Smart Phones Editor: Roy Want n Labs n [email protected]

iPhone: Smarter Than the Average Phone

Roy Want

EDITOR’S INTRO thought out in several design dimen- sions and is fully extensible through To begin, I thank Franklin Reynolds, the previous Smart Phones department editor, the Apple App Store, which keeps the for a most interesting and insightful collection of articles. He recently stepped down novelty and fun factor very high while after serving eight years on the editorial board. Likewise, at the beginning of this leveraging the developer community’s year, I reached the end of my term as editor in chief, passing the torch to Nigel Davies, and at that time we discussed the option of me continuing as the Smart huge talent pool. Furthermore, these Phones department editor in 2010. This article is the first in this series. —Roy Want applications aren’t just games—they provide customers with indispensable productivity tools for everyday work. ell phones—and, in particu- of. An important development for Though I have owned several smart C lar, smart phones—are tangible smart phone technologies is how they phones, my recent iPhone acquisition embodiments of pervasive comput- integrate key aspects of what has tra- has been a very empowering experi- ing that can be used as invaluable ditionally been pervasive computing ence. In particular, the ease of adding tools in our daily lives. Though the research, including location-based ser- new applications and the consistent mobile phone market’s growth has vices, context-aware applications, and and straightforward user interface been spectacular since the 1990s, the make the device a joy to use. I bought recent recession took a bite out of the the 3GS model, which has a GPS, an total available market. According to An important development accelerometer, and a compass, and is the Intel Library, in 2008, 1.2 billion for smart phone technologies thus fully equipped to support various cell phone units shipped; in 2009, this is their integration of context-aware applications. Further, number fell to 1.15 billion. However, the integrated 3-Mpixel camera is the unit trend in 2009 between Q3 and key aspects of pervasive first class and has a higher resolution Q4 saw an increase of 15.5 percent computing research, than a typical camera phone, enabling shipped, which might indicate that, in including location-based detailed image processing of optical the economic recovery, cell phone sales tags not possible with earlier phones. will continue on their previous upward services. The capacitive touch screen along with trajectory, with 1.3 billion units pro- the iPhone navigation software, includ- jected in 2010. If correct, the 2009 sensor-driven computing, and most sig- ing the two-finger zooming mecha- recession’s impact will only have been nificantly, that they’re being delivered nism, provides a level of intuitiveness a temporary setback. to customers as fully honed products. that clearly outshines earlier smart From a research perspective, the phone models. smart phone category within the cell SMART PHONE CHOICES Another reason the iPhone works phone market is particularly interest- Although many smart phone products well for my life is that it provides a ing, with an estimated 220 million currently available in the market are mechanism to sync and store my work units shipping in 2010, representing a based on Linux, Windows Mobile, and and home e-mail, calendar, and con- 35 percent increase from the previous Android, the phone that has drawn the tacts separately, and I can select which year. By 2015, the market could expand most attention is Apple’s iPhone run- account I wish to view when required. to 700 million units, and clearly will ning iPhone OS 3.0. By any measure, In particular, a feature that’s worthy impact our expectations of what the you have to give Apple a lot of credit for of mention is the ability to display my average cell phone should be capable the iPhone’s design; it’s clearly very well personal calendar side-by-side with

