Ch-2

Mobile
Computing

1
Meskele Y.
 Fundamentals of Mobile Computing
 Mobile computing systems are computing systems that may be easily
moved physically and whose computing capabilities may be used
while they are being moved.
 Mobile Computing is a technology that allows transmission of data,
voice and video via a computer or any other wireless enabled device
without having to be connected to a fixed physical link.
 Mobile computing describes technologies that :
 Enable people to access network services anyplace, anytime and any
user.
 With portable and wireless computing and communication devices.
 It provides decentralized (distributed) computations on diversified
devices, systems, and networks, which are mobile, synchronized, and
interconnected via mobile communication standards and protocols.

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 Fundamentals of Mobile Computing
 Mobile Computing is an umbrella term used to describe
technologies that enable people to access network services
anyplace, anytime, and anywhere. Examples are laptops, personal
digital assistants (PDAs), Smart Watch and mobile phones.
 There are many things that a mobile computing system can do that a
stationary computing system cannot do; these added
functionalities are the reason for separately characterizing mobile
computing systems.

 Among the distinguishing aspects of mobile computing systems are

their prevalent wireless network connectivity, their small size, the
mobile nature of their use, their power sources, and their
functionalities that are particularly suited to the mobile user.

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Fundamentals of Mobile Computing

???
Mobile Computing
Vs
Ubiquitous Computing
vs
Pervasive Computing
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 Fundamentals of Mobile Computing
Mobile Computing vs Ubiquitous Computing vs Pervasive
Computing
Mobile Computing is a generic term describing the application of small,
portable, and wireless computing and communication devices.
Mobile computing is when you bring the computer with you. Example
smartphones, Laptop or/and Smart Watch.
Ubiquitous computing (ubicomp, or sometimes ubiqcomp) integrates
computation into the environment, rather than having computers which are
distinct objects.
Ubiquitous computing is wherever you go, there is a computer you can
use. Example internet cafe, mainframe terminals and in our context Betting.
Pervasive computing: when computers are everywhere inside all things,
maybe also within you. Example IoT enabled Devices like Smart
Refrigerators, Blood Pressure and Sugar Level Sensors.
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 Components of Mobile Computing
 The major components of mobile computing are

Mobile Communication

Mobile Hardware

Mobile Software

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 Mobile Communication
 Mobile Communication specifies a framework that is responsible for the
working of mobile computing technology. In this case, mobile
communication refers to an infrastructure that ensures seamless and reliable
communication among wireless devices.
 The mobile communication framework consists of communication devices
such as protocols, data formats, services, bandwidth, and portals necessary
to facilitate and support the stated services. These devices are responsible for
delivering a smooth communication process.
 Since the media is unguided / unbounded, the overlaying infrastructure is
basically radio wave-oriented. That is, the signals are carried over the air to
intended devices that are capable of receiving and sending similar kinds of
signals.

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 Mobile Hardware
 Mobile hardware includes mobile devices or device components
that receive or access the service of mobility. They would range
from portable laptops, smart phones, tablet Pc's, Personal Digital
Assistants or/and Smart Watch. These devices are inbuilt with a
receptor medium that can send and receive signals.

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 Mobile software
 Mobile software is the actual program that runs on the mobile
hardware. It deals with the characteristics and requirements of
mobile applications. This is the engine of the mobile device, which
is also called the operating system of the appliance.

 Since portability is the main factor, this type of computing ensures

that users are not tied or pinned to a single physical location, but
are able to operate from anywhere. It incorporates all aspects of
wireless communications.

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 Evolution of Mobile Computing
 The advent of portable computers and laptops, Personal Digital
Assistants (PDA), PC tablets and smartphones, has in turn made
mobile computing very convenient.
 The portability of these devices ensure and enable the users to access
all services at anytime, anywhere.

Reading
Assignment

Evolution of By Meskele Y. 10
Computing
Mobile Computing Vs Wireless Networking
 The terms "mobile" and "wireless" are often used interchangeably but in
reality, they are two very different concepts.
 Mobile is a word that is commonly used to describe portable devices. A
mobile device is one that is made to be taken anywhere. It can help to send
and receive data without attaching to a hardware infrastructure.
 Wireless, on the other hand, does not mean mobile. Traditional computers
or other non-mobile devices can access wireless networks. Wireless refers
to the method of transferring information between a computing device and a
data source without a physical connection.
 Wireless networking provides the basic communication infrastructure
necessary to make this possible.
 Mobile computing is based on wireless networking and helps to invoke
computing services on remote servers while on the move. So wireless
networking is an important and necessary ingredient of mobile computing.

