m-Desktop Service using Mobile Cloud Computing Technology for Mobile elements(Smart phones, Tablets , PDA's)

Since the advent of new mobile network technologies like WIMAX,3G and 4G the bandwidth is dramatically increased.Now a days the network subscriber is getting download speed in Mbps(WIMAX,3G) not Kbps(GPRS) and in coming days he will get in Gbps(4G).

Idea: m-Desktop Service using Mobile Cloud Computing Technology.

-->New service in cloud computing domain. The user can sign up for an m-Desktop service provided by Mobile Cloud Service Vendors.

-->The cloud provider actually provides the personalized desktop as a service to each subscribed user on demand.After successful signup and configuration the mobile user can log into his own m-Desktop( whose instance is created in Mobile Cloud Provider servers).

-->By using this service the customer can have lot of benefits like below

1.Think Green: No need to buy a notebook or desktop Computer,he can subscribe the same in his mobile by using Mobile Cloud Technology .This actually reduces the overall hardware being used and it eventually reduces the Carbon emission by Computing devices hence helps in decreasing Environmental pollution.

2. The user can access his personalized m-Desktop from any where and any time.

3. Platform Independence: Since it is an Internet Application,so irrespective of Local mobile element platform(OS) we can still access defferent flavoured personalized m-Desktops.

4.Multiple OS selection: The cloud Vendors provide the m-Desktops with multiple variety of Operating systems (UNIX,Windows,Mac-OS etc.)

4. The user can access this service on the Go(eg. while he is moving/traveling) by making use of WIMAX technology.

Even 1000 lines are not sufficient to describe the benefits of this innovative technology.

What do you think about the idea ?? .

Mobile Revolutions Through Mobile Apps

From the time when you had big bulky phones with long antennas, mobiles have come a long way. Indians took to mobiles as fish to water, resulting in the telecom boom that we are now experiencing. This explosion in the number of mobile phones and associated services is here to stay. In fact, innovations in this piping hot field are taking everyone by storm. Gone are the days when you used your mobile phones to only talk. Powerful and innovative applications on this handy device have resulted in an all new ball game. This is an instrument capable of causing a mass impact.

The recently convened mBillionth South Asia Awards provided a wide platform for mobile content and application developers to showcase their talent. The event was attended by industry pundits and veterans who were expressed their views regarding the future of the market. An interesting comment made by the joint secretary of the Department of Information Technology (DIT) was that we are now in the ‘m’ age, leaving the ‘e’ age behind. India, with 584 million mobiles still has a density of around 51% compared to Sri Lanka which tops South Asia with a commendable density of 81%.

The boom brought with it a major competition in the telecom sector, resulting in the cheapest call rates in the world. Now, after the connection revolution is the time for the content revolution. The mobile has reached where the internet has failed. This gives way to innumerable applications focusing on bringing entertaining and utility based content to the hands of people. The Indian subcontinent is raring to develop in this field after Japan and China. With 3G auctions reaching astounding heights, 3G is one more area which has great potential.

The humble SMS itself has been used in many applications and services. The focus is also shifting slowly to rural VAS (Value Added Services), which is quite different from urban VAS. Entertainment does not sell as much in rural areas. Also, only those services survive that rural people think will improve their livelihood and quality of life. Telecom companies are giving impetus to application developers to come up with better content.

The problems start when the cost becomes high. Application developers need substantial monetary benefit for developing apps, but at the same time, it should be affordable to people. Indeed, people won’t hesitate to pay for apps that they find useful.

One area which still has scope is ‘m’ learning. There haven’t been breakthrough strides in providing ‘m’ solutions to this problem. An inspiring example in rural network is that some villages at 6000 ft in Nepal are connected wirelessly. They use internet and other mobile services, making life easier for them.

The Government also needs to realize this and provide tax and other support benefits for the industry. The future is no doubt bright, but the small hurdles have to be overcome before basking in the full glory of this industry. What do you think?

Mobile Phones Better Than Netbooks?

What is the difference between a mobile phone and a laptop? While the answer was quite obvious some years ago, the lines that distinguish the two are wearing thin each day. The mobile phone is taking on the mantle of becoming the next generation computing device. The innovations in the field of technology are not as much on laptops and computers as on the mobile phone. The handheld device has come a long way from just being able to make a call to a complete gadget that takes on other tasks with ease.

Talking about the internet, it has come a long way from dial up to broadband to wifi. Nowadays, you no longer need to sit on your laptop while juggling various other tasks. Internet on the mobile phone was introduced as GPRS in the early part of the last decade. Viewing stripped down versions of websites and that too with a slow speed was indeed unattractive. The only beneficiaries were sites delivering wallpapers, videos, sound clips, etc. Today, you can surf the internet on your phone with decent speeds, having an option to view the glamorized mobile versions of the web pages or the website in its full effect.  In fact, people tend to check their emails on their phones these days.

