.FLYINGHEAD FUTURE THINK
.TITLE Proposing the next state of the PDA and smartphone
.AUTHOR Harikrishna S. Aravapalli
.SUMMARY How many times have you been in a situation where we buy the latest handheld communication device, only to find it becoming obsolete in a few months? What seemed like a cool gadget at the time of buying now looks like a thick and heavy stone slab, which you’re carrying around. In this article, Harikrishna S. Aravapalli proposes a new kind of handheld device.
.OTHER
How many times have you been in a situation where we buy the latest handheld communication device, only to find it becoming obsolete in a few months? What seemed like a cool gadget at the time of buying now looks like a thick and heavy stone slab, which you’re carrying around.
Not to mention the precious dollars spent, trying to impress ourselves and our folks. Why does this happen? Is there a way of keeping in possession our latest communication gadget or device and at the same time ensuring that it does not become obsolete within a short time?
.H1 Personal computer, the older brother of the handheld communication device
Let’s look at the time tested PC. It has a big box. It has a monitor or computer screen, keyboard, mouse, webcam, microphone and a few USB ports to connect to other compatible peripherals (like gaming devices, printers, scanners etc), thus giving us enhanced user experience.
But while all this is possible, do we really need to buy all the PC-compatible peripherals that are available in the market? The answer is a no, but we are aware that if we buy the basic computing unit (the box itself), we can always buy and connect any peripheral device as per our needs, later on.
These needs themselves can vary from one PC user to the other. Hence this PC architecture is well accepted and gives the user a comfort factor from an investment perspective. This is the experience of the typical PC user.
.H1 The handheld communication device of today
Now look at the handheld communication device of today. First of all, it is most often than not, provided by a telecomunication service provider or its supplier. It often has an alpha-numeric keypad, a small display screen, facility to connect to a cellular communication service provider. Then, depending on the model of the handheld device, there may be additional features like storage, music player, and it may also have software to support email access, Internet surfing, and running a set of mobile applications.
The catch here is that all these basic and exotic features are provided by the same communications service provider or its supplier who manufactures these handheld devices. The user seldom has a choice of what features his communication device should have and what it should not have — at least in terms of the hardware. This is the key difference between a PC user’s experience and a handheld device user’s experience.
.H1 The Interoperable Mobile Device (IMD)
With increasing maturity of the users of the mobile phone or handheld communication device, the time is now ripe for experimenting with newer communication and handheld devices that can be assembled by the users themselves, almost like Lego blocks.
This is in contrast to those devices being sold to them by the communication service providers and their suppliers. The key concept behind the Interoperable Mobile Device (IMD) is that of a Mobile Central Processing (MCP) unit with a pre-loaded Mobile Operating System (MOS), with enough input/output slots for adding miniature peripherals and devices to this MCP.
This is a straightforward cloning of the PC architecture. One person might want a camera, one person might want GPS. You get the idea.
.H1 Designing an IMD
In this section, I present the concept of an IMD, which is not only simple but is also could be valuable to users who are hooked onto the mobile computing, communication and entertainment experience.
Whenever a user goes to buy this IMD, the user gets a Mobile Central Processing (MCP) Unit, which is preloaded with a Mobile Operating System (MOS). This MCP can have at least 6 USB slots, to which other peripherals or devices can be plugged in.
Once this IMD is purchased, it is now up to the individual user to decide what features he would like to have in his IMD at that point in time. Based on that, the user will have the freedom to purchase only the needed add-on peripherals/devices and then plug into his MCP unit.
Some of the add-on devices which can be plugged into the MCP unit are cell phone unit, music player unit, virtualized storage unit (maybe with its own virtual OS), email unit, GPS unit, wide screen display unit, TV-tuner unit, output beaming projector unit, QWERTY keyboard unit, gaming unit and more.
Shown below in Figure A, is the layout of such an IMD:
.FIGPAIR A Here’s an architectural overview of an Interoperable Mobile Device (IMD).
Shown below are three of the many configuration scenarios which are possible with such an IMD. In Figure B, you can see a device set up for communications, entertainment, and cashless transactions.