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Types of Mobile Computing
???
Portable Computing
Vs
Mobility Computing:

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 Types of Mobile Computing
 Mobile computing is divided into two categories like as portable
computing and mobility computing.
 Portable Computing:
 Portable computing has to need wired communication. All users
have freedom to move these devices themselves anywhere and
anytime but it requires to access them to connect them with a
network line, so it is known as “Portable Computing“.
 Mobility Computing:
 It is also called of “Mobile Computing“, so it is refers to wireless
communication system. Mobile computing produces better
environment that users can send any type of data from one location
to other location anywhere and anytime by using mobile
computing devices without getting any physical connections.

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 Paradigms in mobile computing
The main characteristics of mobile computing are
Low power computing: Mobile computing brings about a focus on
energy efficiency and performance optimization that guarantees
reliability just like with other computer devices. Mobile technologies
and designs squeeze more powerful performance into ever-smaller
devices which consequently boost battery life, by minimizing the
peripheral components that consume power.

Computing in an environment with limited resources: Mobile

computing designs have enabled advancement in system integration,
processing innovation and idle power management. Mobile computing
devices can work with low power consumption, cool operation and light
weight memory consumption.

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 Paradigms in mobile computing
 Fault tolerance and persistence: Due to the distributed nature of
mobile computing design, a service breakdown in one of the node is
corrected by services of other functioning nodes.

 Pervasiveness/ubiquity: Any time any place computing, unlike a

desktop in an office.

 Varying User Interfaces/Interactions: Using a combination of

interface types in mobile devices is not uncommon. Examples of some
alternative interfaces are voice user interfaces, smaller displays, stylus and
other pointing devices, touch-screen displays, and miniature keyboards.

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 Mobile Computing Devices
 A mobile computing device is any device that is created using
mobile components, such as mobile hardware and software.
 Mobile computing devices are portable devices capable of operating,
executing and providing services and applications like a typical
computing device.
 Mobile computing devices also may be known as portable computing
devices or handheld computing devices.
 Mobile computing devices have similar hardware and software
components as those used in personal computers, such as CPU, RAM
and hard drive, Wi-Fi, and a base operating system. However, they
differ from PCS in that they are built specifically for mobile
architecture and to enable portability.

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 Mobile Computing Devices
 The characteristics that make them different-
 Size: The portability of mobile devices demand a smaller size. Reduction in size
without reducing capabilities have also always been a challenge when developing
mobile devices.
 Power Source: Mobile devices are usually powered by rechargeable batteries.
Improving the battery life of mobile devices is another significant area of research.
 Operating System: Laptops run on more or less the same OS as PCs, but for
smartphones and other devices, the OS is significantly different. They are powerful
but scaled-down and made specifically for particular devices.
 Connectivity: Mobile computing devices have capabilities that allow access to
the internet. Also, mobile devices like smartphones have access to mobile
broadband networks that allow you to make and receive phone calls.
 Applications: Applications meant for mobile devices are specifically designed
for running on a particular OS. These applications are what extends the capabilities
of devices beyond just connecting to the internet or making calls.

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 Mobile Computing Devices
 Basic types of mobile devices range from :
 Laptop: Laptop computers are portable personal computers.
 Smartphone: A smartphone is a mobile phone with powerful capabilities.
They typically have a touchscreen interface, have internet access, can run
various applications, and include features like a camera and GPS.
 Tablet computer: Tablets have touchscreens and virtual keyboards, and
are often thought of as an intermediary between a laptop and a
smartphone.
 Wearable: A more recent addition, wearable computers like
smartwatches offer limited features similar to a smartphone within a
watch.
 Sensors: devices that sense the physical environment e.g. sensors for
temperature, pressure, light, metal, smoke, and proximity to an object.

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Mobile Computing Devices

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 Mobile Computing Devices
 The mobile computing devices can be characterized as either:

 Fixed and Wired: In Fixed and Wired configuration, the devices are
fixed at a position, and they are connected through a physical link to
communicate with other devices.
 Example, Desktop Computer.
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 Mobile Computing Devices
 Fixed and Wireless: In Fixed and Wireless configuration, the devices
are fixed at a position, and they are connected through a wireless link
to make communication with other devices.
 Example, Communication Towers, WiFi router
 Mobile and Wired: In Mobile and Wired configuration, some devices
are wired, and some are mobile. They altogether make communication
with other devices.
 Example, Laptops.
 Mobile and Wireless: In Mobile and Wireless configuration, the
devices can communicate with each other irrespective of their
position. They can also connect to any network without the use of any
wired device.
 Example, WiFi Dongle, CDMA.