6 PERVASIVE computing Published by the IEEE CS n 1536-1268/10/$26.00 © 2010 IEEE my work calendar. This is the first smart phone that really does a good job of integrating home and work. The only thing missing is a dual subscriber identity module (SIM) capability to separate corporate and home billing for my phone calls. One aspect of the iPhone design that really changed industry perception is the Web browser interface. Before the iPhone browser, nobody really believed you could have a first-class (a) (b) (c) Web-browsing experience on a mobile phone. The combination of the capaci- tive touch surface, the zoom interface, Figure 1. Yelp. (a) The user faces a Peet’s Coffee & Tea shop in Los Altos, . and the adaptive soft keyboard lets (b) Yelp displays a street view of the neighborhood relative to the user’s position. you select a standard webpage, view, (c) Yelp’s augmented-reality view (Monocle mode) labels the camera image with a zoom, and pan—all by just sliding link to 14 online reviews. your fingers around. Today, browsing the Web when I’m mobile is an intui- MY TOP FIVE view map with businesses marked rela- tive and straightforward task, and in iPHONE APPLICATIONS tive to your position and orientation. contrast to a few years ago, I’m now Although I’ve only been able to try out But when you lift the phone to a verti- very likely to use the Web to look up a relatively small fraction of the more cal position, the application provides information on the go. than 150,000 iPhone applications, the you with a camera view, and a compass Following are my experiences with short list below represents some core circle superimposed in the top right various iPhone applications. capabilities that I value and that are corner indicates the direction of busi- particularly relevant to pervasive com- nesses available in its database. If you iPHONE APP STORE puting. I found them from a variety of pan the phone around and point the The simplicity of being able to search sources, including keyword searches on camera in the direction of these busi- for software in the App Store from the the Web and the App Store, as well as nesses, icons will appear on the screen phone itself, then download it at the recommendations from other iPhone labeling what you’re seeing. You can touch of an icon, has to be one of the reviewers, friends, and colleagues. If press one of these icons for a detailed iPhone’s most compelling capabili- you aren’t an iPhone user, I hope that review of that establishment. ties. From a user perspective, it main- you’ll find this list informative, and if I first saw this type of mobile tains the device’s novelty level and you are, I hope there’s something new augmented-reality (MAR) application builds greater utility over time; from here for you to try. demonstrated as an HP Labs research a business perspective, it provides an project in 2001. Roughly 10 years later, ongoing revenue stream to the device Yelp it’s a readily available iPhone app that manufacturer (rather than service Yelp is a popular website for reviewing everybody can use in earnest. provider) after the main product has restaurants, bars, stores, and so forth, been sold. The more traditional and enabling user reviews to be combined RedLaser laborious approach of loading appli- and providing future customers an In the pervasive computing sense, the cations—finding the device’s website averaged score for each venue. One of RedLaser app (shown in Figure 2) using a desktop computer, download- the coolest aspects of the mobile Yelp bridges both real and virtual worlds. It ing the application to its local disk, application (shown in Figure 1) is that provides a camera view of what you’re uploading it to the phone with a USB it’s location-aware, using the device’s seeing while continuously image- cable, and then installing it—is a thing on-board assisted GPS to determine processing the scene, looking for stan- of the past. With many apps being your position and the compass to find dard UPC (Universal Product Code) free, or only 99 cents, the temptation the direction the iPhone is pointing. In and EAN (European Article Num- to try out new software on a whim is addition to receiving the standard list ber) bar codes. A graphic with a rect- very strong, and I’m sure this drives of businesses near your location, you angular box helps you position your business opportunities that wouldn’t can also select Monocle mode. When phone the optimal distance from the be possible any other way. the device is laid flat, it shows a street- tag and maximize the chance of its

JULY–SEPTEMBER 2010 PERVASIVE computing 7 SMART PHONES SMART PHONES

except that it’s completely electronic, and the information is inserted into your standard contact list when you accept the transfer. For the app to be operational, Bump must be loaded and running on the two . The pro- cess of bumping them together triggers a wireless transfer, identifying them uniquely from other devices because they both experience an impulse at the same time. When infrared communi- cation was available on most mobile devices (before Bluetooth) in the late 1990s and early 2000s, infrared beam- ing of business cards was a selling fea- ture of PDAs. However, in practice, (a) (b) this never really caught on. Given that most business users are likely to have Figure 2. RedLaser. (a) The user positions the camera recognition system over a bar an online contact list these days, and code on the back of a book. (b) A moment later, RedLaser recognizes the book’s bar sensors such as accelerometers are now code, links to online data, and provides a list of links to vendors. a must-have mobile device feature, bumping could become the new stan- dard for exchanging business cards.

