AJ Cook
Publishing on
the WWW
20 November 2012
Mobile Internet
Mobile Internet is one of the
fastest growing technologies in our world today. The ability to access the
World Wide Web without being plugged into a wall has enabled a vast variety of
possibilities for smartphones, tablet computers, and other Internet ready
devices. Mobile Internet can be through a wireless network, or through a mobile
network. The days of being plugged into a wall have passed, as individuals can
now “tether” their computer to their phone, allowing Internet almost anywhere.
Predictions state that in 2014 Mobile Internet will completely surpass desktop
use, as it has already become more used in some countries. Mobile Internet has
come about through the creation of smartphones and, especially, touch screen
tablets.
With the invention of the smartphone
and creation of a touch screen tablet, one that allows for multi-touch
gestures, Mobile Internet skyrocketed. Users were first able to connect their
laptops to a wireless network without being plugged in, and then they were able
to purchase an Internet subscription with a wireless adapter. With the switch
from wireless networks to Mobile Internet carrier providers, wireless and
Internet on the go became a must have for individuals. As the prices for Mobile
Internet was not necessarily inexpensive, businesses jumped on the bandwagon
providing Internet for their employees. If you pay them to travel, why not make
them, or have them, work while doing it. As the prices began to decrease and it
became more of a staple to have Internet on the go, consumers began to use
Mobile Internet. Nowadays, Mobile Internet is easily accessed without a need to
set it up or get it ready for use on the go.
In the 2000s a classification called
the “seven mass media” became popular, making Mobile Internet through Mobile
phones the seventh. The seven being:
1.
Print
(books, pamphlets, newspapers, and magazines) from the late 15th
century
2.
Recording
(gramophone records, magnetic tapes, cassettes, cartridges, CDs, DVDs) from the
late 19th century
3.
Cinema
from about 1900
4.
Radio
from about 1900
5.
Television
from about 1910
6.
Internet
from about 1990
7.
Mobile
Phones from about 2000
As Internet and
Mobile Phones came together, they made the easiest form of media, Digital.
After radio and television as broadcast media, digital media allowed
individuals to be instantly connected to the world around them. Use of Mobile
Phones as an Internet hub allowed the mass quantities of individuals to
connect. It is said that smartphones have made a generation that is the
“instant gratification generation”. With the ability to look up any event,
connect to anyone, and find any answer, today’s generation(s) is instantly
gratified (and impatient), Googling to his or her hearts contents.
Mobile Internet on tablets and
smartphones has helped create a new way of viewing websites and applications
specific to a mobile platform. The distinction between web applications and
phone specific application has been steadily decreasing. Web applications on
mobile devices now access phone hardware and software with ease, using your GPS
or accelerometers to make use of a new Internet hardware hybrid. The W3C has
started to develop standards for mobile devices in hopes to find and establish
consistency through the diversity of a technology that is still establishing.
Adaptation, and having websites fit to the mobile device is key. Companies have
now created both desktop and mobile versions of their websites, easier to use
with fat fingers on a small screen. Individuals such as W3C and mTLD have
released tools such as mobileOK and MobiReady Report to test websites for
mobile use.
Mobile Internet still has
limitations on usability that is suffers from. Some of these limitations
include
1. Small Screens
2. Lack of windows, or the ability to view
side by side apps
3. Navigation (fat fingers, small screen)
4. Lack of JavaScript
5. Types of files or pages accessible
6. Speed
7. Size of messages, pages, or images
8. Location of user (bad signal)
Many of
these issues are slowly being worked out, especially as 4GLTE Mobile services
are being introduced all over the world at an exponential rate. Smartphone and
tablet creators are starting to easily solve screen size, navigation issues,
and lack of windows, as location of the user feasibility increases with more
cell towers and faster speeds. The location of the user might not only be
limited by the service, but believe it or not, the no phone in a hospital is
serious. Mobile Phones can cause equipment malfunctions. Maybe it’s a little
less true in an airplane, but don’t try it with someone in a hospital!
Through Mobile Internet, today’s typical
individuals have connected themselves to the world with ease. Social networks,
social apps, media, work, ecommerce, and instant gratification have overcome us,
as we will never miss out on anything. We don’t have to worry about FOMO (FO-MO,
Fear of Missing Out) anymore. The rapidly increasing technology behind Mobile
Internet is allowing for socialization and technological advances to bring us
all together. Some say it’s a good thing, some say its bad. It’s really all up
to the end user. Depending on how we use the technology, Mobile Internet can be
positive advancement in how we connect to the world around us.
No comments:
Post a Comment