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 Mobile Software
 Mobile software-: For the hardware to work, they need the support of
mobile software ,just like computer devices. Therefore, mobile
software are programs that run on the hardware; which include both the
operating systems and the application software.
 Mobile operating systems help to start the hardware devices and also
to support the functionality of mobile apps. Major Mobile OS software
include:
 Android OS: The OS is open source which is mostly developed and
maintained by Google. This is one of the latest and the most improved
OS which runs on smart-phones, watches, cars, TVs, Refrigerators and
many other appliances.
 iOS: Apple's very own operating system, iOS runs the company's
iPod, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch devices. It is only available on
Apple products and responds to commands from the user's fingertips.
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 Mobile Software
 Palm OS: It was initially developed by Palm, Inc. It focused in
including the functionality of touch screen on mobile devices
 Win CE: Windows Embedded Compact is an Microsoft product that
has a hybrid kernel/OS framework. Used in windows phones. It is
mainly designed for real-time applications e.g. cable TV set top-boxes.
 Symbian OS: Was initially developed in Europe by Nokia as an
operating system targeting mobile devices.
 BlackBerry OS: is a mobile operating system developed by Research
In Motion (RIM). This operating system was designed specifically for
BlackBerry handheld devices.
 Harmony OS: The harmony operating system is the latest mobile
operating system that was developed by Huawei for the use of its
devices. It is designed primarily for IoT devices.

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 Mobile Computing Technologies
 Mobile computing allows transferring of the data/information, audio,
video, or any other document without any connection to the base or
central network. There are some wireless/mobile computing
technologies given below:
 GSM (Global System of Mobile communication)
 GSM is a Current circuit-switched wireless data communication
technology. GSM is developed using TDMA (Time Division Multiple
Access) for better communication using mobile. It is the most widely
used mobile communication system and is mostly required nowadays. It
can achieve maximum data transmission speed or data transmission rate
up to 9.6Kbps (Kilobits per second).

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 Mobile Computing Technologies
 CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)
 In CDMA, different users can share the same bandwidth. It is made
possible by assigning unique codes for each signal. Thus, the users
shouldn't adjust their space in the spectrum. CDMA also gives more
security to users than GSM.

 Global Positioning System (GPS):

 It is a space-based satellite navigation system that provides location
and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth.
The GPS program provides critical capabilities to military, civil and
commercial users around the world. In addition, GPS is the
backbone for modernizing the global air traffic system, weather,
and location services.

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 Mobile Computing Technologies
 WLL (Wireless loop Architecture):
 WLL allows users to connect to the local telephone station using a
wireless link and provides advanced features of customer service. It
provides high-quality data transmission, higher voice quality and a
high data transfer rate.

 Long Term Evolution (LTE):

 LTE is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data
for mobile phones and data terminals. It is based on the
GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network technologies, increasing
the capacity and speed using new modulation techniques.

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 Mobile Computing Technologies
 WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access):
 WiMAX is a wireless communications standard designed to provide 30
to 40 megabit-per-second data rates, with the latest update providing
up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations. It is a part of a fourth generation or 4G
wireless-communication technology. WiMAX far surpasses the 30-
metre wireless range of a conventional Wi-Fi Local Area Network
(LAN), offering a metropolitan area network with a signal radius of
about 50 km.
 Near Field Communication (NFC):
 NFC is a set of standards for smartphones and similar devices to
establish radio communication with each other by touching them
together or bringing them into close proximity, usually no more than a
few centimeters. Present and anticipated applications include
contactless transactions, data exchange, and simplified setup of more
complex communications such as Wi-Fi. E.g. Xender
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Issues occurred in Mobile Computing
 Following is a list of issues and challenges in mobile computing.
1. Costly due to Wireless Medium
 The Mobile computing technology mainly focuses on wireless
infrastructure, so the cost of implementation is always high. It also faces
issues like efficiency, delays and security.

2. Issue due to Device Mobility

 To obtain the device mobility feature of mobile computing technology,
we have to install the highest standards' types of equipment. So,
whenever the mobile device changes its environment, We have to
configure the device mobility feature according to the location,
environment and surroundings of a mobile device regularly.