.FIGPAIR B This design is set up for communications, entertainment, and cashless transactions
In Figure C, you can see a design that also has communications and entertainment, but swaps out cashless transactions for business applications.
.FIGPAIR C This design is more for business users.
And, now in Figure D, we swap out the business applications and add in tracking.
.FIGPAIR D This variation supports tracking.
.H1 Universal compatibility of the Mobile Operating System (MOS)
For the above design to be successful, two aspects are very important. First aspect is the hardware compatibility between the MCP and the miniature peripherals and add-on devices. The second aspect is the universal compatibility of the MOS with the host of add-on device components.
Hence the MOS in the MCP and the software/hardware embedded in the add-on peripherals/devices should conform to internationally accepted interoperability standards. This would ensure that all the known and unknown add-on devices are seamlessly recognized by the MOS in the MCP unit.
.H1 Benefit of such an IMD
An IMD will ensure multi-pronged benefits to the users, device developers and also the communication service providers. As shown in few of the many possible configurations iabove, the user now has a completely customized experience of the handheld device and hence a greater emotional connect with the handheld device purchased.
with the current handheld devices where there is not much scope to upgrade the features the only way out is to purchase the latest model of the handheld device that is available in the market. However, with an IMD the user is free of these dependencies on the handheld device manufacturer.
From a device manufacturer perspective, it now opens up a vast array of devices which can be created to cater to the varying tastes of the handheld device users. Some of these possible handheld device configurations are mentioned in an earlier section of this article. This can also give rise to a wide array of gadgets, which can now be hooked onto the user’s handheld device, in a plug-n-play mode.
It should be appreciated that, unlike the current handheld communication devices, these IMDs can be used in a plug-n-play mode. This means that though a user has added a few add-on devices to his IMD, the user’s configuration does not have to remain permanent.
The user can always re-configure his IMD, depending on the changing needs of the user, from time-to-time, thus giving the user total flexibility in the nature and usage of the device.
From a communications service provider perspective, it frees the company of the responsibility to provide the host of non-communication features which they are currently obliged to provide due to user demands and market competition. This will then enable them to focus on their core competency which is to provide efficient and cost-effective voice and data communications across the globe, to its customers.
.H1 Reduced TCO
As can be visualized by now, this design of an IMD will result in a reduced TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) for the user of the handheld communication device. This is because the users don’t have to invest up front on a high-end communication device, while feeling comfortable of the fact that they can always add on the needed device or a feature to their IMD, when the need arises.
This design will also enable the users to feel comfortable removing a particular device or feature, without affecting their other devices or features, which they might need at that point in time, thus ensuring flexibility.
.H1 Summary
While a fully loaded, highly expensive, and might-soon-be-obsolete mobile communications devices are readily available in the market, new generation of mobile handheld device users need a flexible, cost-effective, scalable device. These can be easily brought to realization by imitating the personal computer and it’s peripherals.
This article gives an indicative design of such a device, which can be used in a number of configurations, at different times and as per the varying needs of the users. The users will then benefit from the flexibility and scalability of their investment into their devices, in contrast to the one time investment being done on the manfacturer-provided devices of today.
You can see a startling case study for how flexibility appeals to consumers in the iPhone 3G. Unlike the original iPhone, the iPhone 3G allows users to purchase additional applications for their devices. In less than a month, the iPhone 3G outsold the original iPhone, released more than a year earlier. Now, this example is only for software, but hardware flexibility might also spur entirely new industries.
In conclusion, such an Interoperable Mobile Device will not only make it cheaper to start going handheld, but also be fun to live with and operate for the user, as it would be more of an extension of the personality of the specific user.
This is because the user would have configured the IMD the way he wants to live his life. This would truly herald the era of ubiquitous and personalized communications, in our lives and a true power shift in the wireless world.
.BIO Harikrishna S. Aravapalli is a Senior Technical Architect at SETLABS, Infosys and has 15 years of experience in databases, data warehouses, business intelligence technologies and IT strategies. He worked for Wipro and Accenture prior to Infosys. He may be reached at krishpalli123@yahoo.com.