This can be accredited to the smartphones that have captured the market by storm. With touch phones and bigger screens being the ‘in’ thing right now, accessing mails is not just the privilege of blackberry users. The introduction of the iPhone was the tipping point in favour of smartphones.

The recently published Sensis e-business report, based on an interview with 1000 consumers, claims that more people have started using the internet on their phone than ever before. The report states that about half the respondents in their 30s use the web on their phone at home and work in spite of having a computer nearby. With regard to the kind of information accessed, maps and directions lead the foray followed closely by weather, news, social networking sites and sports results. This makes perfect sense as the mobile is the only way to find out directions accurately on the move.

Quoting numbers, technology analyst Gartner said that the mobile device will exceed computers by 2013. In terms of sheer numbers, about 1.82 billion mobile phones will grace the market.

Personally speaking, a few years ago, I never thought I would start using internet and checking mails on my phone so early, a feat I deemed fit only for businessmen. With faster processors forming the core of smartphones, multi tasking has become easier too. Android based phones deliver quality content to your 3 inch screen at good speeds. With the introduction of 3G technology, web browsing is bound to become faster. Video streaming on your phone is a reality these days. The plethora of apps is mind boggling.

This said, phones cannot make up for the lack of a physical keyboard where you can type easily and big screens. The heavy duty applications also cannot run on mobile phones. But, the sole purpose of a netbook is to easily access the internet. With a handheld device at your disposal quite capable of doing that, do you actually require a netbook?

Mobile Advertising Gains Immense Popularity

The opinion that mobile advertising would be bigger than internet advertising had a few doubters, but day by day the number of converts is on the rise. Some time ago, a research by Informa Telecoms & Media has left few qualms in the minds of doubters by finding that the mobile ad revenue would reach $3.5 Billion worldwide this year.

On a still brighter side, the research predicts that Apple and Google, the pillars of mobile advertising, will give in their best to ensure that the total mobile revenue, including in-app advertisements, undergoes a whopping eightfold increase to $24 Billion by 2015.

Statistics show that the search queries on Google have increased 500% from 2008 to 2010. This translates to companies becoming very serious about mobile advertising, which is way past its ‘experimental phase’. Unprecedented success in Apple iAds has prompted rivals to pull up their socks and foray into mobile advertising. Google’s acquisition in 2009, AdMob, is turning to be a key factor in Google’s mobile revenue and is touted to bring in about $1 Billion for the company by the end of this year.

Large investments in the mobile advertising industry can be expected in the next 12 to 18 months, as brands and companies have come to realize the importance of this new medium. These investments will prove to be the impetus needed for this industry to flourish. Big players will continue to focus on new and innovative vistas and integrating the same in their business models.

As far as recent moves in this field, RIM has introduced a new advertising service for its own Blackberry phones. RIM is trying to move out of its stereotypical corporate look and appeal the tech savvy youth. For developers, this is just another platform for them to choose. Google also recently launched interactive video ads via AdMob. Developers can have interactive ads in built into their apps.

Apart from app developers, this industry has given birth to small companies that act as a bridge between the developers and big companies. These intermediary services make it easier for app developers to increase their footfall. It is also expected that companies like Google and Apple will make it easier for developers to come out with new apps and the payment attached.

Now, if you were a developer, which platform would you choose? The attractive options are Apple and Google Android. In terms of sheer numbers, apps on the iOS platform outnumber the ones on Android. But Android being open source and slowly but steadily increasing its presence in the global market, it won’t be long before the Android overtakes the iOS. As far as monetizing apps, being a developer for RIM at the moment could also be fruitful as they would be launching new initiatives to attract app developers. But in the long run, creating apps for Android would be the safe bet.

With the astronomical prices that telecom operators paid for 3G in India, they could count on advertisers to help them make money. There is no denying the fact that the ‘e’ age has given way to the ‘m’ age. The boom is just at the nascent stage. What do you think?

AMC Group Description

Dear readers,

The Android mobile computing group is a student driven research group at BITS, Pilani intended to promote research in the field of mobile computing. The focus of group is on generating ideas for revolutionary research and further implementing them as usable prototypes for showcasing them.

The group will be using Android platform for implementing the ideas with the facilities available at
“Mobile Computing Laboratory” at BITS, Pilani.

The group will be actively conducting App idea contests at regular intervals. This will provide facilities, support and reason not only to the winners but also to the participants for proper translation of their ideas into products. A few workshops on mobile computing will be organized during or just before Technical festivals.

Check the group updates in the following social networking pages :

1. Facebook page

2. Twitter page

For further queries on projects and group activities contact the official group members using the following email id:   amcgbits@gmail.com

Thank you.

Android Mobile Computing Group. 

BITS , Pilani.