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Issues occurred in Mobile Computing
3. Security Issues in Mobile Computing
 This is undoubtedly the biggest and one of the most issues we face in
mobile computing technology. It arises due to the shared medium ability
of mobile computing.
 The most significant security issues are:
 Physical Security or Data Security
 System Security or Network Security
4. Resource-poor
 Battery packs
 Hardware: Memory, CPU, peripherals
 Software – Middleware
 low bandwidth or bandwidth fluctuation
5. Heterogeneous network
 Different devices, interfaces and protocols

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 Advantages of Mobile Computing
 The following are main advantages of mobile computing:
1. Portability – The ability to easily switch a computer inside a learning
environment or between environments.
2. Social Interactivity – The opportunity for users to exchange data and
collaborate with one another. E.g. Team Work on Projects
3. Context Sensitivity – The ability to collect and respond to data that is specific
to a particular place, climate, or time. E.g. Guiding Directions
4. Connectivity – The capacity to be remotely linked in any location for the
purpose of data communication.
5. Individual – The opportunity to use technology to provide scaffolding and
lesson customization for individual learners on challenging tasks. E.g.
M-Learning (Mobile Learning)
6. Small Size – Because of their miniature size they are easy to move around.
E.g. Smart Phones and Smart Watches
7. Quick service : We can sell a product or give service in quicker time and any
place by using mobile computing. 30
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Disadvantages of Mobile Computing
1. Insufficient bandwidth- If the user needs access to a network such as
the in internet on the go, they must resort to slow wireless WANs (Wide
Area Network) system primarily intended for telephone use. Higher speed
wireless LANs (Local Area Network) are only available in the specific
sites.
2. Security standards- When working mobile one is dependent on public
networks requiring careful use of VPNs (Virtual Private Network).
3. Power Consumption- due to the use of batteries in these devices, these
do not tend to last long, if in a situation where there is no source of
power for charging then that will certainly be a let down.
4. Human interface with device- These are still uncommon, screens are
often too small. Keyboards are impractical, especially one-handed, and
alternate methods such as speech or handwriting, recognition require
training.
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 Mobile Computing Applications
 The importance of Mobile Communication has been highlighted in
many fields. Some of which a few are described below:
 Replacement of Wired Networks:
 Remote sensors, e.g., weather, earth activities, Smart Farming
 Flexibility for trade shows, Exhibitions, Concerts etc.
 LANs in historic buildings for a better demonstration.
 Business:
 Managers can use mobile computers say, critical presentations to major
customers. They can access the latest market share information. To enable
the company to keep track of all activities of their travelling employees, to
keep databases consistent etc. With wireless access, the laptop can be
turned into a true mobile office, but efficient and powerful
synchronization mechanisms are needed to ensure data consistency.

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 Mobile Computing Applications
 Vehicles:
 Transmission of news, road condition, weather, music (via DAB/DVB)
 Personal communication using GSM/UMTS
 Position via GPS
 Local ad-hoc network with vehicles close-by to prevent accidents,
guidance system, redundancy
 Vehicle data (e.g., from busses, high-speed trains) can be transmitted in
advance for maintenance.
 Emergencies:
 Early transmission of patient data to the hospital, current status, first
diagnosis
 Provide mobile infrastructure in dealing with Natural Disaster
(earthquake, hurricane, fire), terrorist attacks, war, ...

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 Mobile Computing Applications
 Credit Card Verification:
 At Point of Sale (POS) machines/terminals in shops and supermarkets, when
customers use credit cards for transactions, the intercommunication 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.
 E-Governance:
 Governments are using many communication services to update their rural
areas. To provide health, education, safety , farming , weather forecast and
many other related information to governance, governments are connecting
rural areas with head quarter offices for monitoring.
 Infotainment:
 Mobile Multimedia (videos, TV, …)
 Intelligent travel guide with up-to-date location dependent information
 Ad-hoc networks for multi user games
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 Mobile Computing Applications
 Location dependent services:
 Location dependent services are those services that have been
developed as a result of mobile computing and wireless networks.
 These services include those which are used to identify the location
information and provide necessary information about that specific
location.
 Location based services are dependent on:
 Time Independency: Irrespective of the time, whenever the user
invokes the service the results should be available.
 Location dependent information: Irrespective of the location the
user should be able to obtain the information when needed.

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 Mobile Computing Applications
 Some types of location based services include:
 Location aware services: what services, e.g., printer, fax, phone,
server, etc. exist in the local environment
 Follow-on services: Automatic call-forwarding, transmission of the
actual workspace to the current location
 Information Services:
 “push”: e.g., current special offers in the supermarket
 “pull”: e.g., where can I find the closest Starbucks?
 Support Services: caches, intermediate results, state information, etc.
“follow” the mobile device through the fixed network. This could be
any service that the user utilizes as a result of its location.
 Privacy: who should gain knowledge about the location?

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?
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