The technology that evolved in the 1990s brings two important changes that will transform the existing network computing into a system that is now called Mobile Computing.
Mobile computing is the concept of connecting anytime, anywhere to a friend’s family and office, with full access to information and resources. If you consider the Web as the largest distributed information system today, it would be natural to add mobility to the Web. In recent years, many researches and developments have been made to create a “mobile web”. Mobile computing is one of the most popular areas of development today. This has become evident with the boom of the smartphone industry with developments such as the I-Phone and the N95. Mobile computing is not totally new and has been around for quite some time. It has been accessible from small computers and PDAs for many years.
Only recently has the full power of the Internet been available in a mobile format. Today, you have many options for connecting and accessing information via the Internet or even through your own network configurations. You can now be truly connected wherever you are and when you need instant information.
Mobile computing is no longer a “reduced” version of network functionality.
As wireless communications continues to explode, the media and the mobility of computers will create new networking, operating system and information system problems. The hardware and software will undergo rapid and surprising changes. Responding to the needs and desires of the mobile computing population will keep this area of technology on its guard for years to come.
These technologies will radically change our daily lives, with the popularity of small devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and smartphones, we now have the Internet at your fingertips, 24 hours a day.
The reduction in energy consumed when using these devices will be and is currently considered the next major challenge. The need to extend the life of the batteries that power them is a major concern. In parallel with the reduction of their weight, the design of these systems will progress considerably. Mobile computing has grown from around 25% in 1998 to well over 65% in 2008 and the trend seems to be growing in the next few years.