Shazam This amazing Web service, available through the iPhone, can identify songs by listening to a snippet of the sound, then analyze it and provide you with the name of the song, the artist, and the album it’s on (see Figure 4). Fur- ther, it gives you the opportunity to buy (a) (b) the song through the iTunes store right there and then. This service would be Figure 3. Bump. (a) Two iPhones run the app and are ready to bump. (b) After useful from any PC, but on a phone it’s bumping, the two devices are connected and will exchange contact profiles when particularly valuable because the device their users provide a final confirmation. is always with you. Shazam provides a solution for those unexpected moments recognition. Once a match is found, price availability from US$1–14. This when you hear a piece of music that you the app confirms what the product is was further augmented by a list of local would like to identify in a coffee shop, and lists key information about its libraries with the book on file, listed by a store, or a movie theater, and there price, the online stores where it can be increasing distance from my location. really is no other way of finding out bought, and links to those stores. If it’s As the product code database grows, in what it is. With a smart phone that you a grocery product, facts about its health the future I believe this will be an essen- carry everywhere, the opportunity will and nutritional value are also provided. tial tool for comparative shopping. never be lost. For example, scanning a package of Petit Écolier cookies reveals that it Bump Zillow may contain potential allergens such The Bump application (shown in Fig- Building on the popular real-estate as tree nuts and that it includes gluten ure 3) lets two iPhone users exchange website that provides data on house and lactose. When scanning a copy of contact information using an intuitive pricing, lot size, square footage, num- Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams approach—you simply bump the two ber of rooms, and so forth, the Zillow at a friend’s house, the app provided devices together. It’s the modern equiv- iPhone app (shown in Figure 5) goes links to new and used booksellers with alent of exchanging business cards, a step further and allows you to see

8 PERVASIVE computing www.computer.org/pervasive SMART PHONES

all this information while mobile. It makes house hunting a totally new experience, letting you see estimated prices superimposed on a street map or satellite view while you’re walking around a neighborhood. Using coded icons, the display also shows which houses are for sale, those that were recently sold, and those available for rent. Pressing any of these symbols yields a page of information that might even contain a link to a slideshow, pro- viding a detailed view of the house’s interior. When I think back to earlier periods in my life when I was looking for a house to rent, studying local clas- sified ads in detail, then setting out by car for a drive-by of prospective ven- ues, the process seems primitive com- pared to what can be done so easily on (a) (b) a smart phone today.

Figure 4. Shazam. (a) The app listens to a song on a nearby radio. (b) After 10 seconds or future installments, I’ll keep an of listening, the Shazam online service analyzes the song and presents details. F eye out for new smart phone apps that exemplify pervasive computing and bring them to your attention. I’ll also compare and contrast applica- tions created for other operating sys- tems, such as Android from and Meego from Intel and Nokia, as well as the latest developments from Microsoft with Windows Mobile 7. If you discover a mobile phone applica- tion that you feel is worthy of bring- ing to the attention of the research community, please send the details to [email protected] so I can consider it for discussion in a future issue.

Roy Want is a senior principal engineer at Intel Labs (IL), Santa Clara, California, and associate director for IL/XTR. His research interests include mobile and , wireless pro- tocols, embedded systems, distributed systems, (a) (b) automatic identification, and MEMS. Want has a PhD in computer science from Churchill College, University. He is chair of ACM SIG- Figure 5. Zillow. (a) The app shows a hybrid plan of the local neighborhood based MOBILE, a fellow of both IEEE and the ACM, and on its current location (Sunnyvale, California). The red icons are houses for sale; a past editor in chief of IEEE Pervasive Computing. (b) pressing one provides address, lot size, and an option to see photos—in this case, Contact him at [email protected]. Zillow has nine detailed photos of the house’s interior.

JULY–SEPTEMBER 2010 PERVASIVE computing 9