smartphones. Not only could information be stored in massive amounts that allowed for greater recall, at the expense of larger memory processing units, but it also provided new ways of transferring that data quickly from server to server, person to person, and place to place. As the technology began to shrink until its eventual incorporation into laptops and smartphones, which made carrying around the advantages that accompanied computers convenient and accessible, so did the theoretical distance between human beings. This adaptation and interaction that was displayed over the half-century that has encompassed the dawn of the modern computer era has been a marvel in human sociological and scientific studies.

References

1.  http://old.sigchi.org/cdg/cdg2.html

2.  http://www.blm.gov/w…ossary.html#m%5B2%5D

3.  http://www.upenn.edu/computing/provider/docs/hardware/powerusage.html

4.  http://energysciencenews.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=98&p=264#p264

5.  http://www.life.com/gallery/48681

6.  http://newselektronik.blogspot.com/2009/10/hystory-of-laptop.html

7.  http://www.upenn.edu/computing/provider/docs/hardware/powerusage.html

8.  http://jointheconversation.org/?cat=7&paged=2 

9.  http://www.ijcta.com/documents/volumes/vol3issue1/ijcta2012030132.pdf

10. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=d6909b0f-a7ee-44a3-8ce0-b905a7935973%40sessionmgr110&vid=2&hid=106

11. http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/13/world/africa/mobile-phones-change-africa/index.html

12. http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/04/tech/mobile/africa-mobile-opinion/index.html 

13, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone

14. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_operating_system

15. http://www.bitrebels.com/technology/the-evolution-of-smartphones-infographic/

16. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_(original)

17.http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-myth-of-multitasking

18.Castells, Manuel et al. A Mobile Network Society. Communications In History: Technology, Culture, Society. 6th Edition. Print.