Mobile Applications

1
Mobile Applications

• Introduction

2
Aims of the Course

• To communicate knowledge of the technology
  necessary and available to deliver applications
  and web content to mobile devices.
• To place mobile communication in a context of
  ongoing development, against which pragmatic
  discussion about future developments in mobile
  technology can take place.
• To properly conceptualise the user.

3
The Tutors

• David Robison (d.robison_at_brad.ac.uk) Technology
  overview, Mobile Web, commercial experience and
  cultural implications
• Jules Pagna Disso (j.f.pagnadisso_at_bradford.ac.uk)
  Main lecturer, J2ME programming and Web
  programming support

4
Your Assessment Tasks

• Two short project specification documents
• Two mobile projects
• Two demonstration interviews, including
  discussion of user testing and evaluation

5
Project One (50)

• Project Specification Document (5)
• Project 1 (30) e.g. an Internet site
  specifically designed for mobile phones, or a
  mobile application of some description
• Demonstration Interview (15) demonstrate
  project and report back on user testing and
  evaluation

6
Project Two (50)

• Project Specification Document (5)
• Project 1 (30) e.g. an Internet site
  specifically designed for mobile phones, or a
  mobile application of some description
• Demonstration Interview (15) demonstrate
  project and report back on user testing and
  evaluation

7
Deadlines, Blackboard and Individual Projects

• www.mobilitystudies.com/masters is where all
  lecture notes and course guides are uploaded
• Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
  will be where you will be able to submit work
  online (http//blackboard.brad.ac.uk)
• Just a thought have you considered doing a
  mobile project for your individual project or
  dissertation? This module can act as a good
  starting point

8
Mobile Communications

• One of the fastest growing industries on earth
• Unprecedented consumer take-up
• Mobile phones traditionally seen as one-to-one
  communication tools
• Increasingly seen as a "media platform" or
  "mobile device"

9
Mobile Media Production and Consumption Platforms

• Text information (SMS, news headlines, football
  results, hyperlinks, interactive function
  initiations)
• Images (from monochrome logos to full colour
  photos including cameras etc.)
• Internet / GPRS, 3g and 4g media services
• Audio data (MP3 downloads, one to many voice
  broadcast, e.g. Skype)
• Video (streaming media and clips)
• Gaming (including multi-platform, real-world
  games)
• More innovative applications?

10
Convergence?

• Laptops, handhelds, digital cameras, Walkmans,
  remote controls, etc.
• Mobility has immediate implications for how work
  is done in the IT and media industries
• And crucially for this module, how information
  and is stored, communicated, presented and
  displayed

11
Problems of Design

• Mobility as a human concept?
• People on the move
• People with peculiarneeds and desires

Blue tooth headset Marketing image from
www.hi-mobile.net
12
Interface

• Keypad problems (non-intuitive)
• No Mouse
• One Hand
• On the move (i.e. no office implements around)

13
Interface
14
Screen

• Generally small
• Variable size
• Differing display abilities (colour, monochrome
  etc.)
• Also bandwidth limitations (becoming less of a
  factor, but still very significant for the
  majority of phones and impacts heavily on cost
  unlike PCs)

15
Screen
16
Phones are different

• Different display and input capabilities
• Different software implementations
• http//www.gsmarena.com (a useful comparative
  site if you want to see a list of phone features)
• Iphone (http//www.youtube.com/watch?vjBZU7Alv6p8
  )
• W980 Sony Ericssons Walkman series of phones
• N95 GPS etc. functionality, Wifi
• N96 Live TV

17
Overview of Technologies

• Embedded technologies (operating systems such as
  Symbian, Palm OS, Microsoft PPC etc. C etc.)
• J2ME (Java for phones applications or games)
• Media (e.g. audio, images and video)
• Internet related technologies (WML, various
  scripting methods and XHTML Mobile
  Profile)Flashlite for Mobiles)

18
A few resources to get started with

• Nokia forum (http//forum.nokia.com) register
  and download some of their emulators and PDF
  guides
• Software (D2.04) Dreamweaver, Flash, Java
  Netbeans (java.sun.com) with the Wireless toolkit
  and an emulator or two
• http//developer.openwave.com is also a useful
  resource
• You may also want to search Macromedia for info
  about Flash Lite (Flash for hand-helds)

19
Mobile browsers

• There are a number of mobile emulators, browsers
  and SDKs that can be downloaded from Nokia and
  elsewhere, in which you can preview your mobile
  Internet content.
• Why not download a couple and experiment with
  them?

20
Getting Started with developing for the Mobile
Internet

• Load Macromedia Dreamweaver from the Start Menu
• File gt New (CTRLN)
• Select "Other" type and choose WML or XHTML
• (Were working in WML version 1.3 for today but
  will quickly be moving on to look at XHTML MP for
  WAP 2.0)

21
Mark it up

• Mark-up languages allow programmers to display
  information across a range of different systems
  and screens.
• The aim is that text, tables, images and user
  navigation display in a consistent manner
• Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) is most common
  for Web pages.
• Wireless Mark-up Language is a compact set of
  rules for displaying information on devices with
  limited resources (e.g. mobiles).

22
WML, HTML and XML

• WML is based on XML (eXtensible Mark-up
  Language), a mark-up language with a powerful
  ability to describe data.
• HTML just describes the display of information,
  using a predefined set of tags guaranteed to be
  understood by most Web browsers.
• XML on the other hand means the document creator
  can define many set of tags.
• A set of tags is then grouped into a set of
  grammar "rules" known as the Document Type
  Definition, or DTD.
• XHTML and XHTML MP eXtensible Hypertext Markup
  language and Mobile Profile, suitable for mobile
  devices

23
Remember User in Context
24
Homework

• Find five existing projects or programs that
  exist on mobile devices - see how they work, try
  to understand what they are.
• Produce a short summary of the projects and URLs
  to their pages
• E.g. http//code.google.com/android/what-is-androi
  d.html
• E-mail these to j.f.pagnadisso_at_brad.ac.uk with
  the subject heading 5 Projects