Mobile Devices Showcase

Introduction

This chapter describes the different alternatives you have when deploying mobile solutions. There is no “one size fits all.” On the contrary, all user groups need to define their specific needs and equip themselves accordingly.

Our belief is that you will use many different devices to connect to the Internet. Here, it is necessary to clarify that we refer to the Internet as one possible communication channel (mostly wireless) that will link all devices to different services. Furthermore, there are no great differences between the devices you will use for professional and private purposes.

To see what these devices will look like, we need to address how we will use them. Here is a list of relatively short-term predictions concerning the ways in which we will use mobile devices. Its purpose is to help you
understand how existing devices will develop, which is the main topic of this chapter.

• Your trusty companion will be a personal digital assistant (PDA). It will have the same size as today’s Palm or Pocket PC, but the services it provides will be much better. Your PDA (or whatever the device will be called in the future) will also be your cordless handsfree telephone, or your mobile TV set. The reason the PDA will be larger than today’s cell phones is simple: screen size. A big screen will be necessary if you want information presented to you graphically, which gives it another look and feel. The device will, however, virtually only be a screen. It will be considerably lighter than today’s PDAs.
• In your wallet, you will always carry an extra telephone the size of a thick credit card. It will be used when you’ve forgotten your PDA in the car, or if you’ve chosen not to bring it along when taking your
  kids to the movies.
• Finally, and most frequently, a flat screen will be located on the wall in several rooms in your house (or at work). These screens will have a touchscreen functionality but you will also be able to use mobile keyboards. The flat screens will replace today’s TVs, PCs, and stereos—and they’ll be connected to your information base containing movies, music, e-mail, and any other information you’ve stored to be accessed at your convenience. Flat screens will also be the tool of choice when you don’t need to be mobile—regardless of whether you’re at the office or at home. The mobile version of flat screens will be similar to the Tablet PCs that have recently been promoted by Microsoft. But the connected screen of the future—some suppliers are already talking about the “Surf Board”—will be much lighter.

Predicting what mobile devices will look like in the future is interesting, but an even more interesting task is foreseeing the kinds of services we will use. The functionalities we will use in our devices will most likely be offshoots of services that are available to us today. Voice command is such a service. Certain cell phones already offer this functionality: You say the name of the person you want to call and the call is connected. This is a very basic example of connecting a command to a certain process. It will take some years to introduce more advanced services and commercial applications, such as voice navigation of the Internet, for large user groups.

Taken From : Enterprise Guide to Gaining Business Value from Mobile Technologies