Answer: Outline the History of 1G Through to 3G Technology. Discuss the Main

208KM Tutorial 1

Answers

Question 1 Discuss the evolution of wireless mobile telecommunications from first generation to third generation systems. What were the major technological changes that defined each generation of technological development? Explain why third generation mobile phones (and other wireless mobile devices) are often referred to as “life style portals”. What activities do you think may be supported by mobile devices and technologies?

Answer: Outline the history of 1G through to 3G technology. Discuss the main characteristics of each generation. The term ‘life-style portal’ indicates that mobile devices have become a one-stop portal to the information world. The devices are used to host, connect and interact with user-specific information to support a person’s lifestyle at work and at leisure.

Question 2 What is the location asset? Explain why location is such a unique asset within the wireless world. What sorts of location products and services can be offered in the commercial world? Discuss who would potentially use location-based products and services. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the mobile (or “wireless”) Internet?

Answer: Appraise figure 1.4. Make a list of users of location based products (e.g. lawyers, real estate agents etc.). One main advantage is freedom of movement to the customer or supplier, or agent. One disadvantage is signal and communication security and available access to wireless networks.

Question 3 Define what is meant by “pervasive computing”. What is the significance of mobile devices and embedded technologies within the pervasive computing domain? Provide a list of examples of pervasive and embedded mobile technologies. What are the main applications of pervasive computing. Search the Internet for articles on “Pervasive Computing” and provide a summary of your current findings.

Answer: Revisit the definition above. Analyse the three aspects of pervasive computing.

Question 4 Discuss the main trends in pervasive and mobile computing. To what extent do you think that pervasive computing is an important feature of the M-commerce domain? To what extent does wireless-networking technology, and increasing trends in mobility and portability of devices, encourage business organisations to look at innovative ways of using pervasive computing? Answer: Pervasive computing and mobility, within the business systems domain, provides for a different way of working. In many ways the importance of M-commerce is not merely in cutting out wired cables, but rather in the systems and process changes that are enabled by the technology. Examples of innovation include embedding computing into products so they are automatically recorded entering and leaving an environment, and systems that monitor their own state and inform a central database of faults (e.g. an elevator that informs head-office of its maintenance requirements!)

Question 5 Define what is meant by “wireless telemetry”. What advantages and disadvantages are present in tracking and monitoring the mobile workforce? Discuss how the remote and automated tracking of mobile workforces assists management decision making. Do you know of any cases where people have been tracked by their mobile phone signal?

Answer: See above definition. Discuss the legal aspects of tracking the workforce and some of the social and corporate policies that would need to be in place to prevent misuse. Mobile devices and wireless technologies can offer relatively high levels of connectivity within the working and social domains of the mobile professional’s life. But how do people distinguish the personal world from the business-controlled world?

Question 6 Outline the various “levels” of socio-technical communication and discuss how wireless mobile devices and wireless business systems have impacted on general business activity. Does wireless technology provide a different socio-technical communications experience compared with wired technology?

Answer: Social norms can also have significant influence on the acceptance of an innovation. If the change is only one of degree then it is much more likely to be adopted than one that goes against established norms of behaviour. Such norms can differ widely even within the same social and cultural setting so for instance within a retail chain different branches can have distinctly different norms of behaviour so that an innovative behaviour that is acceptable and readily adopted in one will be rejected by another.