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The Internet can be accessed on mobile handsets or on laptops via mobile network operators. The Mobile Web refers to the access to wireless data services using a mobile device such as as cell phones, PDAs, and other portable gadgets connected to a mobile telecoms network. Access does not require a desktop computer, nor a fixed landline connection. The service can be to the traditional World Wide Web or to any one of more limited service platforms such as WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), i-Mode and Blackberry services.
While many think that mobile web or mobile internet means access to the traditional internet using a mobile phone or device, this is not the case. The access can be to the traditional internet, but it can be to less than the internet, as typically is with WAP services, or it can be to more than the internet, to data services that do not even exist on the traditional internet, such as SMS text messaging and ringtones. The mobile web is similar to, but not identical to the traditional internet and World Wide Web.
However, Mobile Web access today still suffers from interoperability and usability problems. This is partly due to the small physical size of the screens of mobile devices and partly due to the incompatibility of many mobile devices with not only computer operating systems, but also the format of much of the information available on the Internet.
Typically these services are availble through mobile phone operators and while most are widely available on a country basis it is worth checking with your operator on International availability and use of equipment across geographic boarders. (Source: Net4Now)
GPRS Mobile Internet
With GPRS you are able to access email and the Internet from a phone or from a laptop or PDA using your phone, while maintaining a constant connection. The peak data transfer speeds range from 26kbps – 52kbps depending on the hardware used. Examples of applications that require or are suited to GPRS include:
- Sending and receiving email. Large attachments may download more slowly than text-only email
- Internet browsing
As you will be connected with GPRS for long periods of time, you are generally only charged for the information transferred. You can add a GPRS bundle to your existing Service Plan. One megabyte = 500 wap pages = 20 web pages = 25 emails with a one page document attached = one emailwith a powerpoint presentation attached.
3G Mobile Internet
UMTS, or 3G services will require a completely new communications technology to be deployed by GSM operators. To allow for this new technology, also labelled W-CDMA, the 2GHz frequency band has been allocated, which will provide sufficient spectrum for the services to be fully exploited.
For example, one 5MHz UMTS carrier will be able to handle mixed services, ranging in speed from 8kbps to 384kbps or faster, while UMTS terminals will be able to access several different services simultaneously. Orange won its UMTS licence in April 2000.
Prior to the arrival of 3G, it is expected that a growing number of GSM operators in Western Europe will deploy high speed data services based upon HSCSD and/or GPRS over the next three years. The remainder, who probably have low penetration rates, are unlikely to invest in either technology and will await the arrival of 3G in around 2003.
For the majority of operators, 3G must be considered as a strategic option, assuming they have been granted a licence by their national regulator, to offer comprehensive multimedia services to mobile customers.
When 3G becomes available, operators and users will experience a radically enhanced experience:
- Support for both packet and circuit switched services at enhanced data rates
- Variable and high-speed data rates up to 384kbps and faster
- Multiple simultaneous services in each mobile terminal
- Up to eight times more traffic per carrier compared to existing systems
- Enhanced international roaming
Latest Mobile Phones with 3G technology will also introduce other improvements to the functionality of the overall system, primarily aimed at increasing capacity. These include support for adaptive antenna arrays, which will optimise the antenna pattern for each individual mobile device and support for multi-user detection, which will eliminate interference within a cell and improve quality.
If 3G is initially only deployed in high usage ‘hot spots’, then it will need to co-exist with other mobile technologies to provide users with a good experience. 3G has been designed to support environments that employ a new handover method to allow 3G to inter operate within existing 2G networks. This particular feature will provide users with an identical or similar user experience when they are roaming compared to when they are in their home network. There are handover mechanisms inherently available within the 3G specification which support handover between 2G and 3G networks.
Bluetooth Mobile Internet
Bluetooth is not to be confused with the technology used to connect a mobile phone to the phone network, instead, bluetooth is a technology that enables your phone to communicate with other devices, such as laptop computers and printers.
When Bluetooth is activated on your phone, it emits radio waves around the phone which sense any other Bluetooth devices in the vicinity. Because Bluetooth acts in all directions, unlike infrared, the devices don’t need to be in alignment. The radio connection acts like an invisible wire.
Bluetooth eliminates the need for troublesome cable attachments. Your office peripherals can be connected without wires, including computers with printers, scanners and fax machines. Information stored in handheld devices is also accessible from other Bluetooth-enabled devices without connecting them by cable.